State v. Richardson, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 6139

Richardson was charged with intoxication-related offenses arising from a crash injuring four people; one severely.
The indictment included enhancement paragraphs based on Richardson’s Iowa conviction for “operating under the influence, unintentionally causing serious injury,” labeled an aggravated misdemeanor in Iowa with a potential two-year penitentiary term.
Richardson was actually sentenced to 45 days in jail in Iowa, not confinement in a penitentiary.
The trial court granted a motion to quash the enhancement paragraphs; the State appealed, and this court initially dismissed but was reversed on remand by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The central issue is how to classify foreign convictions under Texas Penal Code section 12.41 for enhancement purposes when the foreign offense is an Iowa aggravated misdemeanor.
The court ultimately held that the plain language of section 12.41(1) applies, allowing the enhancement based on imprisonment in a penitentiary as a possible punishment in the foreign jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a foreign aggravating misdemeanor can be classified as a felony for enhancement under 12.41(1).	State: 12.41(1) governs when penitentiary confinement is a possible punishment.	Richardson: 12.41(2) should apply because the offense is a misdemeanor in Iowa and confinement in jail was possible.	12.41(1) applies; the foreign offense can be treated as a felony-for-enhancement under the plain text.
Whether the Texas definitions of felony/misdemeanor affect the application of 12.41 to an out-of-state conviction.	State: Texas §1.07 definitions align with applying 12.41(1).	Richardson: 1.07(31) creates overlap but does not preclude 12.41(1).	Plain language of 12.41 governs; the offense is treated under subsection (1) despite overlap under 1.07.

Ex parte Blume, 618 S.W.2d 373 (Tex. Crim. App. 1981) (classification for enhancement of foreign convictions; legislative purpose)
Davis v. State, 645 S.W.2d 288 (Tex. Crim. App. 1983) (foreign offenses treated for enhancement purposes under 12.41)
Boykin v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (plain language approach to statutory interpretation for enhancements)
State v. Moff, 154 S.W.3d 599 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (de novo standard for motion to quash challenges to indictments)
State v. Barbernell, 257 S.W.3d 248 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (guidance on standard of review and related rules)
State v. Richardson, 388 S.W.3d 544 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (precedent on classification of out-of-state convictions)