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TX CA4 on Habeas, Operation Lone Star, Equal Protection: Ex Parte Aparicio

June 22, 2023 (1 min read)

Ex Parte Aparicio

"As part of Operation Lone Star, Luis Alfredo Aparicio, a noncitizen, was arrested for trespassing on private property in Maverick County.  He filed an application for writ of habeas corpus seeking dismissal of the criminal charge, arguing the State’s selective prosecution of him violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the Texas Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment. See U.S.CONST. amend. XIV; TEX.CONST. art. 1, § 3(a). After holding an evidentiary hearing on the merits, the trial court denied his requested relief. Aparicio appeals, arguing the trial court erred in denying his relief because the State’s practice of prosecuting men, and not women, for criminal trespass as part of Operation Lone Star violated his federal and state constitutional rights to equal protection. We reverse the trial court’s order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."