Man gets convicted of felony drug possession. Man appeals conviction.
During pendancy of appeal, man gets arrested for Unlawfull Possession of Firearm by Felon.

Clearly, under TRE 803(22), the prior conviction is inadmissable as long as it is still on appeal.

Question: if the conviction on appeal is affirmed, can we (the State), then go back and file the Unlawfull Possession of Firearm by Felon (PC �46.04) which occurred during the pendancy of the appeal? Another way to put it is, can a first-time convicted felon continue to possess firearms while his conviction is on appeal?

Note that �46.04 only says "a person who has been convicted of a felony" and does not, on it's face, require that said felony conviction be "final."

A similar question arises in Sex Offender registration cases - does the convicted sex offender have to register during the pendancy of his appeal?

Any thoughts?

For sex offenders, the law specifically indicates that an appeal does not suspend the duty to register ("Reportable conviction or adjudication" means a conviction or
adjudication, regardless of the pendency of an appeal"). For gun possession, there is no such specific statute.

He is not a felon until his conviction is affirmed. You cannot file the charge afterwards, since the act of possession took place before his case was affirmed.

Thank you both for your replies. MARK