Arnoldo Diaz v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 14, 2024·No. 04-22-00526-CR·Published

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas MEMORANDUM OPINION

No. 04-22-00526-CR

Arnoldo DIAZ, Appellant

v.

The STATE of Texas, Appellee

From the 437th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2019CR12132 Honorable Melisa C. Skinner, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Liza A. Rodriguez, Justice

Sitting: Beth Watkins, Justice Liza A. Rodriguez, Justice Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice

Delivered and Filed: February 14, 2024

AFFIRMED

Appellant Arnold Diaz was indicted on three counts of indecency with a child. A jury found

Diaz guilty on all three counts and assessed punishment at forty-six years’ confinement. On appeal,

Diaz raises three issues: (1) the trial court erred in denying his request for a mistrial; (2) ineffective

assistance of counsel; and (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion for speedy trial. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

On August 23, 2018, Diaz was indicted for two counts of indecency with a child by contact

and one count of indecency with a child by exposure. All three counts had a 2016 offense date. 04-22-00526-CR

Post-indictment, Diaz and the State consistently engaged in plea negotiations throughout as the

parties prepared for trial. In September 2019, Diaz and the State appeared for trial. On the day trial

was to commence, the State learned that a recent altercation with criminal implications had taken

place between Diaz and two outcry witnesses. Based on this new information, the State requested

a “reset” to provide adequate pre-trial disclosures. The trial court denied the request, and the State

dismissed the charges against Diaz for further investigation. Prior to the dismissal, the State

informed Diaz’s counsel that the State would re-present the indictment in the coming weeks. On

October 31, 2019, Diaz was reindicted. On August 1, 2022, Diaz’s jury trial commenced.

At trial, Diaz elected not to testify. The jury found Diaz guilty on all three counts and

assessed punishment at eighteen years each for Counts I and II and ten years for Count III. The

trial court ordered that the sentences run consecutively. On appeal, Diaz raises three issues. First,

Diaz claims the trial court erred by denying his motion for mistrial. Second, Diaz asserts his trial

counsel was ineffective because he failed to offer evidence supporting Diaz’s application for

community supervision. Third, Diaz argues he was denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial.

DENIAL OF MISTRIAL

In his first issue, Diaz argues the trial court erred by denying his motion for mistrial after

the State impermissibly alluded to his election not to testify.

Applicable Law

The United States and Texas Constitutions protect an individual’s right to be free from

self-incrimination. U.S. CONST. amend. V; TEX. CONST. art. I, § 10; see also TEX. CODE CRIM.

PROC. art. 38.08 (“Any defendant in a criminal action shall be permitted to testify in his own behalf

therein, but the failure of any defendant to so testify shall not be taken as a circumstance against

him, nor shall the same be alluded to or commented on by counsel in the cause.”). “Neither the

trial judge nor the prosecutor can comment on the failure of an accused to testify.” Bustamante v.

-2- 04-22-00526-CR

State, 48 S.W.3d 761, 764 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001). “To violate the right against self-incrimination,

the offending language must be viewed from the jury’s standpoint and the implication that the

comment referred to the defendant’s failure to testify must be clear.” Id. at 765. “It is not sufficient

that the language might be construed as an implied or indirect allusion.” Id. “The test is whether

the language used was manifestly intended or was of such a character that the jury would

necessarily and naturally take it as a comment on the defendant’s failure to testify.” Id. “In applying

this standard, the context in which the comment was made must be analyzed to determine whether

the language used was of such character.” Id.

“A mistrial is the trial court’s remedy for improper conduct that is so prejudicial that

expenditure of further time and expense would be wasteful and futile.” Id. at 77. “Only in extreme

circumstances, where the prejudice is incurable, will a mistrial be required.” Id. In this regard,

“[e]xcept in the most ‘blatant’ instances, harm from a comment on a defendant’s failure to testify

is cured by an instruction to disregard.” Martinez v. State, 276 S.W.3d 75, 78 (Tex. App.—San

Antonio 2008, pet. ref’d). In reviewing whether the statement here falls within the exception, we

conduct a non-constitutional harm analysis. See TEX. R. APP. P. 44.2(b); Hawkins v. State, 135

S.W.3d 72, 77 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004). The following factors guide our review of the trial court’s

denial of Diaz’s motion for mistrial: (1) the severity of the misconduct (the magnitude of the

prejudicial effect of the State’s remarks); (2) measures adopted to cure the misconduct (the

efficacy of any cautionary instruction by the judge); and (3) the certainty of the punishment absent

the misconduct (the strength of the evidence supporting the punishment). Archie v. State, 221

S.W.3d 695, 700–01 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007); Martinez, 276 S.W.3d at 79. We analyze these

factors under an abuse of discretion standard. Hawkins, 135 S.W.3d at 77.

-3- 04-22-00526-CR

Analysis

During closing argument in the punishment phase, the State argued Diaz “has never

accepted responsibility for what he did, he has never shown any remorse for what he did. You can

also consider that.” Diaz objected and moved for a mistrial. The trial court sustained the objection,

instructed the jury to disregard the statement, and denied Diaz’s request. Because the trial court

sustained Diaz’s objection and instructed the jury to disregard the challenged statement, the only

issue before us is whether the trial court erred in denying Diaz’s motion for mistrial. See id. at 76–

77 (“The only adverse ruling—and thus the only occasion for making a mistake—was the trial

court’s denial of the motion for mistrial.”).

Reviewing the severity of the misconduct, we note the State’s comment was brief and not

repeated. See Martinez, 276 S.W.3d at 79 (holding trial court did not err by denying request for

mistrial based on State’s comment regarding potential perjury). Moreover, we do not find that the

comment demonstrated any willful or calculated effort to deprive Diaz of an impartial sentencing.

See id. Additionally, as a corrective measure, the trial court told the jury to disregard the State’s

statement and instructed the jury that the argument of counsel was not evidence to be considered

in deliberations. See Rodriguez v. State, 446 S.W.3d 520, 537 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2014, no

pet.) (holding State did not make comment on defendant’s election not to testify and the court’s

charge and instruction to jury cured any potential harm). The charge of the court further instructed

that if the defendant elected not to testify, that circumstance could not be used against him. See

Archie v. State, 340 S.W.3d 734, 741 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (“The law generally presumes that

instructions to disregard and other cautionary instructions will be duly obeyed by the jury.”).

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