Briscoe v. State

541 S.W.3d 867
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 9, 2018
DocketNo. 06-17-00060-CR
StatusPublished

This text of 541 S.W.3d 867 (Briscoe v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Briscoe v. State, 541 S.W.3d 867 (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Opinion by Justice Moseley

In Hunt County, Texas, George Briscoe was charged with (a) theft of property worth more than $1,500, but less than $20,000, (b) giving a false or misleading statement to obtain credit in an amount of more than $1,500, but less than $20,000, and (c) theft of property worth more than $20,000, but less than $100,000. After a *869jury trial, Briscoe was found guilty of all three charges. On the first charge of theft, he was sentenced to 180 days in state jail. For giving a false statement to obtain property or credit, he was assessed the obligation to pay $13,000 in restitution and sentenced to two years in state jail. On the final charge of theft, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, probated for ten years, assessed a $10,000 fine, and ordered to pay $28,862 in restitution. The three sentences were to run concurrently.

Here, Briscoe appeals from the charge of having made a false or misleading statement to obtain credit of more than $1,500, but less than $20,000.1 In a single point of error, Briscoe contends that the evidence supporting his conviction is legally2 insufficient.3 Because we find that the evidence supporting the verdict is not legally sufficient to sustain the conviction, we sustain Briscoe's point of error, reverse the trial court's judgment, and render a judgment of acquittal.

The facts of this case are discussed in detail in our opinion in Briscoe's companion case, cause number 06-17-00059-CR, in which he appeals his conviction for theft of property valued at more than $1,500, but less than $20,000. Therefore, in this opinion, we discuss only the facts relevant to the determination of whether the trial court erred in granting the State's motion to strike three vehicle identification numbers from the indictment, hereby raising the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence.

I. Is there Sufficient Evidence that Briscoe Intended to Obtain a Loan of Money Through the Bobcat Transaction?

On June 24, 2011, through a written and signed bill of sale, Briscoe sold a one-half interest in a Bobcat tractor,4 which he did not own, to Jayson Campbell for $10,000. In his sole point of error, Briscoe contends that the evidence supporting his conviction for making a false statement to obtain credit is legally insufficient because the transaction at issue did not constitute a loan of money.

In evaluating legal sufficiency, we review all the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's judgment to determine whether any rational jury could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Brooks , 323 S.W.3d at 912 (citing *870Jackson , 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781 ); Hartsfield v. State , 305 S.W.3d 859, 863 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 2010, pet. ref'd). Our rigorous legal sufficiency review focuses on the quality of the evidence presented. Brooks , 323 S.W.3d at 917-18 (Cochran, J., concurring). We examine legal sufficiency under the direction of the Brooks opinion, while giving deference to the responsibility of the jury "to fairly resolve conflicts in testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts." Hooper v. State , 214 S.W.3d 9, 13 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (citing Jackson , 443 U.S. at 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781 ); Clayton v. State , 235 S.W.3d 772, 778 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).

Legal sufficiency of the evidence is measured by the elements of the offense as defined by a hypothetically correct jury charge. Malik v. State , 953 S.W.2d 234, 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). The "hypothetically correct" jury charge is "one that accurately sets out the law, is authorized by the indictment, does not unnecessarily increase the State's burden of proof or unnecessarily restrict the State's theories of liability, and adequately describes the particular offense for which the defendant was tried." Id.

A person commits the offense of making a false statement to obtain property or credit by "intentionally or knowingly mak[ing] a materially false or misleading written statement to obtain property or credit." TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 32.32(b) (West 2016). Credit includes "a loan of money ... furnishing property or service on credit, [and] ... comaking, endorsing, or guaranteeing a note or other instrument for obtaining credit." TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 32.32(a)(1), (2), (4) (West 2016). Here, the indictment alleged that Briscoe:

did then and there intentionally and knowingly make a materially false or misleading written statement to JAYSON CAMPBELL, namely, represent ownership in a Bobcat tractor in a bill of sale, with the intent to obtain credit, namely $10,000 personal loan, and the amount of the credit was $1,500 or more but less than $20,000.

Briscoe does not challenge the jury's implicit finding that he made a materially false or misleading statement in the bill of sale; rather, he contends that there is insufficient evidence to support the jury's implicit finding that the Bobcat transaction amounted to a loan of money under Article 32.32.5

On direct examination, Campbell was asked about the Bobcat transaction:

Q .... What happened in June 2011, as far as the Bobcat?
*871A George said he needed some money to close a deal, and he was needing $13,000. And I said, well, I can round it up, but I'm going to have to have something to hold, or whatever, to give you this money. So he had a skid-steer. I got it and held it. And I got a bill of sale saying I had interest in it for 90 days. He had 90 days that he had to pay me back, or I got the Bobcat.
....
Q .... What is a skid loader?
A It's a Bobcat, a small piece of equipment.
....
Q .... How did you view the $10,000 you were giving to George in exchange for his Bobcat for this 90 days?
A That I was buying the Bobcat unless he paid me back.

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Hooper v. State
214 S.W.3d 9 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Clayton v. State
235 S.W.3d 772 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Federal Sign and Signal Corp. v. Berry
601 S.W.2d 137 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Malik v. State
953 S.W.2d 234 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Daniels v. State
754 S.W.2d 214 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1988)
Duren v. State
87 S.W.3d 719 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Hartsfield v. State
305 S.W.3d 859 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Jones v. State
323 S.W.3d 885 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Brooks v. State
323 S.W.3d 893 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Perry, Ex Parte James Richard "Rick"
483 S.W.3d 884 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2016)

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Bluebook (online)
541 S.W.3d 867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/briscoe-v-state-texapp-2018.