Calhoun v. State

951 S.W.2d 803, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 4229, 1997 WL 459004
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 13, 1997
Docket10-94-294-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 951 S.W.2d 803 (Calhoun 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
Calhoun v. State, 951 S.W.2d 803, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 4229, 1997 WL 459004 (Tex. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION ON REMAND

CUMMINGS, Justice.

A jury found the appellant, Anthony Lamar Calhoun, guilty on two counts of injury to a child. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.04 (Vernon 1994). The punishment assessed on count one was twelve years’ confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the jury recommended a ten-year probated sentence on count two.

On appeal Calhoun’s convictions were affirmed by this court; however, Calhoun’s petition for discretionary review was granted by the Court of Criminal Appeals which reversed and remanded this case. Calhoun v. State, No. 10-94-294-CR (Tex.App.—Waco July 17, 1996), rev’d, No. 1299-96 (Tex.Crim. App. January 29, 1997). The Court, in a per curiam opinion, directed this court to reconsider the merits of Calhoun’s original third and fourth points of error disputing the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. Calhoun v. State, No. 1299-96 (Tex. Crim.App. January 29, 1997). The merits of these points were not addressed by our original opinion, which concluded that these points of error had been waived. The Court refused to review Calhoun’s other points of error. Id.

Calhoun’s brief following remand contains five points of error asserting that: (1) in this court’s original opinion, the court erred by applying an improper standard to review an error in the charge; (2) the evidence is legally insufficient to establish that Calhoun intentionally or knowingly caused serious bodily injury to his sons, Dreon and Nino Calhoun; (3) the evidence is legally insufficient to establish that Calhoun intentionally or knowingly by omission caused serious bodily injury to Dreon Calhoun; (4) the evidence is factually insufficient to establish that Calhoun intentionally or knowingly caused serious bodily injury to Dreon and Nino Calhoun; and (5) the evidence is factually insufficient to establish that Calhoun intentionally or knowingly by omission caused serious bodily injury to Dreon Calhoun. We affirm Calhoun’s convictions.

I. Factual Background

On January 27, 1993, police officers and medical personnel responded to an emergency call requesting help for a child who was injured. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found Dreon Calhoun, a seven month old infant, not breathing and having bums covering eighty-five to ninety percent of his body. Nino Calhoun, an eighteen month old baby, *806 was found with burns on both his feet and lower legs. Dreon died as a result of his injuries, and his body was sent to Tarrant County for an autopsy. Nino’s bums were treated by physicians at Parkland Medical Center in Dallas who surgically applied skin grafts to his burns.

Calhoun claims that the boys’ injuries were due to a bathtub accident that occurred when he was out of the apartment. Calhoun testified that he put both children in the bathtub with two or three inches of water. Then Calhoun stated that he left the children alone in the bathtub while he went to return a sewing needle to a neighbor. "While out of the apartment, Calhoun visited with several neighbors around the apartment complex and claims that when he returned home he discovered the children had been injured. Calhoun said he found Nino lying on the floor crying and Dreon was floating face down in the bathtub with the hot water running. Then Calhoun described for the jury how he went to get help from a neighbor.

The State’s principal theory at trial was that the injuries to the infant, Dreon, were not only scalding injuries caused by exposure to the hot bathtub water, but that his burns were actually a combination of dry heat or flame type bums and liquid bums caused by the hot water. The method of inflicting the dry heat burns was never proved, but the State argued that after Dreon received the dry heat burns Calhoun intentionally placed Dreon in the bathtub’s scalding water in order to make all Dreon’s burns appear to be accidental liquid bums. The State also asserted that the hot liquid immersion burns suffered by Nino were caused when Calhoun dipped Nino into the bathtub to make it look like Nino had turned on the hot water and caused the accident.

The jury convicted Calhoun of intentionally or knowingly causing Dreon’s injuries by act or omission, thereby rejecting the lesser included offenses of recklessly or criminally negligently by omission causing the injuries. See Tex Pen.Code ANN. § 6.03 (Vernon 1994). The jurors also found Calhoun guilty of intentionally or knowingly causing the injuries to Nino Calhoun by his actions. Id.

II. Points of Error

Calhoun’s first point of error asserts that this court erred in its original decision by applying an improper standard to review an error in the trial court’s charge. In his original appeal, Calhoun claimed that the inclusion of the phrase “engage in conduct” in the trial court’s charge was a fundamental error that lowered the State’s burden of proof. This court’s decision found a waiver of Calhoun’s complaint and the Court of Criminal Appeals refused to review Calhoun’s petition for discretionary review on this point. On remand Calhoun seeks a reconsideration of this court’s original decision claiming that an improper standard was used in deciding that this point had been waived.

After a case has been remanded by the Court of Criminal Appeals “the jurisdiction originally granted to the [court of appeals] by constitutional and statutory mandate is fully restored.” 1 Adkins v. State, 764 S.W.2d 782, 784 (Tex.Crim.App.1988). Thus, the appellate court is vested with the jurisdiction to address not only the specific points which were the subject of the remand, but also to reconsider points of error in its earlier decision which the Court of Criminal Appeals refused to review. Cf. State v. Hall, 794 S.W.2d 916, 917 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1990), aff'd, 829 S.W.2d 184 (Tex.Crim.App.1992) (refusal to grant a petition for discretionary review does not express approval of the lower court’s decision). Despite possessing the power to re-examine points of error which have already been considered, appellate courts rarely engage in this type of review in order to “prevent useless relitigation of issues already decided and to promote judicial economy.” Cf. LeBlanc v. State, 826 S.W.2d 640, 644 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, pet. ref'd) (discussing the “law of the case” doctrine).

*807 However, we feel compelled to exercise our jurisdiction in reviewing the merits of Calhoun’s first point of error. Our reconsideration of Calhoun’s first point of error does not conflict with Williams v. State,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kenneth A. Totz, D.O., FACEP v. Telicia Owens
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
BMTP Holdings, L.P. v. City of Lorena
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Christopher D. Willis v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Danielle Marie Dickerson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006
Sanchez v. State
182 S.W.3d 34 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Carroll v. State
101 S.W.3d 454 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Timothy Quintana v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002
Carroll, Timothy Earl v. State
74 S.W.3d 414 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Willie Charles Conner v. State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000
Goulart v. State
26 S.W.3d 5 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Jackson v. State
12 S.W.3d 836 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Tony Lynn Burnham v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000
Murphy v. State
4 S.W.3d 926 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Turner v. State
4 S.W.3d 74 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Trinity Gonzalez v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999
Santiago Briceno Silva v. State
995 S.W.2d 872 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Harris v. State
994 S.W.2d 927 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Shirl Smith v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999
John Salas v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999
Ahamd Levar Hamilton v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
951 S.W.2d 803, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 4229, 1997 WL 459004, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/calhoun-v-state-texapp-1997.