Credille v. State

925 S.W.2d 112, 1996 WL 274991
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 25, 1996
Docket14-93-00459-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by110 cases

This text of 925 S.W.2d 112 (Credille 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
Credille v. State, 925 S.W.2d 112, 1996 WL 274991 (Tex. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

DRAUGHN, Justice

(Assigned).

Appellant entered a plea of not guilty before a jury to the offense of aggravated sexual assault. He was convicted and the jury assessed punishment at ten years in prison, probated, and a $10,000 fine. Appellant raises eight points of error complaining of the trial court’s failure to strike a juror for cause and the admission of certain evidence. We affirm.

On May 12, 1992, appellant’s granddaughter, the complainant, was playing in the bathtub with her friend. The two children were spraying each other in the vagina with an ear syringe. When the complainant’s mother removed the children from the bathtub, the complainant responded, “But that’s what my Papaw does.” Papaw was the complainant’s name for appellant. The complainant later stated that Papaw had put his finger in her vagina and threatened to spank her if she told anyone. The complainant also told a teacher that her Papaw had put his finger in her “privates.”

In his first point of error, appellant claims the trial court erred in overruling his motion to strike Juror No. 36 for cause because No. 36 stated she could not consider the full range of punishment. During voir dire of the jury panel, appellant’s counsel asked the following question:

Could you consider the minimum punishment if you found Mr. Credille guilty in a proper case? You don’t know what the facts are. You haven’t heard any evidence. You will hear lots of different evidence about what a wonderful person they are or a horrible person they are, if they’ve been to jail. All kinds of evidence becomes admissible at punishment to help you decide what’s in the best interest of society for this particular case. So, what I am asking is, now that you’ve had some more than time to think about it, I need to know whether or not each and every one of you could consider the full range of punishment and that includes as little as five years probation? Is there anyone who could not consider that [in] any possible case? Number 1, No. 3, 4. Second row, No. 9. Third row, No. 16,19, 26, 27, 32, 36. Right side of the room? 52, 53, 54, 56 Anyone else? 63.

After appellant’s attorney questioned the veniremembers individually on whether he or she could give appellant a fair trial, the judge asked for challenges for cause. During that process, appellant’s counsel moved to strike Juror No. 36 for cause because she said she could not consider probation. The court re *115 sponded, “That’s denied.” After both sides made their peremptory strikes, appellant stated he wanted to object. The court asked, “Object on number 36?” Appellant’s counsel replied, “Yes.” The court answered, “That’s not the issue right now.” The trial judge then swore in the jury. After the jury was sworn, the following occurred:

THE COURT: Before we recessed, Mr. Isbell [defense counsel] wanted to put something on the record concerning the jury selection.
MR. ISBELL: Your Honor, as I indicated to the Court, prior to the jury being sworn, we do want to object to the fact that we had to let juror No. 7, whose husband is a highway patrolman. We would have used a strike on her as opposed to using our strike on juror No. 36, in which we were denied our motion for cause in your peremptory challenge.

When the trial court erroneously overrules a challenge against a venire-member, the defendant is harmed only if he uses a peremptory strike to remove the veniremember and thereafter suffers a detriment from the loss of a strike. Chambers v. State, 866 S.W.2d 9, 22 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 1871, 128 L.Ed.2d 491 (1994). The defendant preserves error for review only if he uses all his peremptory strikes, asks for and is refused additional peremptory strikes, and is then forced to take an identified objectionable juror whom he would not otherwise have accepted had the trial court granted his challenge for cause or granted him additional strikes. Adanandus v. State, 866 S.W.2d 210, 220 (Tex.Crim.App.1993). The defendant must make the proper objection before the panel is sworn. Jackson v. State, 826 S.W.2d 751, 752 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, pet. ref'd). A defendant must pursue an objection until he receives an adverse ruling from the trial court and, if necessary, must press the trial court to make a definite ruling on his objection. Darty v. State, 709 S.W.2d 652, 655 (Tex.Crim.App.1986).

In this case, appellant failed to pursue his objection to Juror No. 36 in a timely manner. When appellant first objected to Juror No. 36, the court denied his challenge for cause. After the parties’ strikes were made, appellant attempted to renew his objection to Juror No. 36 to which the judge responded, “That’s not the issue right now.” Appellant did not identify an objectionable juror who was seated on the panel until after the jury was sworn. To preserve error on appeal when a trial court grants or denies a challenge for cause, counsel must object at trial and the objection must be made in a timely manner. See Fuller v. State, 827 S.W.2d 919, 924-25 (Tex.Crim.App.1992), cert. denied, 509 U.S. 922, 113 S.Ct. 3035, 125 L.Ed.2d 722 (1993). Appellant’s objection after the jury was sworn was not timely. See Jackson, 826 S.W.2d at 752. Because appellant failed to press the trial judge to make a specific ruling before the jury was sworn, he failed to preserve error.

Further, the record is not clear as to which question Juror No. 36 answered. When appellant’s counsel asked the venire whether they could consider the full range of punishment, she asked two questions. Although No. 36 raised her hand, it is not clear whether she was responding to the first question — “I need to know whether or not each and every one of you could consider the full range of punishment and that includes as little as five years probation?” — or the second question — “is there anyone who could not consider that [in] any possible case?” If No. 36 was answering the first question, she could have been raising her hand to say she could consider probation. The record of the voir dire examination is insufficient to show that Juror No. 36 should have been struck. Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

In his second point of error, appellant claims the trial court erred in overruling his motion for new trial. In his motion for new trial, appellant introduced into evidence an affidavit from Juror No. 36, in which she attested that she raised her hand in answer to appellant’s question regarding the range of punishment. Error in the selection of the jury, however, cannot be preserved in a motion for new trial. Rule 52(a) of the Rules of Appellate Procedure demands that a party present its evidence and all arguments in *116 support thereof to allow the trial court to correct any error in a timely manner. See Fuller v. State,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
925 S.W.2d 112, 1996 WL 274991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/credille-v-state-texapp-1996.