Daniel Ray Morris v. State of Texas

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 3, 2010
Docket11-08-00069-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Daniel Ray Morris v. State of Texas (Daniel Ray Morris v. State of Texas) 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
Daniel Ray Morris v. State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Opinion filed June 3, 2010

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals ____________

No. 11-08-00069-CR __________

DANIEL RAY MORRIS, Appellant

V.

STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 91st District Court

Eastland County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. CR-04-20,480

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This court’s former opinion and judgment dated February 25, 2010, are withdrawn, and this court’s opinion and judgment dated June 3, 2010, are substituted therefor. On this same date, we overrule Daniel Ray Morris’s motion for rehearing. By presenting three points of asserted error, appellant Daniel Ray Morris challenges his conviction of indecency with a child and the resulting jury-assessed punishment of ten years confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of $10,000. Imposition of the confinement was suspended, and appellant was placed on community supervision for a period of ten years. In his three points, appellant contends the trial court erred (1) in allowing a police officer to testify that appellant was guilty, (2) in allowing expert testimony from a Texas Ranger that appellant was guilty and not telling the whole truth, and (3) in allowing Texas Ranger David Hullum to testify as an expert witness about “Methodology” and “Grooming.” Disagreeing that reversible error exists, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. Because they are so closely related, we will discuss appellant’s first two points together. In his first point, appellant contends the trial court reversibly erred in permitting a deputy sheriff to testify, over objection, that in his opinion, based upon his training and experience as well as his investigation and the investigation by the other agencies involved, appellant engaged in sexual contact with the victim with the intent to arouse, satisfy, or gratify his sexual desires. In his second point, he complains of the trial court’s action in allowing Texas Ranger Hullum to give an affirmative answer to such a question; he places his primary reliance upon the court’s decision in Boyde v. State, 513 S.W.2d 588 (Tex. Crim. App. 1974). His reliance on Boyde requires us to discuss that case in some detail. The portion of the Boyde opinion to which appellant refers is that in which the court refers to a question asked of a State’s witness that queried whether the witness knew of any evidence in the case that would tend to exonerate or show that the defendant was not guilty of the offense charged. The defense objection to the question was promptly sustained, and the jury was instructed to disregard it. Id. at 590. In considering whether reversal was required, the court noted the general rule that a criminal conviction is seldom reversed because an improper question was asked. However, it went on to emphasize and discuss that the trial record showed the prosecutor asked numerous other questions of a similar nature to which objections were sustained and the jury instructed to disregard. En route to reversing the conviction, the court noted that the prosecutor pursued “a course of repeatedly attempting to place matters before the jury which were clearly impermissible” and which “could have served no purpose other than to inflame and prejudice the minds of the jurors.” Id. at 593. It chose to explicate the necessity for reversal by stating that “[s]uch prosecutorial misconduct cannot be labeled harmless and requires the reversal of a conviction of a brutal and senseless murder.” Id. at 593. Thus, the case was reversed because of the totality of the repeated prosecutorial misconduct during the trial, not the mere asking of the guilt opinion questions.

2 In the instant case, however, the objections were not sustained, and the witnesses were allowed to answer. We agree that, in each instance, the questions asked and the answers given may have been tantamount to expressing an opinion as to appellant’s guilt. Assuming arguendo that those questions and the answers were improperly given, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 44.2(b) requires that we conduct a harm analysis in light of the whole record. TEX . R. APP . P. 44.2(b). In a case such as this one that involves a nonconstitutional error, we disregard such errors unless they affect an appellant’s substantial rights. Rich v. State, 160 S.W.3d 575, 577 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). A substantial right is one that has a substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict. Id. A substantial right is not affected by the erroneous admission of evidence if, after examination of the record as a whole, the reviewing court has a fair assurance that the error did not influence the jury or had but a slight effect. Solomon v. State, 49 S.W.3d 356, 365 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001). In assessing the likelihood that the jury’s decision was adversely affected, the appellate court should consider everything in the record, including any testimony or physical evidence admitted for the jury’s consideration, the nature of the evidence supporting the verdict, and the character of the alleged error and how it might be considered in connection with other evidence in the case. Motilla v. State, 78 S.W.3d 352, 355 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002). Our review requires a recitation of relevant evidence in somewhat exhaustive detail. The State’s first witness was J.R.M., appellant’s minor stepson and the victim. The first child protective service worker involved in this case was young, female, and attractive, and J.R.M. was reluctant to discuss the incidents with appellant in detail with her. However, he said he was now ready to discuss the incidents before the jury. Appellant first met J.R.M. when he was eleven years old and appellant was dating his mother. J.R.M. thought he had a good relationship with appellant, and they would go to the park, rollerblade, and ride mountain bikes. They would discuss sexual matters, including sex and masturbation. Appellant told J.R.M. that it was “guy talk” between the two of them and that he should not mention it to his mother. Later, appellant began giving J.R.M. back rubs and would say that his mother had given him back rubs when he was a child. Later, appellant and J.R.M.’s mother married, and appellant continued to give him back rubs. Appellant began to tell J.R.M. that he had concerns about the boy’s mother because she would come in late at night and want to have sex and appellant did not want to. Appellant slept in J.R.M.’s bed on those nights when the mother had been drinking, even though

3 there were other places to sleep such as the living room. J.R.M. said that his mother became concerned about the time that he and appellant were spending together and it made J.R.M. angry. J.R.M. said that he and appellant would talk just “[s]ex in general, also a lot of times masturbation” and that appellant would ask him questions about his masturbation that embarrassed him. Appellant took him to a show in Abilene entitled “Minority Report,” and on the way home, appellant asked him if he had masturbated yet. Appellant also told him that he and his mother’s sister, Debra Roper, did not get along and that she thought appellant was gay and was trying to turn J.R.M. gay. J.R.M. overheard appellant and Debra having some kind of discussion. Later, appellant told him that Debra thought appellant spent too much time in his room at night and that he was trying to turn J.R.M. gay. At some point in time, J.R.M. got a full-size bed, and his mother and appellant would occasionally come in to tuck him in bed. When appellant did so, they would talk about masturbation and sex.

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Related

Solomon v. State
49 S.W.3d 356 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Prystash v. State
3 S.W.3d 522 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Motilla v. State
78 S.W.3d 352 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Rich v. State
160 S.W.3d 575 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Weatherred v. State
15 S.W.3d 540 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Perez v. State
25 S.W.3d 830 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Montgomery v. State
810 S.W.2d 372 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Hoyos v. State
982 S.W.2d 419 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1998)
Boyde v. State
513 S.W.2d 588 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1974)

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Daniel Ray Morris v. State of Texas, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daniel-ray-morris-v-state-of-texas-texapp-2010.