Davis v. State

119 S.W.3d 359, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 7258, 2003 WL 21994751
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 20, 2003
Docket10-02-059-CR, 10-02-060-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by61 cases

This text of 119 S.W.3d 359 (Davis 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
Davis v. State, 119 S.W.3d 359, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 7258, 2003 WL 21994751 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHN G. HILL, Senior Justice

(Assigned).

Otis Leonard Davis appeals his conviction by a jury of the offenses of unlawful possession of heroin of four grams or more but less than 200 grams, with intent to deliver, and unlawful possession of cocaine in an amount of less than 1 gram. The jury, finding two enhancement paragraphs true, assessed Davis’s punishment at ninety-nine years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, for the heroin offense and twenty years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, for the cocaine offense. Davis contends in five points that: (1) the *363 trial court erred by imposing a sentence grossly disproportionate to the offense, resulting in cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, article I, section 13, of the Texas Constitution, and article 1.09 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure; (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion for new trial due to the jury engaging in misconduct and failing to follow the law and instructions given in the court’s charge; (3) Texas rule of evidence 606(b) is unconstitutional on its face and as applied to him; (4) he was denied effective assistance of counsel in the trial court in violation of the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 10 of the Texas Constitution; and (6) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained in a warrantless search and warrantless arrest. We affirm.

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

Davis contends in point one that the trial court erred by imposing a sentence grossly disproportionate to the offense, resulting in cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution; article I, section 13 of the Texas Constitution; and article 1.09 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. It is undisputed that the sentences imposed by the trial court are within the range of punishment authorized by the legislature.

A gross disproportionality principle is applicable to sentences for terms of years. Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, _, 123 S.Ct. 1166, 1173, 155 L.Ed.2d 144, 156 (2003). The precise contours of this principle are unclear, but it is applicable only in the “exceedingly rare” and “extreme” case. Id.

We must first make a comparison of the gravity of Davis’s case against the severity of his sentence. Vrba v. State, 69 S.W.3d 713, 724 (Tex.App.-Waco 2002, no pet.). In considering whether his sentence is grossly disproportionate, we consider not only the present offense but also his criminal history. Id. Evidence showed that Davis possessed 4.1 grams of heroin and less than one gram of cocaine. Davis had one prior conviction for possession of cocaine, three prior convictions for burglary of a building, and two prior convictions for evading arrest or detention. We hold that Davis’s sentence is not grossly disproportionate in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. See Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 111 S.Ct. 2680, 115 L.Ed.2d 836 (1991). Because we have found that the sentence is not grossly disproportionate, it is not necessary for us to consider other factors. Vrba, 69 S.W.3d at 724.

Dávis urges that the sentence is grossly disproportionate, emphasizing the small amount of heroin and cocaine he possessed and the non-violent nature of the prior convictions that he had. In Harmelin, the defendant received a mandatory sentence of life without parole for the offense of possession of a large amount of cocaine. Harmelin, 501 U.S. at 961, 111 S.Ct. at 2684, 115 L.Ed.2d at 843. Two justices, Scalia and Rehnquist, held that there is no such proportionality principle mandated by the Eighth Amendment in non-capital cases. Id. at 965, 111 S.Ct. at 2686, 115 L.Ed.2d at 846. In a concurring opinion, Justice Kennedy, joined by O’Connor and Souter, held that possession, use, and distribution of illegal drugs represent “one of the greatest problems affecting the health and welfare of our population” and that any suggestion that such a crime is nonviolent or victimless is false to the point of absurdity. Id. at 1002, 111 S.Ct. at 2705, 115 L.Ed.2d at 870. They said that drugs *364 relate to crime in the following ways: 1.) a drug user may commit a crime because of drug-induced changes in physiological function, cognitive ability, and mood; 2.) a drug user may commit crime to obtain money to buy drugs; and 3.) violent crime may occur as part of the drug business or culture. Id. at 1002, 111 S.Ct. at 2706, 115 L.Ed.2d at 870. They noted that studies bear out those possibilities and demonstrate a direct connection between illegal drugs and crimes of violence. Id. at 1003, 111 S.Ct. at 2706, 115 L.Ed.2d at 870.

Davis urges us to engage in a comparative analysis by comparing his sentence with sentences imposed on others in Texas, as well as sentences imposed on others for the same crime in other jurisdictions, as discussed in Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290-92, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 3010, 77 L.Ed.2d 637, 649-50 (1983). However, as we have previously noted, such a comparative analysis is not required where we do not find the sentence to be disproportionate. McGruder v. Puckett, 954 F.2d 313, 316 (5th Cir.1992). We overrule point one.

JURY MISCONDUCT

Davis urges in point two that the trial court erred by denying his motion for new trial due to the jury engaging in misconduct and failing to follow the law and instructions given in the court’s charge. At the motion for new trial, Patrick Phillip Robertson, an attorney who received the verdict in the absence of Davis’s trial attorney, testified that he, the prosecuting attorney, and an investigator went to talk to some of the jurors after the verdict was received. He said that a tall African-American juror said that the jury had definitely considered parole and when the defendant would be getting out. The investigator testified that the African-American juror with whom Mr. Robertson was talking, when asked if the amount of time the jury assessed Davis had anything to do with the amount of time he would serve or about his being on parole, replied, “Absolutely.”

A jury’s discussion of parole constitutes reversible error when a defendant shows (1) a misstatement of the law; (2) asserted as a fact; (3) by one professing to know the law; (4) which is relied upon by other jurors; (5) who for that reason changed their vote to a harsher punishment. Sneed v. State, 670 S.W.2d 262, 266 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). Davis’s proof shows none of those. Consequently, he has shown no reversible error.

Davis relies in part upon the case of Reese v. State,

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Bluebook (online)
119 S.W.3d 359, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 7258, 2003 WL 21994751, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-state-texapp-2003.