Davis v. State

658 S.W.2d 572, 1983 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1003
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided May 4, 1983·No. 642-82·Published·Cited by 66 cases

Opinions

OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

TEAGUE, Judge.

Carl Lee Davis, appellant, was charged by complaint and information with promoting obscenity by exhibiting to G.P. Hugo an obscene film entitled “Little Yummy.” The record reflects that at the time Hugo was a Houston police officer engaged in undercover vice operations. Appellant was found guilty on a plea of not guilty and stipulated evidence after a bench trial. The trial court assessed punishment at confinement in the Harris County jail for three days and a fine of $750. The Waco Court of Appeals affirmed appellant’s conviction in an unpublished opinion. We granted appellant’s petition for discretionary review to review the decision of the Court of Appeals, and consider and decide the validity of the presumption contained in V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 43.23(e),1 which the Court of Appeals applied to this cause. We will reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the cause to the trial court for it to enter a judgment of acquittal.

In pertinent part, the information in this cause alleges that appellant “did then and there unlawfully and knowing the content and character of the material, intentionally exhibit to G.P. HUGO obscene material, namely, one film entitled ‘LITTLE YUMMY’, which depicts patently offensive representations of sexual intercourse and sodomy.” [Emphasis Added].

V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Sections 43.21 and 43.23, provides that one of the ways a person may violate the obscenity law is by promoting obscene material. Section 43.-21(a)(5) states that the word “promote” means the following: “to manufacture, issue, sell, give, provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, transmit, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, or advertise, or to offer or agree to do the same.” [Emphasis Added].

[575]*575We believe that a brief summary of the facts should be stated. The stipulation of evidence reflects that G.P. Hugo, a Houston police officer, while engaged in undercover vice operations, went to the Adultz News Bookstore, which is located at 2425 West Holcombe in Houston.2 The bookstore was open to the general public. There was no admission charge to enter the store. After Hugo entered the store, he saw appellant “behind the counter in the front area of the store. He was the only employee present in the store. And the store appeared to be under his exclusive control, care, and custody.” The area where appellant was situated contained books and magazines. We are not, however, informed of the character or content of the books and magazines. Hugo did not engage appellant in conversation but, instead, went down a hallway of the store and subsequently saw “15 or 16 separate peep show booths. These booths were located in the rear of the store, and were not visible from the counter area. Each booth was very small, and contained a movie projector that could be activated by placing a coin in a machine inside the booth.” The record neither reflects nor indicates whether the projectors in the booths, other than the one Hugo eventually went inside of, contained film or, if so, what the character and content of the films located inside the projectors of the other booths may have been. Hugo thereafter went to where appellant was situated and obtained change from appellant. However, we are not informed how much change he obtained or received. Hugo thereafter went to “booth number 12,” where he placed a quarter into a machine, which activated the projector. Hugo subsequently put a total of five quarters into the machine so that he could view the entire film entitled “Little Yummy,” which lasted a total of approximately six minutes. Hugo, through the stipulated testimony, stated that appellant was never present in or outside of “booth number 12,” where he viewed the film, and had nothing whatsoever to do with activating or operating the projector. Several days later, Hugo returned to the business establishment with a search warrant and seized the film, “Little Yummy,” which was still in the projector. By virtue of his continued and sole presence in the store, Hugo assumed appellant was still an employee of and in charge of the store. Appellant was not arrested at that time, but was permitted to post bail the next day.

The State, in the direct appeal, and the Court of Appeals in its opinion affirming appellant’s conviction, placed great emphasis upon the facts that the store was open to the general public and that appellant had given Hugo change. The Court of Appeals stated the following: “It is obvious from the evidence that without defendant’s keeping the adult bookstore open to the public and making change for those who patronized the peep shows in the back, that the film could not have been exhibited to the officer in this case.” Contrary to the State and the Court of Appeals, we find little substance in the fact that appellant gave Hugo an unknown amount of change. There is nothing in the record which would reflect or indicate that a restriction of any kind was placed on how the change would be spent. There is also nothing in the record to reflect or indicate that a person could not have gone inside the bookstore, with change, gone straight to one of the peep show booths, inserted a quarter into the machine, which would have activated the projector, viewed a film, and never have had contact with the appellant. Likewise, the record indicates that a person could have entered the bookstore solely for the purpose of obtaining or securing change to be used for purposes other than to activate one of the machines in the peep show section of the bookstore. There is also nothing in the record to reflect or indicate that any patron of the bookstore was ever directed by posted sign or otherwise to the area where the peep show booths were located. As previously noted, there was no admission fee [576]*576charged to enter the bookstore, nor was one required to be paid in order to remain inside the bookstore once a person had entered the bookstore. Although there was a posted sign on the front door, which read “You must be 18 to enter store,” there was nothing posted on the outside of the store which would have indicated what might have been on the inside of the store. The record does not reflect or indicate whether it was possible to see the inside of the store from the outside. By the record, a person would not have the faintest idea of what he was going to view on the screen, prior to the time he inserted a quarter into the machine. There is also nothing in the record to establish that appellant ever had anything whatsoever to do with the peep show booths, the machines inside the booths, the projectors inside the booths, and the films, if any, that were inserted into the projectors. Other than his mere presence, and having the care, custody, and control of the premises, there is nothing in the record to reflect or indicate that appellant was “exhibiting” the film to Hugo.

The mere act of the appellant allowing the business establishment to be open to the general public does not, without more, constitute any violation of the law. Nor does the mere giving of change constitute a violation of the law. Nor does a combination of both establish appellant’s guilt of the allegation in the information. There must be more. The State had the burden to establish that appellant, either individually or as a party, directly or by circumstantial evidence, “exhibited” the film entitled “Little Yummy” to Hugo, and in doing so he knew the character and content of the film.

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Davis v. State, 658 S.W.2d 572, 1983 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1003 (Tex. 1983).

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