Easter v. State

867 S.W.2d 929, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 3438, 1993 WL 535164
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 29, 1993
Docket10-93-076-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 867 S.W.2d 929 (Easter 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
Easter v. State, 867 S.W.2d 929, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 3438, 1993 WL 535164 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

VANCE, Justice.

Jerry Paul Easter was convicted by a jury of aggravated sexual assault and assessed twenty years in prison and a $10,000 fine. See TexPenal Code Ann. § 22.021(a)(1)(B) (Vernon 1989). The victim of Easter’s assault was his then eleven-year-old stepdaughter. He appeals on nineteen points. We will affirm the judgment.

Stan and Cecelia Turner were married in 1971 and had four children before they divorced in October 1984. Cecelia married Easter in January 1985. She and the chil *933 dren lived with Easter until November of 1985, when Cecelia and the three youngest children moved to Oregon. 1 Cecelia returned with the children approximately nine months later. She and Easter divorced in the spring of 1987. Allegations arose during this time period that Easter had sexually abused A.T., the youngest daughter — the same child Easter stands accused of assaulting in this case. Easter and Cecelia remarried in September 1988 and were still married at the time of trial.

The State presented evidence that on or about October 12,1990, Easter went into the victim’s room, fondled her breasts, put his mouth on her breasts, and inserted his finger and his tongue into her vagina. On October 13, Stan Turner removed the victim and her brother from Easter’s home and took them to his home in Houston after learning that Easter had hidden a video camera in the bathroom and had made and kept a videotape showing the victim nude, entering and exiting the shower.

The defense attempted to prove that Turner had been abusive to Cecelia during their marriage, that he still “wanted” Cecelia, and that he would use any means necessary to get her back. The defense also attempted to prove that the victim so feared her father that she had fabricated the accusations against Easter.

In his first point, Easter complains that the court erred in denying his motion for mistrial regarding the State’s questioning of a defense witness. The defense called Shirley Farnsworth, who testified that she attended the same church that Turner and Cecelia had attended during their marriage and that Easter and Cecelia presently attend. Farnsworth testified that she had observed bruises on Cecelia during her marriage to Turner and that Turner had admitted to her that he had hit Cecelia. She testified that the children were fearful of Turner and that Turner was manipulative.

On cross-examination, the State asked:

[STATE]: All right. Now, you’re a member of the same church that they were members of?
[FARNSWORTH]: Yes.
[STATE]: And Mr. Easter was kicked out of the church, wasn’t he?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: If the Court please, we would like to go into the Court’s office.

Out of the jury’s presence, Easter moved for a mistrial on the grounds that the question— “Mr. Easter was kicked out of the church, wasn’t he?” — was “totally irrelevant, constitutes a hearsay accusation and a hearsay conviction by somebody, and a hearsay e'on-clusion by somebody. And its prejudicial effect — its probative weight is substantially and far outweighed by its prejudicial effect.” Easter also objected that the question violated the First Amendment and the due process clause of the Constitution. The prosecutor argued that the question was proper to determine if Farnsworth had personal knowledge of whether Easter had admitted to the congregation that he had molested the child. 2 The court denied Easter’s motion for a mistrial and instructed the jury to disregard the prosecutor’s question.

On appeal, Easter complains that the question was an attack on his character, an injection of a hearsay opinion of his character, not relevant, and highly prejudicial. He argues that there could be no greater condemnation of a man’s character than ejection from his church. “Relevant evidence” is that evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Tex.R.CRIM.Evid. 401. Evidence *934 that is irrelevant is inadmissible. Id. 402. Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Id. 403.

Generally, the “error in asking an improper question ‘may be cured or rendered harmless by its withdrawal or an instruction to disregard.’ ” Huffman v. State, 746 S.W.2d 212, 218 (Tex.Crim.App.1988) (quoting Carter v. State, 614 S.W.2d 821, 824 (Tex.Crim.App.1981)). The exception occurs in extreme cases where the question is clearly calculated to inflame the minds of the jury and is of such a character as to suggest the impossibility of withdrawing the impression produced. Id.

The jury could have construed the question two ways: first, the church had kicked Easter out for the alleged acts or, second, the church had kicked him out because of other extraneous acts which were not before the jury. The court, in sustaining the objection to the question, determined that the question was improper. The question before us then is whether the jury was so affected by the question that they were unable to disregard it in their deliberations as instructed. In light of all the evidence that was heard, we believe that the asking of this single, unanswered question did not so affect the jury. See id. We overrule point one.

Easter’s second point complains that the court erred in denying his motion for mistrial after the prosecutor asked Turner whether anyone had offered him money to drop the charges. During cross-examination of Turner, Easter repeatedly asked questions implying that Turner had spoken with lawyers about “get[ting] some money out of this.” Easter insinuated that Turner’s motive was to profit by filing suit for civil damages. Immediately following Easter’s questions, the State asked on redirect:

[STATE]: Mr. Turner, has anybody offered you any money to drop this case, to drop these charges?
[TURNER]: Yes.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Now, if the Court please, we would like to go in the Court’s chambers.

In chambers, Easter moved for a mistrial on the grounds that there was no proof that Easter himself had directed anyone to contact Turner about dropping the charges. The prosecutor responded that, because the defense had repeatedly implied that Turner’s motive was money, it should be allowed to ask the question. Outside the jury’s presence, Turner testified that Cecelia had approached him twice offering money to “make it go away” and that the Bishop of Cecelia’s and Easter’s church had called, urging him to settle the matter “for a combination of probation and money.” The court did not allow Turner to testify to these offers before the jury and denied Easter’s motion for mistrial. The court instructed the jury to disregard the answer.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
867 S.W.2d 929, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 3438, 1993 WL 535164, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/easter-v-state-texapp-1993.