Etheridge v. State

903 S.W.2d 1, 1994 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 83, 1994 WL 273325
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 22, 1994
Docket71189
StatusPublished
Cited by304 cases

This text of 903 S.W.2d 1 (Etheridge v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Etheridge v. State, 903 S.W.2d 1, 1994 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 83, 1994 WL 273325 (Tex. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

MALONEY, Judge.

A jury convicted appellant of capital murder for intentionally causing the death of an individual during the course of either robbery, aggravated sexual assault, or kidnapping. Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 19.03(a)(2) (Vernon 1990). The jury affirmatively answered the submitted issues prescribed by article 37.071(b) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the trial court assessed punishment at death. Tex.Code Crim.Proc. Ann. art. 37.071(e) (Vernon 1990). Appeal to this Court was automatic. Id. art. 37.071(h). Appellant raises twenty-six points of error. 1 We will affirm.

*6 I. PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS

In his first point of error, appellant contends the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for change of venue which alleged he could not receive a fair trial in Brazoria County due to extensive pretrial publicity. Tex.Code Crim.Proe.Ann. art. 31.03(a)(1). At a pretrial hearing on the motion, appellant presented two Brazoria County residents who testified that appellant could not receive a fair trial in that county, including appellant’s sister-in-law who further testified that she was fired from her job because of her relationship to appellant. The State presented three Brazoria County residents who testified that appellant could receive a fair trial in that county. Appellant did not produce any testimony from television, radio, or newspaper employees regarding media coverage on the instant offense, nor did he produce any transcripts of television or radio broadcasts or any newspaper clippings regarding media coverage on the instant offense.

Appellant points to twenty-three venire-persons who had heard about the crime prior to being called for jury service; seven of the twenty-three served on the jury. However, only one of those seven stated that she had initially formed an opinion as to appellant’s guilt, and she further stated that she no longer maintained her original opinion as to appellant’s guilt and could go forward with the presumption of innocence. The trial court ruled there did not exist so great a prejudice against appellant that he could not receive a fair and impartial trial.

In deciding whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying a motion to change venue, we determine whether there existed such a prejudice in the community that the likelihood that the defendant received a fair trial by an impartial jury is doubtful. Beets v. State, 767 S.W.2d 711, 742 (Tex.Crim.App.1987) (op. on reh’g), cert. denied, 492 U.S. 912, 109 S.Ct. 3272, 106 L.Ed.2d 579 (1989); see also Phillips v. State, 701 S.W.2d 875 (Tex.Crim.App.1985), cert. denied, 477 U.S. 909, 106 S.Ct. 3285, 91 L.Ed.2d 574 (1986).

Extensive knowledge in the community of either the crime or the defendant, without more, is insufficient to render a trial unconstitutional. Faulder v. State, 745 S.W.2d 327, 339 (Tex.Crim.App.1987). Appellant “must ordinarily demonstrate an actual, identifiable prejudice attributable to that publicity on the part of members of his jury.” Beets, 767 S.W.2d at 743; see Faulder. Publicity about the case must be pervasive, prejudicial and inflammatory. Beets, 767 S.W.2d at 743; Phillips, 701 S.W.2d at 879; Demouchette v. State, 591 S.W.2d 488, 490 (Tex.Crim.App.1979), cert. denied, 453 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 3146, 69 L.Ed.2d 996 (1981). “The question to be asked is whether the publicity surrounding the case has permeated the community to such an extent that the prospective jurors’ initial opinions cannot be set aside.” Beets, 767 S.W.2d at 744.

While appellant has shown that several people had heard about the occurrence and existence of the crime, he has not sufficiently shown how this knowledge prejudiced his case. Appellant did not establish that whatever publicity existed permeated the community to such an extent that the venirepersons’ initial opinions, if any, could not be set aside. Beets, 767 S.W.2d at 743. Thus, we cannot say the trial court abused its discretion in denying appellant’s motion to change venue. Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

In his second point of error, appellant contends that the trial court committed reversible error when it denied him access to prior jury service information maintained by the District Attorney. See Tex.Code Crim.Proc. Ann. art. 39.14. Appellant filed a pretrial motion requesting discovery of a “jury list” maintained by the District Attorney’s office which contained:

the name of every juror who has been selected to serve on a jury in Brazoria County, how they voted in their particular case, the result and outcome of the particular case in which they sat as jurors, and other significant and valuable information *7 concerning these Brazoria County residents. ...

Appellant’s motion further asserted that “[b]ecause of the long-term existence and nature of this Jury List, it has become and is now a public record....”

At a hearing on the motion, the State claimed the requested records did not reveal how individual jurors voted in a particular case, but only the cause number, the charged offense, and the jury verdict. The State contended that such information was not discoverable because it constituted the State’s work product. The trial court agreed, adding that the information was also not subject to discovery under the Open Records Act. Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 6252-17a, repealed by Act of May 22,1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 46(1), 1993 Tex.Gen.Laws 998 (effective September 1, 1993).

We have previously held that “[t]he State has no obligation to furnish counsel for the accused with information he has in regard to prospective jurors.” Martin v. State, 577 S.W.2d 490, 491 (Tex.Crim.App.1979). Further, if appellant believed that the information should be public, section eight of the Open Records Act provided a method to challenge the trial court’s ruling.

At the time of trial, section seven provided, in part, that if a governmental body received a written request for information it considered exempt from the Open Records Act, but there has not been a determination to that effect, the governmental body must request an attorney general decision on the matter, otherwise the information is presumed to be public. Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 6252-17a § 7(a). A district attorney’s office is a governmental body within the meaning of the Open Records Act. Op.Tex. Att’y Gen. No. JM-266 (1984). Section eight provided, in part, that if the governmental body refused to request an attorney general’s decision on the matter, the person requesting the information could seek a writ of mandamus compelling the governmental body to make the information public. Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 6252-17a § 8(a).

In the instant case, the prosecution did not seek an attorney general’s opinion under seetion seven of the Act, and appellant did not seek mandamus under section eight. See Espinoza v. State,

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Bluebook (online)
903 S.W.2d 1, 1994 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 83, 1994 WL 273325, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/etheridge-v-state-texcrimapp-1994.