COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH
NO. 02-11-00037-CR
EUGENE HARRIS TAYLOR APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE
----------
FROM CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT NO. 1 OF TARRANT COUNTY
MEMORANDUM OPINION1
A jury convicted Appellant Eugene Harris Taylor of indecency with a child
by contact and assessed his punishment at eight years’ confinement, probated.
The trial court sentenced him accordingly, setting the probationary period at ten
years.
Appellant brings three points on appeal, arguing that the trial court erred by
improperly limiting his cross-examination of the complainant and by permitting a
1 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4. detective to testify concerning the credibility of the complainant. Because the
trial court did not reversibly err, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
Facts
Appellant was charged by indictment with one count of indecency with a
child. At the time of the offense, the complainant, V.W., was a freshman in high
school. Appellant was a bus driver for the school district. Appellant told V.W.
that he would be driving one of the buses to an upcoming football game and
offered to give her a ride.
On the day of the game, V.W. met Appellant at the school. Appellant was
scheduled to drive an equipment truck for the band to the football game. V.W.
rode with him. On the drive, Appellant told V.W. that she had nice breasts and
asked her what she thought of dating older men. He also poked her left breast.
V.W. texted A.R., her friend and former girlfriend, during the drive and told her
what was happening. When Appellant and V.W. arrived at the game, Appellant
put his hand inside her shirt and bra, grabbed one breast, and then touched the
other one before she moved.
After Appellant got out of the truck, V.W. called A.R. V.W. then left the
truck and found A.R. V.W. told A.R. that Appellant had touched her breasts.
A.R. told her brother’s then girlfriend, Mindy, what V.W. had told her and
arranged for Mindy to give V.W. a ride home.
At trial, Appellant’s defense counsel asked V.W. if Mindy was ―induced or
persuaded‖ to give her a ride because of her claim that Appellant had fondled her
2 and whether Mindy was aware of V.W.’s claims. The State objected twice that
the question called for speculation, and the trial court sustained the objections.
Appellant’s defense counsel also attempted to cross-examine V.W. about
whether she was ―substantially depressed‖ over her breakup with A.R. when she
made the allegations. The questioning was part of his defense strategy to
establish that V.W. had made up the allegations to elicit sympathy from A.R. The
trial court sustained the State’s objection to that line of questioning on grounds of
relevance.
The State asked Kevin Rogers of the Azle Police Department, who had
investigated V.W.’s allegations, whether ―at any time since then, [he had] had
any concerns about the case that [he] filed?‖ Appellant made a timely objection,
and the trial court sustained the objection. The State then asked Rogers whether
he had any concerns whether the claim might be made up. Appellant again
objected. The trial court initially sustained the objection, but, after the State
argued that it was asking for the officer’s opinion about his investigation based on
his training and experience, the trial court allowed the question. The State then
asked Rogers, ―[B]ased on your training and experience and based on the
entirety of your investigation, did you have any concerns that this was made up?‖
Rogers answered, ―No.‖
3 Cross-examination
In his first two points, Appellant argues that the trial court reversibly erred
by disallowing the cross-examination of V.W. regarding her motive and state of
mind in telling A.R. that he had fondled her. The State argues that Appellant
failed to preserve his constitutional complaints for review because he raised no
constitutional complaints to the trial court. We agree.2 We nevertheless address
his bare evidentiary complaints.
Defense counsel had asked V.W. whether Mindy was aware of any of the
abuse allegations. When the State’s objection to speculation was sustained,
defense counsel then asked whether V.W. had discussed any of the
―inappropriate activities‖ with Mindy. Her answer was ―No.‖ When the State later
asked A.R. on direct examination whether the fondling allegations had been used
to persuade Mindy to give V.W. a ride home from the game, A.R. admitted that
she had told Mindy ―the gist of it,‖ ―that [V.W.] got sexually molested because
that’s what [V.W.] told her . . . .‖
We hold that the trial court did not err by sustaining the State’s objections
to defense counsel’s questions posed to V.W. regarding Mindy as those
complained-of questions were phrased because any awareness that Mindy had
2 See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a); Mendez v. State, 138 S.W.3d 334, 342 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004); see also Anderson v. State, 301 S.W.3d 276, 279 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009).
4 of the abuse allegations was beyond V.W.’s personal knowledge.3 When
defense counsel limited his question to whether V.W. had discussed the activities
with Mindy, that question called for information within V.W.’s personal knowledge
and was properly allowed. Additionally, the evidence that Appellant sought to put
before the jury came in during the testimony of A.R., so even if the trial court had
erred, such error would have been harmless.4 We overrule Appellant’s first point.
As for the questions regarding V.W.’s state of mind, defense counsel made
a bill of exceptions to clarify the evidence that he was eliciting and his purpose
for eliciting it. He showed that V.W. and A.R. had been in a romantic relationship
that had fallen upon rocky ground. V.W. had posted messages on her MySpace
page stating that she was horribly depressed by her loss of A.R. Although V.W.
was vague about the time period during which she had posted this personal
information about her state of mind, she, nevertheless, had been prolific in her
expressions of pain, all of which had been admitted as part of the bill.
Appellant’s theory was that V.W. concocted the story of being fondled in an
attempt to regain A.R.’s affections. But after making his offer of proof, defense
counsel did not seek to admit the testimony he had elicited. He acquiesced in
the trial court’s ruling. In order to preserve Appellant’s complaint for appellate
3 See Tex. R. Evid. 602; Kelly v. State, 321 S.W.3d 583, 598 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.). 4 See Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(b); Solomon v. State, 49 S.W.3d 356, 365 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001); Johnson v. State, 967 S.W.2d 410, 417 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); King v. State, 953 S.W.2d 266, 271 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (citing Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 776, 66 S. Ct. 1239, 1253 (1946)).
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH
NO. 02-11-00037-CR
EUGENE HARRIS TAYLOR APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE
----------
FROM CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT NO. 1 OF TARRANT COUNTY
MEMORANDUM OPINION1
A jury convicted Appellant Eugene Harris Taylor of indecency with a child
by contact and assessed his punishment at eight years’ confinement, probated.
The trial court sentenced him accordingly, setting the probationary period at ten
years.
Appellant brings three points on appeal, arguing that the trial court erred by
improperly limiting his cross-examination of the complainant and by permitting a
1 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4. detective to testify concerning the credibility of the complainant. Because the
trial court did not reversibly err, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
Facts
Appellant was charged by indictment with one count of indecency with a
child. At the time of the offense, the complainant, V.W., was a freshman in high
school. Appellant was a bus driver for the school district. Appellant told V.W.
that he would be driving one of the buses to an upcoming football game and
offered to give her a ride.
On the day of the game, V.W. met Appellant at the school. Appellant was
scheduled to drive an equipment truck for the band to the football game. V.W.
rode with him. On the drive, Appellant told V.W. that she had nice breasts and
asked her what she thought of dating older men. He also poked her left breast.
V.W. texted A.R., her friend and former girlfriend, during the drive and told her
what was happening. When Appellant and V.W. arrived at the game, Appellant
put his hand inside her shirt and bra, grabbed one breast, and then touched the
other one before she moved.
After Appellant got out of the truck, V.W. called A.R. V.W. then left the
truck and found A.R. V.W. told A.R. that Appellant had touched her breasts.
A.R. told her brother’s then girlfriend, Mindy, what V.W. had told her and
arranged for Mindy to give V.W. a ride home.
At trial, Appellant’s defense counsel asked V.W. if Mindy was ―induced or
persuaded‖ to give her a ride because of her claim that Appellant had fondled her
2 and whether Mindy was aware of V.W.’s claims. The State objected twice that
the question called for speculation, and the trial court sustained the objections.
Appellant’s defense counsel also attempted to cross-examine V.W. about
whether she was ―substantially depressed‖ over her breakup with A.R. when she
made the allegations. The questioning was part of his defense strategy to
establish that V.W. had made up the allegations to elicit sympathy from A.R. The
trial court sustained the State’s objection to that line of questioning on grounds of
relevance.
The State asked Kevin Rogers of the Azle Police Department, who had
investigated V.W.’s allegations, whether ―at any time since then, [he had] had
any concerns about the case that [he] filed?‖ Appellant made a timely objection,
and the trial court sustained the objection. The State then asked Rogers whether
he had any concerns whether the claim might be made up. Appellant again
objected. The trial court initially sustained the objection, but, after the State
argued that it was asking for the officer’s opinion about his investigation based on
his training and experience, the trial court allowed the question. The State then
asked Rogers, ―[B]ased on your training and experience and based on the
entirety of your investigation, did you have any concerns that this was made up?‖
Rogers answered, ―No.‖
3 Cross-examination
In his first two points, Appellant argues that the trial court reversibly erred
by disallowing the cross-examination of V.W. regarding her motive and state of
mind in telling A.R. that he had fondled her. The State argues that Appellant
failed to preserve his constitutional complaints for review because he raised no
constitutional complaints to the trial court. We agree.2 We nevertheless address
his bare evidentiary complaints.
Defense counsel had asked V.W. whether Mindy was aware of any of the
abuse allegations. When the State’s objection to speculation was sustained,
defense counsel then asked whether V.W. had discussed any of the
―inappropriate activities‖ with Mindy. Her answer was ―No.‖ When the State later
asked A.R. on direct examination whether the fondling allegations had been used
to persuade Mindy to give V.W. a ride home from the game, A.R. admitted that
she had told Mindy ―the gist of it,‖ ―that [V.W.] got sexually molested because
that’s what [V.W.] told her . . . .‖
We hold that the trial court did not err by sustaining the State’s objections
to defense counsel’s questions posed to V.W. regarding Mindy as those
complained-of questions were phrased because any awareness that Mindy had
2 See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a); Mendez v. State, 138 S.W.3d 334, 342 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004); see also Anderson v. State, 301 S.W.3d 276, 279 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009).
4 of the abuse allegations was beyond V.W.’s personal knowledge.3 When
defense counsel limited his question to whether V.W. had discussed the activities
with Mindy, that question called for information within V.W.’s personal knowledge
and was properly allowed. Additionally, the evidence that Appellant sought to put
before the jury came in during the testimony of A.R., so even if the trial court had
erred, such error would have been harmless.4 We overrule Appellant’s first point.
As for the questions regarding V.W.’s state of mind, defense counsel made
a bill of exceptions to clarify the evidence that he was eliciting and his purpose
for eliciting it. He showed that V.W. and A.R. had been in a romantic relationship
that had fallen upon rocky ground. V.W. had posted messages on her MySpace
page stating that she was horribly depressed by her loss of A.R. Although V.W.
was vague about the time period during which she had posted this personal
information about her state of mind, she, nevertheless, had been prolific in her
expressions of pain, all of which had been admitted as part of the bill.
Appellant’s theory was that V.W. concocted the story of being fondled in an
attempt to regain A.R.’s affections. But after making his offer of proof, defense
counsel did not seek to admit the testimony he had elicited. He acquiesced in
the trial court’s ruling. In order to preserve Appellant’s complaint for appellate
3 See Tex. R. Evid. 602; Kelly v. State, 321 S.W.3d 583, 598 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.). 4 See Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(b); Solomon v. State, 49 S.W.3d 356, 365 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001); Johnson v. State, 967 S.W.2d 410, 417 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); King v. State, 953 S.W.2d 266, 271 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (citing Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 776, 66 S. Ct. 1239, 1253 (1946)).
5 review, he was required to make the trial court aware of his complaint. 5 As the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has explained,
Rule of Evidence 103(a)(2) limits the scope of issues which may be appealed when evidence is limited or excluded. Error may not be predicated upon a ruling which . . . excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected, and . . . the substance of the evidence was made known to the court by offer, or was apparent from the context within which questions were asked. The offer of proof may be in question-and-answer form or in the form of a concise statement by counsel. An offer of proof to be accomplished by counsel’s concise statement must include a reasonably specific summary of the evidence offered and must state the relevance of the evidence unless the relevance is apparent, so that the court can determine whether the evidence is relevant and admissible. The primary purpose of the offer of proof is to enable an appellate court to determine whether the exclusion was erroneous and harmful. A secondary purpose is to permit the trial judge to reconsider his ruling in light of the actual evidence.
This court has recognized a distinction between the general rule in Rule 103(a)(2) and the case in which the defendant is not permitted to question a State’s witness about matters that might affect the witness’s credibility.
In the latter case, the defendant need not show what his cross-examination of the witness would have affirmatively established; he must merely establish what general subject matter he desired to examine the witness about during his cross- examination and, if challenged, show on the record why such should be admitted into evidence. In such a case the trial court’s ruling has prevented a defendant from questioning a State’s witness about subject matters which affect the witness’s credibility, that is, matters which might show malice, ill feeling, ill will, bias, prejudice, or animus.6
5 See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a)(1), (2), 33.2(a); Lovill v. State, 319 S.W.3d 687, 691–92 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009); Mendez, 138 S.W.3d at 341. 6 Holmes v. State, 323 S.W.3d 163, 168 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (emphasis added) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
6 Common sense suggests that if a party makes an offer of proof in an
attempt to convince a trial court that a ruling is erroneous or to persuade a trial
court to reconsider the ruling in light of the actual evidence, the party must, in
addition to showing the trial court what the actual testimony would be, explain
why the ruling is erroneous or, at a minimum, ask the trial court to reconsider the
ruling after making the offer of proof. This requirement is based on the theory of
party responsibility explained in Reyna v. State.7 Because Appellant neither
explained why the trial court’s ruling was erroneous nor asked the trial court to
reconsider the ruling, he has failed to preserve his complaint for appellate review.
We overrule Appellant’s first and second points.
Opinion of Credibility
In his third point, Appellant argues that the trial court erred by permitting a
detective to testify that he had no concerns that the case was made up. While
the investigating detective, Rogers, was testifying, the State asked him whether
he had any concerns that the complainant’s accusations were made up. The
following exchange took place:
Q Okay. And at any time since then, have you had any concerns about the case that you filed?
[TRIAL COUNSEL]: Objection, improper opinion, not relevant whether the officer has concerns.
THE COURT: Sustained.
7 168 S.W.3d 173, 177 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
7 [TRIAL COUNSEL]: Thank you.
Q . . . Did you have any concerns—through your investigation, did you have any concerns about whether or not you didn’t have an offense or that this might be made up?
[TRIAL COUNSEL]: Same objection, Your Honor.
[PROSECUTOR]: May I respond, Judge?
THE COURT: Yes.
[PROSECUTOR]: I’m just asking—confining it to his investigation, if he ever had during his investigation any concerns about it being made up. I’d ask that I be allowed to ask that question.
[TRIAL COUNSEL]: Your Honor, that’s an improper opinion. It’s not relevant. It’s evading [sic] province of the [j]ury and—
[PROSECUTOR]: I would say that it was based on his training and experience. It’s an opinion about his investigation.
[TRIAL COUNSEL]: Well, in that vein, it’s given greater emphasis although there is no expertise in that area or opinions of the validity or invalidity, no expertise in matters as juries.
THE COURT: I’m going to allow the question.
Q . . . Detective, based on your training and experience and based on the entirety of your investigation, did you have any concerns that this was made up?
A No, sir.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has held that ―Rule 702 does not
permit an expert to give an opinion that the complainant or class of persons to
8 which the complainant belongs is truthful.‖8 The State came very close to and
indeed, may have nudged a toe across the line in asking Rogers whether, in his
expert opinion, he had any concern about ―it being made up.‖ But the State did
not ask any further questions about Rogers’s opinions of the veracity of V.W.’s
allegations. And, in any event, no further mention of Rogers’s opinion was made,
either in questioning or in final argument. Even if we were to hold that the trial
court erred by allowing the State to inquire whether Rogers ever had the feeling
that ―it‖ or ―this‖ was made up, we can find nothing in the record to support a
conclusion that this testimony affected Appellant’s substantive rights in either
stage of the trial.9 We overrule Appellant’s third point.
Conclusion
Having overruled Appellant’s three points on appeal, we affirm the trial
court’s judgment.
LEE ANN DAUPHINOT JUSTICE
PANEL: LIVINGSTON, C.J.; DAUPHINOT and GABRIEL, JJ.
DO NOT PUBLISH Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)
DELIVERED: March 1, 2012
8 Yount v. State, 872 S.W.2d 706, 712 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). 9 See Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(b); Solomon, 49 S.W.3d at 365; Johnson, 967 S.W.2d at 417; King, 953 S.W.2d at 271.