Ex parte Allen-Pieroni

524 S.W.3d 252, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2048, 2016 WL 762724
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 24, 2016
DocketNo. 10-15-00431-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 524 S.W.3d 252 (Ex parte Allen-Pieroni) 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
Ex parte Allen-Pieroni, 524 S.W.3d 252, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2048, 2016 WL 762724 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

REX D. DAVIS, Justice

Appellant Bonnie Allen-Pieroni (Bonnie) appeals the trial court’s denial of her petition for writ of habeas corpus to amend bond conditions. In her petition, Bonnie challenged the trial court’s imposition of bond conditions requiring that she be subject to electronic monitoring and to home confinement. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief.

Asserting seven issues, Bonnie complains that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing the bond conditions and that the home-confinement condition unreasonably infringes on several constitutional rights.

Background

Bonnie was arrested for the offenses of possession of a weapon in a prohibited [254]*254place, a third-degree felony, and evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor, each arising out of the same incident of her allegedly carrying a pistol in her purse while going through the metal detector at the Johnson County courthouse. Despite allegedly attempting to flee when the pistol was noticed, she was immediately arrested and;taken to the Johnson County Jail and held without bond until a psychological evaluation of her was done. The results of the evaluation showed that Bonnie did not represent a threat to herself or othérs.

After receiving the results of the psychological evaluation, the trial court set bail at $5,000 on the weapon charge and at $1,500 on the evading-arrest charge; it further imposed bond conditions that Bonnie not be released until an electronic-monitoring device was attached to her ankle and that she be confined to. her home at all times. Another condition, which Bonnie does not challenge, is that she not have any weapons.

In her habeas petition and supporting brief, Bonnie asserted that the bond conditions of home confinement and electronic monitoring were unreasonable and oppressive and violated her statutory and constitutional rights. She requested that the bond conditions be deleted altogether or, alternatively, that the trial court amend the bond conditions to allow her to travel to her attorney’s office as needed to prepare her defense, to work as a real-estate agent, to attend church services, and to leave her home when in the company of her husband, a former peace officer.

At the evidentiary hearing on her habe-as petition, Bonnie presented several witnesses from all aspects of her life: her family, her church, her employment, her friends, and her neighbor. Collectively, these witnesses testified that Bonnie is not a flight risk and that she is not a threat to others. She also presented evidence that the trial court has not imposed the bond conditions of electronic monitoring and home confinement on any other defendant in those cases currently ori the court’s docket, including' those involving serious, violent offense's." Thé trial, court even stated on the record that' it has imposed this conditibn less than five'times in seventeen years. An employee from the company responsible for 'installing and monitoring the’GPS monitor on Bonnie testified that electronic monitoring coupled with “24/7” house arrest is typically reserved for individuals charged with serious offenses like murder or sexual assault. The State did not present any witnesses or exhibits.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Bonnie argued for the removal of the bond conditions of electronic monitoring arid home confinement or, alternatively, that the electronic monitoring, remain a condition but that she be placed on a curfew. In denying relief, the trial court stated that Bonnie was in an ongoing custody dispute with her ex-husband and father to her three minor'"children in the same trial court. The trial court referred to a prior incident in which Borinie allegedly exhibited a gun to her ex-husband while picking up her children from him and a subsequent order from the trial court for both parents to turn over to their attorneys any weapons that each parent may have. The trial court explained that its decision to order these bond conditions and to not grant habeas relief was based on these events.

Standard of Review and Applicable Law

The primary purpose of pretrial bail is to secure the defendant’s attendance at trial, and the power to require bail, including the power to set conditions to bail, should not be used as an instrument of oppression. Ex parte Anunobi 278 S.W.3d 425, 427 (Tex.App.—San Antonio [255]*2552008, no pet.) (citing Ex parte Ivey, 594 S.W.2d 98, 99 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1980)). Article 17.15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides a framework for setting a defendant’s bail:

1. The bail shall be sufficiently high to give reasonable assurance that the undertaking will be complied with,
2. The power to require bail is not to be so used as to make it an instrument of oppression.
3. The nature of the offense and the circumstances under which it was committed are to be considered.
4. The ability to make bail is to be regarded, and proof may be taken upon -this point.
5. The future safety of a victim of the alleged offense and the community shall be considered. ..

Tex.Code Crim. Proc; Ann. art: 17.15 (West 2015).

Factors to be considered in applying the above framework include the possible length of sentence for the.alleged'offense; the nature and any aggravating factors of the offense; the applicant’s employment record, family and community ties, and length of residence in the jurisdiction; the applicant’s conformity with previous bond conditions; and the applicant’s prior criminal record. Ex parte Rubac, 611 S.W.2d 848, 849 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1981)); Anunobi, 278 S.W.3d at 427.

To secure a defendant’s attendance at trial, a magistrate may impose any reasonable bond condition related to the safety of a victim of the alleged offense or to.the safety of the community. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 17.40(a) (West 2015). One such statutorily permitted condition is “home confinement and electronic monitoring.” Id. art. 17.44 (West 2015). Bond conditions, however, must not unreasonably impinge on an. individual’s constitutional . rights. Ex parte Anderer, 61 S.W.3d 398, 402 (Tex.Crim.App.2001). Therefore, courts must be mindful that one of the purposes of release on bail pending trial is to prevent the infliction of punishment before conviction. Id. at 405. “The trial court’s discretion to set the conditions of bail is not .,. unlimited. A condition of pretrial bail is judged by three criteria: it must be reasonable; it must be to. secure the defendant’s presence at trial; and it must be related to the safety of the alleged victim or the community.” Anunobi 278 S.W.3d at 427 (citing Anderer, 61 S.W.3d at 401-02).

We review a trial court’s imposition .of bond conditions for an abuse of discretion. Id. at 428 (citing Rubac, 611 S.W.2d at 850). The appellant bears the burden of showing that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing the specific condition. Id. (citing Rubac, 611 S.W.2d at 849). “In reviewing .

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
524 S.W.3d 252, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2048, 2016 WL 762724, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ex-parte-allen-pieroni-texapp-2016.