Farris v. State

811 S.W.2d 577, 1990 WL 292869
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 8, 1991
Docket1250-88
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 811 S.W.2d 577 (Farris 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
Farris v. State, 811 S.W.2d 577, 1990 WL 292869 (Tex. 1991).

Opinion

OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

TEAGUE, Judge.

Michael Dewayne Farris, henceforth appellant, was convicted by the jury of the offense of possession of more than four hundred [400] grams of amphetamine, a controlled substance. 1 The jury also assessed appellant’s punishment at fifty years’ confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, and a $20,000 fine.

The facts show the following: On April 24, 1987, after several hours of surveillance, a team of peace officers executed a search warrant at appellant’s home in Hood County. The officers seized various materials used in manufacturing amphetamine and three substances containing amphetamine.

*579 Appellant appealed his conviction to the Second Court of Appeals, which, after holding the evidence was sufficient and the jury charge given by the trial court was not erroneous, affirmed the conviction in a published opinion. See Farris v. State, 759 S.W.2d 518 (Tex.App. — Fort Worth 1988), henceforth Farris. We reverse.

We granted appellant’s petition for discretionary review in order to review the following grounds for review: (1) “The Court of Appeals erred in holding that the evidence is sufficient as a matter of law to support a finding of guilt for the reason that the evidence fails to show that the amount of amphetamine was in excess of 400 grams as alleged in the indictment ... ”, and (2) “The Court of Appeals erred in failing to find that the trial court erred in charging the jury that amphetamine also included ‘all adulterant’s [sic] and dilutant’s [sic]’ when the same was not charged in the indictment.”

Appellant contends that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. Specifically, appellant argues that the evidence did not support the conclusion that he possessed more than four hundred [400] grams of pure amphetamine.

The court of appeals overruled appellant’s sufficiency challenge, holding that “in an indictment for aggravated possession of a controlled substance pursuant to section 4.041, the use of the term ‘controlled substance’ includes adulterants and dilutants”. Farris, supra, at 521. We are unable to agree with the reason that the court of appeals gave in overruling appellant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.

The “sufficiency of the evidence is to be measured against the jury charge, which we interpret to mean the entire charge.” Garrett v. State, 749 S.W.2d 784, 803 (Tex.Cr.App.1986). “Because a verdict of ‘guilty’ necessarily means the jury found evidence of that on which it was authorized to convict, the evidence is measured by the charge. [I]f [the evidence] does not conform to the charge, it is insufficient as a matter of law to support the only verdict authorized.” Benson v. State, 661 S.W.2d 708, 713 (Tex.Cr.App.1983) (Emphasis in original). See also Boozer v. State, 717 S.W.2d 608, 610-611 (Tex.Cr.App.1984), and Ortega v. State, 668 S.W.2d 701 (Tex.Cr.App.1983). 2

Appellant maintains that the jury charge did not authorize the jury to convict unless it was established beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed more than 400 grams of pure amphetamine. He contends that the pertinent application paragraph of the charge did not allow the jury to include adulterants and dilutants into the computation of how much amphetamine he possessed.

We hold that, when read as a whole, and in the light most favorable to the verdict, the pertinent application paragraph of the charge in this cause would allow any rational trier of fact to conclude that in determining the amount of pure amphetamine allegedly possessed by appellant, he could add “adulterants and dilutants.”

This Court held in McGlothlin v. State, 749 S.W.2d 856, 859-860 (Tex.Cr.App.1988), henceforth McGlothlin, also see Engelking v. State, 750 S.W.2d 213 (Tex.Cr.App.1988), henceforth Engelking, that in a conviction for possession of amphetamine of more than 400 grams, the terms adulterant and dilutant are part of a “complex statutory scheme,” and refer to “compounds, substances or solutions added to the controlled substance with the intent to increase the bulk of the product [o]r increase the quantity of the final product ‘without affecting its activity. McGlothlin, 749 S.W.2d, at 859-860 (Tex.Cr.App.1988). In McGloth-lin, we held that since the “record [was] devoid of any evidence pertaining to the reason or purpose for the presence of the water in the solution, [and] it cannot be said that the water was an adulterant or dilutant,” the evidence was insufficient to prove that the appellant possessed more than 400 grams of pure amphetamine. Id. at 861.

*580 Dr. Joel Budge, the State’s chemist, testified on direct examination that State’s Exhibit Number One was a white powder which contained amphetamine. He also testified that State’s Exhibits Two and Three were liquids which both contained amphetamine. According to Dr. Budge’s testimony, the exhibits had a total weight of 916.83 grams, which included both adulterants and dilutants. On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Dr. Budge: “Can you tell this jury under oath exactly how much amphetamine is here in court today?” Dr. Budge responded: “Including its adulterants and dilutants, I can.” Defense Counsel: “Not including its adulterants and dilutants?” Dr. Budge: “No, sir, I cannot.” The prosecuting attorney asked Dr. Budge: “Does it make any difference in reference to your report as to what the dilutants and adulterants are?” Dr. Budge answered: “No, sir.” Defense counsel then objected: “Your Honor, we’re going to object to this as going into a matter of law, he hasn’t plead adulterants and dilu-tants, he’s only plead amphetamines. I think there is a case on this before the Court of Criminal Appeals.” 3 The trial court sustained appellant’s counsel’s objection and then instructed the jury to disregard the preceding question and answer.

In response to the reasoning of the court of appeals and the argument by the State that the use of the term “controlled substance” in the indictment, and presumably the charge, necessarily includes adulterants and dilutants because of the wording of § 4.031(c), we find such an interpretation much too broad. § 4.031(c) does not “define” a “controlled substance”; it describes an offense, and the language, “if ... the amount of the controlled substance ...

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811 S.W.2d 577, 1990 WL 292869, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farris-v-state-texcrimapp-1991.