Garcia, Jose Carmen Jr.

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 10, 2015·No. PD-0359-15·Published

Opinion

35«M5 ORIGINAL NO. PD-

RECEIVED IN JUN m IBIS IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS Ab@SAe@§fi,Oi@rS< OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

JOSE CARMEN GARCIA, JR., FILED \H petitioner COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS JUN 10 22j THE STATE OF TEXAS, RESPONDENT Abel Acosta, Cierk

PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

from the 10th Court of Appeals, Cause No. 10-14-00028-CR; Aff'd March 5, 2015; from the 19th District Court Mclennan Co., Texas, Cause No. 2012-2360-Cl, convicted January 16, 2014

Jose Carmen Garcia, Jr., Pro Se Petitioner TDCJ# 1910011 McConnell Unit 3001 S. Emily Dr. Beeville, Texas 78102-8583 361.362.2300 (ph.) 361.362.3011 (fax) TABLE OF CONTENTS

INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

STATEMENT OF PROCEDURAL HISTORY

GROUNDS FOR REVIEW

Due Process - A. The indictment failed to notify with specific certainty the charges against defendant using erroneous definitions; B. In an abuse of discretion, the trial court effectively defined the "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" standard during voir dire, a critical stage in the proceedings; C. In an attempt to bolster the State's case, the State often & repeatedly lead witness testimony on direct examination equivalent to prosecutorial misconduct, inflaming the minds of the jurors; D..The jury's determination of the facts was unreasonable denying Defendnat a fair & impartial trial environment.

ARGUMENT

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

APPENDIX INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION TEXAS CONSTITUTION 5th Amendment 2 §19 14th Amendment 2

United States Cases

106 S.Ct. 3325 (19B6) 5

Brooks v. Kemp 762 F.3d 1383 (11th Cir. 1985) 5 Irvin v. Doud 81 S.Ct. 1639 (1961) 5 Ross v. Oklahoma 108 S.Ct. 2273 (198B) 5 Spivey v. Head 207 F.3d 1263 (11th Cir. 2000) k

Texas Cases

Fisher v State S.U.2d 29B (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) 6 Narvais v. State 840 S.U.2d 415 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992)6 Olivas v. State 202 S.U.3d 137 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) 2 Sanchez v. State 376 S.U.3d 767 (Tex. Crim. App.2012) 1 Stuhler v. State 218 S.U.3d 706 (Tex. Crim. App.2007) 2

ii, STATEMENT OF THE CASE

A jury convicted Dose Carmen Garcia, Jr. of indecency uith a child by con

tact. (CR 57), (4 RR 1B5-1B6). See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 21.11(a)(1) (Uest 2011). Garcia pleaded "true" to an enhancement allegation. (4 RR 187-BB). The trial court, the Honorable Ralph T. Strother, presiding judge of the 19th District Court of Mclennan County, imposed a mandatory life sentence. (CR 50-60), (4 RR 190).

Oral argument is not required nor requested as it would not aid in the Court's decision during this appeal.

STATEMENT^* PROCEDURAL HISTORY Garcia plead not guilty to the charges and proceeded to trial on the 16th day of January, 2014 in the 19th Judicial District Court of McLennan Co., Texas. A jury found Garcia guilty of the charge of indecency with a child by contact on that same day. Garcia was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice - Instutional Division.

Garcia timely appealed to the 10th Court of Appeals at Waco, Texas. A brief was timely filed by appointed counsel, E. Allan Bennett, SB0T# 02140700. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and filed it's Memorandum Opinion on March 5, 2015. (Copy provided in the appendix). Garcia timely filed for extension of time to file his petition for disc retionary review. His petition is due before this Court on or before June 5, 2015. He files this petition.

As in his direct appeal, Garcia complains of a Due Process violation, however it is argued in a different light as guaranteed by the United States & Texas Constitutions. (U.S. Const. Amend. 5, 6, & 14; Tex. Const. §13). A. The indictment failed to notify with specific certainty the charges against defendant using erroneous definitions;

B. In an abuse of discretion, the trial court effectively defined the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard during voir dire, a critical stage in the proceedings;

in. C. In an attempt to bolster the State's case, the State often & repeatedly lead witness testimony on direct examination equi valent to prosecutorial misconduct, inflaming the minds of the jurors;

D. The jury's determination of the facts was unreasonable denying Defendant a fair & impartial trial environment.

ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES

The petitioner, Jose Carmen Garcia, Jr. (Garcia), respectfully presents

to this Honorable Court his argument and cited authorities for the above Due

Process violations which affected the outcome of the trial. Garcia would show

the following:

I.

Petitioner's (Garcia) claim is one of Due Process, the fundamental bed

rock of our juris prudence system. Here Garcia will show within the record

before the Court that he was denied Due Process when the following errors

were commited against his guaranteed constitutional protections.

Garcia further alleges these Due Process violations appearing in the

record, 1) were not harmless; 2) rendered the judgment against him void. A

void judgment may be attacked at any time, see

II.

Denial of Due Process-

A. The indictment failed to notify with specific certainty the charges agains him using erroneous definitions.

As argued onmappeal, the indictment and jury charge erroneously defined

the term "child". See Garcias App. Brief, pp. 6, 1B, 19). Garcia alleges if the

term was erroneous in the jury charge it was also erroneous in the charging

instrument, (i.e. the indictment or information) thusly depriving him of prop

er notice. Since the charge nor indictment were challenged prior to nor during

the proceedings Garcia must show egregious harm. Sanchez 376 S.W.3d 767, 775

(Tex. Crim. App. 2012). The standard of review is for the reviewing Court to 1 . consider the entire jury charge, the state of the evidence, the final argum

ents of the parties, and any other relevant information revealed by the rec

ord of the trial as a whole. Olivas 202 S.U.3d 137, 144 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).

Error is egregiously harmful if it affects the vary basis of the case,

deprives the defendnat of a valuable right, or vitally affects a defensive

theory. Stuhler 218 S.W.3d 706, 719 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007), Sanchez 209 S.W.3d

117, 121 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).

Garcia claims that here the valuable right is one that the U.S. Constit

ution and the Texas Constitution specifically protect, Due Process (5th & 14th

Amends.) and Due Course of Law (§19). In reviewing this issue the Court of

Appeals notes specifically in its opinion (No. 10-14-00028-CR, 10th C0A Mem.

Op. @ p. 5), "The definitional section of the charge contained surplusage.3"

At footnote 3 it is added, " Interestingly, had the charge's definition of

"child" been used in the application section, the State's burden would have

been heightened."

It is easily debatable as to whether surplusage can be confusing to those

trained in the art of law, however, when posed to laymen, peers of the accused

it is an almost certainty to cause confusion and/or uncertainty in the minds

of jurors. It is arguable as to whether this surplusage is a strategic add-on

in an attempt to eviscerate any rational thought process a juror may retain

prior to deliberations. This would without a doubt compound any confusing,

many times conflicting instructions & definitions submitted to the jury for

their considerations.

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