Garcia v. State

75 S.W.3d 493, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 612, 2002 WL 112428
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 30, 2002
DocketNo. 04-99-00513-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 75 S.W.3d 493 (Garcia v. State) 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
Garcia v. State, 75 S.W.3d 493, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 612, 2002 WL 112428 (Tex. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Opinion by

PHIL HARDBERGER, Chief Justice.

Ovidio Garcia (“Garcia”) pled guilty before a jury to capital murder, and the jury assessed his punishment at life imprisonment. Based on the arguments made in Garcia’s brief, the following issues are presented for our review: (1) the evidence was legally and factually insufficient because the jury found Garcia guilty of capital murder “as charged in the indictment;” (2) the trial court erred in admitting the third special issue on mitigating circumstances because it was not effective for any offense committed before September 1, 1991; (3) the record is incomplete; (4) the trial court abused its discretion in denying Garcia’s motion for new trial; (5) the trial court erred in granting a change of venue; and (6) Garcia’s plea was involuntary due to the trial court’s involvement in the plea negotiations. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

JURISDICTION

The State contends that we do not have jurisdiction to consider this appeal under rule 25.2(b)(3) because Garcia filed a general notice of appeal. Rule 25.2(b)(3) only applies to an appeal from a judgment rendered under article 1.15 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. See Tex.R.App. P. 25.2(b)(3). Article 1.15 applies only when a defendant has waived his right to trial by jury. See Tex.Code CRiM. Proc. Ann. art. 1.15 (Vernon Supp. 2001). In this case, Garcia pled guilty before a jury. A plea of guilty before a jury in a capital case constitutes a trial by jury. See, e.g., Matchett v. State, 941 S.W.2d 922, 930 (Tex.Crim.App.1996); Holland v. State, 761 S.W.2d 307, 313 (Tex. Crim.App.1988); Williams v. State, 674 S.W.2d 315, 319 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). Therefore, Garcia’s appeal is not from a judgment rendered under article 1.15 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, and rule 25.2(b)(3) does not apply.

Although rule 25.2(b)(3) does not apply, Garcia is limited in the issues he [496]*496may raise on appeal. In Young v. State, 8 S.W.3d 656, 666-67 (Tex.Crim.App.2000), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stated, “Whether entered with or without an agreed recommendation of punishment by the State, a valid plea of guilty or nolo contendere ‘waives’ or forfeits the right to appeal a claim of error [arising before the plea if] the judgment of guilt was rendered independent of, and is not supported by, the error.” Id.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Garcia complains that the evidence is insufficient because the indictment charged him with the capital murder of four victims, but evidence was only presented at trial with regard to the murder of two of the four victims. Because the jury found that Garcia was guilty of the offense of capital murder “as charged in the indictment,” Garcia contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction.

In addition to challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, Garcia appears to complain that the indictment was improperly amended. Prior to the entry of the plea, an exchange occurred regarding the potential problem of having four victims mentioned in the indictment when Garcia only intended to plead guilty to the capital murder of two of those victims. Garcia’s trial counsel stated that he waived “whatever problems may come up with regard to that.” Accordingly, any alleged error in the indictment was waived. See, e.g., Ex parte Patterson, 969 S.W.2d 16, 19 (Tex. Crim.App.1998); Hines v. State, 978 S.W.2d 169, 175 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1998, no pet.). Garcia’s reliance on article 1.141 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure is misplaced because an indictment was returned in this case. Furthermore, an amendment to the indictment was not necessary; the State simply dismissed the charges as to two of the victims after the indictment was read.

In reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). In our factual sufficiency review, we must consider all of the evidence to determine whether the judgment is “so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence - to be clearly wrong and unjust.” Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126, 129 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996). “Sufficiency of the evidence [is] measured by the elements of the offense as defined by the hypothetically correct jury charge for the case.” Malik v. State, 953 S.W.2d 234, 240 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). “Such a charge would be one that accurately sets out the law, is authorized by the indictment, does not unnecessarily increase the State’s burden of proof or unnecessarily restrict the State’s theories of liability, and adequately describes the particular offense for which the defendant was tried.” Id.

In this case, since the indictment authorizes a jury charge defining the elements of the offense of capital murder as to four victims, the jury charge, which defined the elements of the offense of capital murder as to two victims, was authorized. Because the State dismissed the charges as to the other two victims, the jury charge did not include those victims. Since we measure the sufficiency of the evidence against a hypothetically correct jury charge, the fact that the jury found Garcia guilty “as charged in the indictment” does not affect the sufficiency of the evidence. Garcia pled guilty before the jury to murdering the two victims mentioned in the jury charge during the same [497]*497criminal transaction. This plea was sufficient evidence to support Garcia’s conviction. See Williams, 674 S.W.2d at 319 n. 3 (noting no additional evidence needed to be presented when defendant pleads guilty before a jury as opposed to pleading guilty before the trial court).

Special Issues in Jury Charge at Punishment Phase

Garcia also contends that the trial court erred in submitting special issue number three to the jury during the punishment phase of the trial.2 We need not consider the merits of this issue. Because Garcia received a life sentence, any error at the punishment phase is harmless. Phelps v. State, 594 S.W.2d 434, 437 (Tex. Crim.App.1980).

Record

Garcia asserts that this court reversibly erred in concluding that the record was complete for purposes of appellate review. Our ruling was based on a hearing held by the trial court in April of 2000, in which Garcia’s trial counsel and counsel for the State agreed the record on appeal was complete. Therefore, any complaint as to whether the record is complete was waived. Tex.R.App. P. 33.1.

Motion for New Trial

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
75 S.W.3d 493, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 612, 2002 WL 112428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garcia-v-state-texapp-2002.