Goyzueta v. State

266 S.W.3d 126, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 6565, 2008 WL 3918023
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 26, 2008
Docket2-07-383-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 266 S.W.3d 126 (Goyzueta 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
Goyzueta v. State, 266 S.W.3d 126, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 6565, 2008 WL 3918023 (Tex. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

*129 OPINION

SUE WALKER, Justice.

I.Introduction

Appellant Franco Andre Goyzueta appeals his conviction for violation of a permanent injunction under the “gang injunction statute.” See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 71.021 (Vernon 2003); Tex. Civ. PRAC. & Rem.Code Ann. § 125.065 (Vernon 2005). Goyzueta pleaded guilty to the offense, and pursuant to a plea bargain agreement with the State, the trial court sentenced him to 300 days’ confinement in the Wichita County Jail and a $4,000 fine. In four issues, Goyzueta argues that both section 71.021 of the Texas Penal Code and the permanent injunction’s curfew restriction are unconstitutionally vague and over-broad and that section 125.065(a)(2) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code— authorizing entry of the permanent injunction underlying Goyzueta’s conviction — violates the separation of powers doctrine. We will affirm.

II.Factual and Procedural Background

On August 31, 2006, the State filed its “Original Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order, Temporary Injunction, and Permanent Injunction.” The petition named twenty-one members of the street gang, Varrio Carnales (“VC”), including Goyzueta, who had allegedly engaged in criminal activity. The petition listed twenty-nine activities the State sought to prohibit the named defendants from engaging in.

Subsequently, the judge of the 89th District Court of Wichita County, Texas entered an order for a permanent injunction under section 125.065 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. See Tex. Civ. Prao. & Rem.Code Ann. § 125.065. The permanent injunction contained a curfew restriction, prohibiting Goyzueta from “riding about in a public place after 11 p.m. and before 6 a.m. of the immediately following day.” 1

A week after the permanent injunction was signed, at approximately 12:43 a.m., Officer Joe R. Esteves, a Wichita Falls police officer, observed a car that failed to signal a left turn. Officer Esteves pulled the car over and saw eighteen-year-old Goyzueta in the car. According to Officer Esteves, he knew that Goyzueta was a VC member and that he was under the gang injunction imposed by the City of Wichita Falls. Officer Esteves consequently arrested Goyzueta for violating the court order enjoining organized criminal activity, namely, “riding about in a public place after 11 p.m. and before 6 a.m. of the immediately following day.”

Goyzueta filed a motion to dismiss the charge against him, raising several constitutional challenges to the applicable statutes. Goyzueta did not file any other pretrial motions. After a hearing on his motion to dismiss, Goyzueta and the State reached the above-mentioned plea bargain agreement. Goyzueta now appeals; his appeal is limited by the rules of appellate procedure and by the trial court’s certification of his right to appeal, which restrict Goyzueta to re-urging the issues he raised in his motion to dismiss. See Tex.RApp. P. 25.2(a)(2)(A).

III.The Applicable Statutes

Section 125.065 of the civil practice and remedies code outlines when a trial court can enter a temporary or permanent order *130 against a criminal street gang member. See Tex. Civ. PRAC. & Rem.Code Ann. § 125.065. The statute provides:

(a) If the court finds that a combination or criminal street gang constitutes a public nuisance, the court may enter an order:
(1) enjoining a defendant in the suit from engaging in the gang activities of the combination or gang; and
(2) imposing other reasonable requirements to prevent the combination or gang from engaging in future gang activities.
(b) If the court finds that a place is habitually used in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance, the court may include in its order reasonable requirements to prevent the use of the place for gang activity.

Id. Section 71.021 of the penal code describes the offense of violation of a court order enjoining organized criminal activity:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates a temporary or permanent order issued under Section 125.065(a) or (b), Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(b) If conduct constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 71.021.

IY. Constitutionality of Penal Code Section 71.021

In his first and second issues, Goyzueta argues that section 71.021 of the Texas Penal Code is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. 2 The parties contend that this is a case of first impression in Texas as no other court has addressed the constitutionality of the gang injunction statute.

The constitutionality of a criminal statute is a question of law which we review de novo. Owens v. State, 19 S.W.3d 480, 483 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2000, no pet.); State v. Salinas, 982 S.W.2d 9, 10-11 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, pet. ref'd). Whenever we are confronted with an attack upon the constitutionality of a statute, we presume that the statute is valid and that the legislature has not acted unreasonably or arbitrarily. Rodriguez v. State, 93 S.W.3d 60, 69 (Tex.Crim.App.2002); Ex parte Dave, 220 S.W.3d 154, 156 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2007, pet. ref'd), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 128 S.Ct. 628, 169 L.Ed.2d 394 (2007). The burden rests upon the individual who challenges the statute to establish its unconstitutionality. Rodriguez, 93 S.W.3d at 69; Ex parte Dave, 220 S.W.3d at 156. In the absence of contrary evidence, we will presume that the legislature acted in a constitutionally sound fashion. Rodriguez, 93 S.W.3d at 69. The statute must be upheld if a reasonable construction can be ascertained that will render the statute constitutional and carry out the legislative intent. Shaffer v. State, 184 S.W.3d 353, 363 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2006, pet. ref'd); see also Ely v. State, 582 S.W.2d 416, 419 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1979).

When an appellant challenges a statute as both unconstitutionally over *131 broad and vague, we address the over-breadth challenge first. Village of Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc.,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Carolyn Rodriguez v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. Ct., 2nd Dist. (Fort Worth), 2026
Sergio Valdesgalvan v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Regina Lynne Alford v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
Jesse Galindo Delafuente v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Ex Parte Charles Barton
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Anthony Christopher Merito v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Kenneth Gelestin Thirolf v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
Beatriz Noyola-Navarro v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
Hernandez v. State
501 S.W.3d 264 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016)
Carter, Ex Parte Justin River
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Ex Parte Justin River Carter
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Brown, Patrick Marcel
Texas Supreme Court, 2015
Brown, Patrick Marcel
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Patrick Marcel Brown v. State
468 S.W.3d 158 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015)
Huddleston, Ex Parte Curtis Wayne
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Raul Adam Trevino v. Michel F. Kennell
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013
Martinez v. State
323 S.W.3d 493 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Martinez, Mario Rico
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010
Jeffrey Earl Lewis v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Lawson v. State
283 S.W.3d 438 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
266 S.W.3d 126, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 6565, 2008 WL 3918023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goyzueta-v-state-texapp-2008.