Green v. State

891 S.W.2d 289, 1994 WL 681972
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided April 5, 1995·No. 01-93-00195-CR·Published·Cited by 37 cases

Opinions

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

O’CONNOR, Justice.

We withdraw our opinion of November 17, 1994, and issue this in its stead. This case forces us to choose between two cases on the issue regarding the proper definitions in an aggravated assault case. Compare Sneed v. State, 803 S.W.2d 833 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1991, pet. ref'd) (it was fundamental error to include references to conduct in the definitions) and Mott v. State, 835 S.W.2d 256, 259 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, pet. ref d) (it was not error to include references to conduct in the definitions). These two cases, which cannot be harmonized, were both denied review by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

A jury convicted the appellant, Barney Lee Green, of aggravated assault, and the trial court assessed punishment at eight-years confinement. We affirm.

Fact Summary

There are two different versions of the events of December 4, 1990. First, the State’s. The appellant, who was at the Old Water Hole Bar in Pasadena, played pool with John Drew. Drew won, and the appellant, a bad loser, started harassing him. The appellant told Drew, “I could beat the crap out of you [Drew] anytime I want.” The appellant was 6'4" and weighed 300 pounds; Drew was 5'7" and weighed 175 pounds. Drew left the bar looking for a homeless man who was looking for work. When he did not find him, he returned to wait for him at the bar. When Drew walked back into the bar, the appellant gave him a hard stare. Drew then told the bartender there might be trouble with the appellant. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Drew approached the appellant and said, “You know, if there’s a problem, I don’t want a problem, I’m not looking for any trouble.” Drew turned around to walk away and does not remember anything else. He woke up in the hospital with a major concussion and serious cuts on his face and around his ears. The State contends the appellant hit Drew, who fell to the floor. The appellant then straddled Drew and beat his head with his fist and a beer bottle. The appellant ran out of the bar when the bartender said she was calling authorities. A week after the incident, the appellant gave a statement to police in which he said that after Drew poked him in the chest, he hit and kicked him.

The appellant’s version of the facts is quite different. After their game of pool, Drew went over to the appellant and began antagonizing him. Drew then went to where the appellant’s two female friends were seated, claiming he was a police officer and insisting the women were intoxicated. When the appellant left to take one of the women home, Drew followed them outside and continued to harass them. Drew called the appellant an ass and leaned on the T-top of the appellant’s car, setting off the car’s alarm. The appellant left, but later returned. The appellant said Drew kept “cussin from the other side of the bar,” telling the appellant he was going to “kick my ass.” The appellant said Drew initiated the fight by striking him in the chest and then in the chin. The appellant said he defended himself by hitting Drew several times, causing him to fall to the floor. The appellant said Drew had a beer bottle in his hand, which broke on the concrete, and that Drew’s wounds were self-inflicted. The appellant then straddled Drew in an attempt to restrain him, and hit him several times. Another bar patron, Tom Lewis, told the appellant to stop; the appellant then got up and helped Drew off the floor. Drew was taken to the hospital for treatment. The key difference between the State’s version of the facts and the appellant’s is that the appellant contends Drew initiated the fight, where the State argues the appellant started it. At trial, the appellant elaborated on the written statement he gave to the police. He said Drew hit him. He said he felt threatened by [293] Drew. This is the essence of the appellant’s self-defense claim.

A.

Error in the charge

In point of error one, the appellant contends the trial court erred in its instructions the jury, and the errors (which he contends were fundamental) deprived him of a fair and impartial trial. Under this point, the appellant asserts four arguments, which we address separately.

The appellant’s counsel did not object to any of the errors at trial. A challenge to the court’s charge that was not preserved by an objection at trial requires a higher level of harm than challenges that were preserved. Gibson v. State, 726 S.W.2d 129, 133 (Tex.Crim.App.1987) (op. on reh’g). In cases where the error was not preserved the harm to the defendant must be “egregious” i.e., so harmful that the defendant was denied a “fair and impartial trial.” Id.; Almanza v. State, 686 S.W.2d 157, 171 (Tex.Crim.App.1984) (op. on reh’g) (established standards for reviewing harmfulness of jury charge error); Gonzales v. State, 838 S.W.2d 848, 865 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, pet. ref'd). In determining whether egregious harm occurred, we view the error in light of the entire jury charge, and we consider all the evidence, the argument of counsel, and any other relevant information in the record. Bailey v. State, 867 S.W.2d 42, 43 (Tex.Crim.App.1993); Gonzales, 838 S.W.2d at 865.

1. Culpable mental state

The appellant asserts the trial court did not instruct the jury to limit the culpable mental states to the result of the offense of aggravated assault, namely, serious bodily injury. He contends the charge authorized a conviction based solely on the finding that he intentionally or knowingly engaged in conduct that happened to cause bodily injury, when it should have authorized a conviction only if he intentionally or knowingly caused bodily injury. His position is that a result-oriented offense cannot be based solely on such a finding.

Aggravated assault requires a culpable mental state of intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury to another. Tex.Penal Code § 22.02(a)(1) (Vernon Supp.1994).

The applicable part of the jury charge reads:

A person acts intentionally, or with intent, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to a result of his conduct when it is his conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.
A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to circumstances surrounding his conduct when he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to a result of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.

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Green v. State, 891 S.W.2d 289, 1994 WL 681972 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

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