Green v. State

451 S.W.2d 893, 1970 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1353
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 11, 1970
Docket42642
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 451 S.W.2d 893 (Green 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
Green v. State, 451 S.W.2d 893, 1970 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1353 (Tex. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION

BELCHER, Judge.

The conviction is for the possession of heroin; the punishment, eighteen years.

The appellant’s second ground of error is that his trial counsel was incompetent for the reason that he knew the appellant had an abrasive personality and that all of his testimony would be damaging to him and counsel should not have allowed him to testify.

The appellant testified only before the court on the issue of punishment. He admitted that he was a user of narcotics, had been a narcotic addict since 1948, and had had numerous felony convictions. On the guilt stage, the appellant called as witnesses five of the six persons who were present when the officers searched the apartment, and the effect of the testimony of the five persons was that he was an innocent victim of circumstances by being where heroin was possessed and being used. The second ground of error is overruled.

It is contended that the prosecutor committed error in his closing argument when he told the jury that, “We will be back down here again trying this case over if you go back there and don’t follow the law.”

The court sustained appellant’s objection that it was improper, instructed the jury to disregard the argument, but overruled a motion for mistrial.

The prosecutor immediately made the same argument again, appellant’s objection was sustained, and the court instructed the jury to disregard it. No motion was made at this time for a mistrial.

Immediately before the argument complained of, the prosecutor had referred to the court’s charge as containing the law of the case, and told the jury that it was not proper or right for one of the jury to discuss a fact not in evidence. No reversible error appears. The third ground of error is overruled.

It is contended that the affidavit does not show that probable cause existed for the issuance of the search warrant; and that the affidavit does not sufficiently describe the place to be searched.

Omitting the formal parts, the pertinent portions of the affidavit for the search warrant are:

“ * * * one Hugh Luster and person or persons unknown did then and there unlawfully possess and does at this time unlawfully possess a narcotic drug and a dangerous drug, to-wit: Heroin in a_ apartment being described as a two story apartment house located at 2712 Holmes Street, apartment 203 in City of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, which said apartment is possessed, occupied, under the control and charge of Hugh Luster and person or persons unknown.
*895 “My belief of the aforesaid statement is based on the following facts:
“I have been informed of the foregoing setout facts by a person who I know to be reliable, credible and trustworthy, who states the following facts: That the affiant has received information in the past twenty four hours from a confidential informant that Hugh Luster has a large quantity of Heroin concealed in his apartment at 2712 Holmes Street, apartment 203. That the informant has been in the apartment in the past twenty four hours and has seen the Heroin in the apartment. That Hugh Luster is using and dealing the Heroin. That he is selling the heroin in capsules and is selling them for seven dollars a capsules. The informant further states that he has been in the apartment in the past twenty four hours and that when Luster sells the capsules of Heroin to these people they shoot the Heroin into their veins while they are in the apartment. The informant states that he has been to this apartment on other occasions and has seen Luster with the Heroin. That Luster keeps the Heroin in the apartment. That Luster keeps the syringe and needle hidden outside of the apartment and when he sells the Heroin he goes outside and gets the needle and syringe. The affiant and other members of the Narcotic Section of the Dallas Police Department have had this address under visual surveillance and have seen known narcotic users going to and from Luster’s apartment. The informant has given the af-fiant information many times in past and it has always been true and correct. The informant is a reliable, credible and trustworthy person.”

The affidavit sets forth a sufficient factual basis to satisfy the magistrate that grounds existed and authorized him to find that probable cause was shown for the issuance of the warrant. Gaston v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 440 S.W.2d 297; Nus v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 440 S.W.2d 310; Aguilar v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 444 S.W.2d 935.

The description of the premises was sufficiently definite to enable the officers to locate and distinguish the premises to be searched from other places in the community. 51 Tex.Jur.2d 700, Secs. 27-28; Wilson v. State, 106 Tex.Cr.R. 75, 290 S.W. 1103. This ground of error is overruled.

In ground of error No. 5, it is urged that Dr. Mason’s testimony failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a conclusive test was made in determining that the substance in the capsule allegedly possessed by appellant was heroin for the reason that, except for one test, the remainder of his testimony is based on hearsay.

To support his position, the appellant points out that the testimony of Dr. Mason that the substance in the capsule was heroin is based on the fact that he personally conducted one test, which he stated was not conclusive, and that the remainder of his testimony was based on records of tests made by employees in the laboratory.

Dr. Mason, a chemist, testified that six or seven different tests were made of the substance contained in the capsule to determine if it was heroin. He further testified that he was in charge of the laboratory, that he made one of the chemical tests, and that the other tests were made by employees who worked under his direction, supervision and control in the laboratory; and that he subsequently examined the records and ascertained that the analysis had been performed correctly.

In Kent v. State, 374 S.W.2d 671, this Court said:

“A chemist under whose supervision laboratory analysis of certain specimens are made, by another chemist in said laboratory, may testify from records of the laboratory as to the results thereof. Bryan v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 592, 252 S.W.2d 184; Jackson v. State, 159 *896 Tex.Cr.R. 228, 262 S.W.2d 499; Leonard v. State, 161 Tex.Cr.R. 470, 278 S.W.2d 313; McCray v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 365 S.W.2d 9; Meadowes v. State, Tex.Cr. App., 368 S.W.2d 203.” See also: Dagley v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 394 S.W.2d 179; Clifton v.

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Bluebook (online)
451 S.W.2d 893, 1970 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-state-texcrimapp-1970.