Green v. State

676 S.W.2d 359, 1984 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 673
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided June 13, 1984·No. 663-83·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinions

OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

ONION, Presiding Judge.

This is an appeal from a conviction for the offense of murder. Punishment, assessed by the jury, was fixed at 15 years’ imprisonment.

On appeal the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction holding, inter alia, that the trial court did not err in refusing to permit the appellant to cross-examine and possibly impeach a State’s rebuttal witness, Esther Randall, as to a pending misdemeanor check charge against her. Greene v. State,1 651 S.W.2d 948 (Tex. App.—Dallas—1983).

We granted appellant’s petition for discretionary review to determine the correctness of that part of the decision.

A brief recitation of the facts' will place the contention in proper perspective.

The record reveals that the appellant and the deceased, Mary Ann Williams, had been romantically involved intermittently over a period of several years. Their relationship was a stormy one and in August, 1980, the deceased took action which placed the appellant under a peace bond.

William Taylor testified that on the afternoon of June 7, 1981, he went to the deceased’s house to take her out to dine. Taylor had dated the deceased before his marriage, and was now estranged from his wife. He was again dating the deceased and staying at her house on occasion. He related that shortly after his arrival on June 7, 1981, appellant came to the screen [361]*361door of the deceased’s house and asked to speak to her. Taylor called to the deceased, who came out of a back room. Appellant opened the screen door and rushed at the deceased as if to hit her and she raised her arm to block his blow. Appellant, according to Taylor, pulled a pistol from his pocket, but it fell to the floor. Taylor rushed the appellant, who knocked him back with his left elbow, and recovered the pistol. A shot was then fired by the appellant. Taylor did not see whether the deceased was hit, as he ran from the house. Taylor heard two more shots, and as he ran along the street, appellant pursued and shot at him twice.

The record shows the deceased suffered three bullet wounds. One grazed her arm, one struck her in the left side of the chest and one in the back. The latter two wounds caused her death according to the medical examiner.

The State offered testimony of two women who had seen Taylor being shot at as he ran down the street as well as the testimony of several investigating officers. A revolver was found at appellant’s grandmother’s house, but ballistics tests were not conclusive that it was the weapon which inflicted the fatal wounds. Testimony was also offered that appellant had repeatedly called the deceased at work on two days before the shooting, though told she did not want to receive any calls there.

Testifying in his own behalf appellant, who was separated from his wife and living with his ex-wife at the time of the incident, stated that he had repeatedly asked the deceased to marry him or to “shack” with him. He related he met the deceased in December, 1978 and that they started to date in September, 1979, and this continued into 1980. He agreed they had their troubles and arguments; that theirs was a “make-up-break-up” relationship; that he had slapped her in a grocery store, had threatened to kill her, and that he had harassed her by calling her 15 or 20 times daily at her place of employment. In August, 1980, she had him placed under a peace bond. In October, 1980, he saw her downtown. They started dating again, and she helped him find an apartment, and stayed with him on occasion. He described their relationship between October and March, 1981, as much better than before the peace bond. They had an argument in April, but began jogging together in May. About the middle of May, they argued again and she told him if he came around again she would have William Taylor blow his brains out. Appellant stated the relationship was “good” again in the latter part of May and early June.

On June 7, 1981, he went by the deceased’s house to visit her prior to going to his employment as a bus driver. He saw Taylor entering the house. Recalling what the deceased told him, he took his revolver out of the glove compartment of his car and put it in his pants pocket. He asked to speak to the deceased and Taylor called her. When she came into the living room from a back room, appellant entered the house and asked how she was. She proceeded past him as if she was leaving with Taylor. Appellant grabbed her arm, and noticed she seemed to nod to Taylor, whom the appellant observed reaching in his pocket. Appellant pulled out his revolver, but dropped it, and a struggle with Taylor ensued over the control of the weapon. Appellant claimed that while they were wrestling, the gun discharged several times. Taylor broke and ran from the house. Although he observed the deceased had been hit, appellant left the house. He admitted he fired the revolver twice outside, but stated he was not shooting at Taylor, that he fired into the air. He went to his grandmother’s home where he hid the weapon and then to his estranged wife’s house in Oak Cliff. He heard about the killing on television, went to the family lawyer, who surrendered him to the police.

On cross-examination appellant specifically denied that on occasions in February, 1981, when the deceased was with Esther Randall that he cut her purse straps on one occasion and sliced through her coat on another.

[362]*362In rebuttal the State called Esther Randall. She testified that in February, 1981, she went to a Seven-Eleven store with the deceased; that the appellant approached, got into an argument with the deceased, and cut the straps off of the deceased’s purse. On another occasion in February she was with the deceased at the Town East Mall when the appellant approached, and when the deceased told him she didn't want to be bothered, the appellant cut her coat.

After both sides closed at the guilt stage of the trial, appellant asked to perfect a bill of exception, stating the prosecution had informed him Randall had a pending case, and the court had not permitted him to go into the matter.

Randall then testified for the purpose of the bill she had a pending case for passing a worthless check; that the 15 or 20 dollar check had been given to a doctor; that when she received a “thing” in the mail, she had gone down and paid the check, but was told she had to go to court; that she was supposed to have been in Judge Miller’s court the day before, and she assumed the case was still pending. The prosecutor elicited from Randall that he had not offered her anything for her testimony, and had not offered to dismiss her case in exchange for her testimony. The court refused to allow appellant to elicit the above testimony in the jury’s presence to establish bias and motive for testifying as a witness for the prosecution.

Article 38.29, Y.A.C.C.P., provides:

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Green v. State, 676 S.W.2d 359, 1984 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 673 (Tex. 1984).

676 S.W.2d 359 (Green v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Green v. State
676 S.W.2d 359 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1984)