Haas v. State

494 S.W.3d 819, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 3031, 2016 WL 1165797
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 24, 2016
DocketNO. 14-15-00445-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 494 S.W.3d 819 (Haas 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
Haas v. State, 494 S.W.3d 819, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 3031, 2016 WL 1165797 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

William J. Boyce, Justice

Appellant was indicted for driving while intoxicated (DWI). The indictment included an enhancement paragraph alleging a prior DWI conviction. The indictment was subsequently amended to include an allegation that at or near the time of thé offense an analysis of appellant’s blood showed an alcohol concentration level of at least 0.15. A jury found appellant guilty and the trial court, finding the enhancement paragraph true, assessed punishment at one year’s confinement in the Harris County Jail, probated for two years. In a single issue on appeal appellant, argues the trial court abused its discretion in admitting three documents used to prove the enhancement paragraph at the punishment phase of trial. We affirm.

[821]*821BACKGROUND

During the punishment phase of appellant’s trial, the State offered the following documents as evidence of appellant’s prior conviction:

• State’s Exhibit 11: Judgment of pri- or conviction for DWI in cause number 1283640 showing appellant as the defendant;
• State’s Exhibit 12: Order removing ignition interlock restriction in cause number 1283640, listing appellant’s name, date of birth, and Texas driver’s license number; and
• State’s Exhibit 13: Bail bond in the instant case listing appellant’s name, birthdate, and Texas driver’s license number, which matched the name, birthdate, and Texas driver’s license number in State’s Exhibit 12.

Appellant objected to the three documents, arguing that they were copies of certified documents, not the originals, and were not self-authenticating.

Appellant emphasized the documents were computer-generated copies. The State did not designate a fingerprint expert; appellant objected that the State could not connect the prior conviction to him without testimony from a fingerprint expert. The State argued that, considered together, the three documents link appellant to the prior conviction through his name, birthdate, and driver’s license number. The trial court initially sustained appellant’s objection but suspended its ruling to permit the State time to research whether the documents were sufficiently authenticated under the Texas Rules of Evidence.

After a brief recess the State presented argument that the documents were certified by the clerk even though they were computer-generated. The documents each bear a certified document number, which is repeated on each page of the documents. This certified document number corresponds to the number contained underneath the clerk’s seal on the last page of each document. The last page of each document contains a stamp, which states as follows:

[822]*822[[Image here]]

After receiving the information about the certified document numbers, the trial court overruled appellant’s objection, finding the documents were properly authenticated under the Texas Rules of Evidence and admitted the documents into evidence.

The trial court subsequently found the enhancement paragraph true and sentenced appellant as a second offender to one year in the Harris County Jail, probated for two years.

Analysis

In a single issue appellant argues the State’s exhibits admitted during the punishment hearing were not self-authenticating and not properly considered as evidence linking appellant to the prior conviction in the enhancement paragraph.1

To establish that a defendant has been convicted of a prior offense, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) a prior conviction exists, and (2) the defendant is linked to that conviction. [823]*823Banks v. State, 158 S.W.3d 649, 651-52 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.]-2005, pet. ref'd). No specific document or mode of proof is required to prove these two elements. Flowers v. State, 220 S.W.3d 919, 922 (Tex.Crim.App.2007). While evidence of a certified copy of a final judgment and sentence may be a preferred and convenient means, the State may prove a prior conviction in a number of different ways, including documentary proof that contains sufficient information to establish both the existence of a prior conviction and the defendant’s identity as the person convicted. See Doby v. State, 454 S.W.2d 411, 413-14 (Tex.Crim.App.1970).

Article 37.07 of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits proof of a defendant’s “prior criminal record,” but it does not require the production of a certified judgment to prove that prior criminal record. See Flowers, 220 S.W.3d at 922. “Further, in this modem era of computer-stored data, electronic files, and ‘paperless’ court records, the day may come in which written judgments are largely obsolete.” Id.

For this reason, Texas Rule of Evidence 902 explicitly allows for the self-authentication of certified copies of public records, “including data compilations in any form certified as correct” by their custodian. Tex.R. Evid. 902(4). A computer-generated compilation of information setting out the specifics of a criminal conviction that is certified as correct by the county or district clerk of the court in which the conviction was obtained is admissible under Rule 902. Flowers, 220 S.W.3d at 922-23.

I. Admissibility of the State’s Exhibits

Appellant initially objected to the documents because they were not original certified copies and were not authenticated. The trial court determined the documents were admissible under Texas Rule of Evidence 902. ■

We review a trial court’s ruling admitting evidence for an abuse of discretion. Ramos v. State, 245 S.W.3d 410, 418 (Tex.Crim.App.2008). The trial court’s ruling will be upheld as long as it falls within the zone of reasonable disagreement and is correct under any theory of law applicable to the case. Id.; Weatherred v. State, 15 S.W.3d 540, 542 (Tex.Crim.App.2000). An appellate court must review the trial court’s ruling in light of what was before the trial court at the time the ruling was made. Dragoo v. State, 96 S.W.3d 308, 313 (Tex.Crim.App.2003).

A document may be authenticated under either Texas Rule of Evidence 901 or 902 and need not be authenticated under both. See Reed v. State, 811 S.W.2d 582, 586 (Tex.Crim.App.1991); Hull v. State, 172 S.W.3d 186, 189 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2005, pet. ref'd). The requirement of authentication or identification as a condition precedent to admissibility is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims.” Tex.R. Evid. 901(a); see also Druery v. State, 225 S.W.3d 491, 502 (Tex.Crim.App.2007). Public records or reports may be.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
494 S.W.3d 819, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 3031, 2016 WL 1165797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haas-v-state-texapp-2016.