Hernandez v. State

107 S.W.3d 41, 2003 WL 201285
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 24, 2003
Docket04-02-00330-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 107 S.W.3d 41 (Hernandez 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
Hernandez v. State, 107 S.W.3d 41, 2003 WL 201285 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

*44 Opinion by

KAREN ANGELINI, Justice.

Michael S. Hernandez appeals his conviction for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. On appeal, he raises eight issues. First, he argues that he was entitled to additional jury instructions on the presumption of innocence. In his second through fifth issues, he argues that he was entitled to the suppression of his self-incriminating statement. In his six and seventh issues, he argues that he was entitled to two additional jury instructions on the admissibility of that statement. In his eighth issue, he argues that he was entitled to question the jury during voir dire on a subjective standard of not having the normal use of faculties. We overrule all of his issues and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

BACKGROUND

Hernandez and his family went to a barbecue and a fight-watching party at relatives’ homes. He was driving home on Southwest Military Drive in San Antonio at 1:00 a.m. on September 10, 2000 when SAPD Officer Richard Blair noticed that Hernandez was driving 62 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone. Blair followed Hernandez, who continued speeding. Hernandez was also weaving between traffic without using his turn signals.

Blair pulled Hernandez over. As Blair walked up to the car, he noticed the strong odor of alcoholic beverages or beer. Blair also noticed Hernandez’s bloodshot eyes. When asked, Hernandez said he was not wearing contact lenses. Blair asked Hernandez if he had consumed any alcoholic beverages. He said, “I have had too much to drink.” Blair asked Hernandez to perform three field sobriety tests. Hernandez failed all three tests. 1 Blair concluded that Hernandez was not in full control of his mental and physical faculties and made up his mind to arrest him. However, before Blair formally arrested Hernandez, Blair asked him how many he had to drink that night. Blair testified that Hernandez responded that “he had drunk nine beers of mixed brands.” Finally, Blair read Hernandez his Miranda 2 rights, placed handcuffs on him, and placed him in the patrol car.

Hernandez was charged by information with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by not having the normal use of his mental and physical faculties. Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 49.04(a) (Vernon Supp.2002). Before trial, Hernandez moved to suppress the statement about having too much to drink and the statement about having drunk nine beers of mixed brands. The trial court denied the motion. During voir dire questioning, Hernandez objected to the State’s use of an objective standard for not having the normal use of faculties. The trial court overruled the objection. Before the trial court read the charge to the jury, Hernandez requested instructions on the presumption of innocence and on the admissibility of the “nine beers” statement. The trial court denied the requests.

*45 Hernandez was convicted and sentenced to four months in jail. That sentence was suspended to six months of probation. Hernandez appeals the trial court’s denial of his requested jury instructions on the presumption of innocence and the admissibility of his self-incriminating statement, the denial of his motion to suppress that statement, and the overruling of his objection during voir dire to the use of an objective standard for not having the normal use of faculties.

INSTRUCTION ON THE PRESUMPTION of Innocence

In his first issue, Hernandez argues that he was entitled to an instruction on the presumption of innocence. At trial, Hernandez’s counsel asked for Defendant’s Special Requested Jury Instruction No. 2:

All persons are presumed to be innocent and no person may be convicted of an offense unless each element of the offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The fact that he has been arrested, confined, or otherwise charged with, the offense gives rise to no inference of guilt at his trial.

The request was denied.

Before closing arguments, the trial court must “deliver to the jury ... a written charge distinctly setting forth the law applicable to the case.... ” Tex.Code CRiM. PROC. Ann. art. 36.14 (Vernon Supp.2002). The question we face is whether the charge adequately stated the law applicable to the case, or whether an additional instruction on the presumption of innocence was necessary.

In Taylor v. Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478, 98 S.Ct. 1930, 56 L.Ed.2d 468 (1978), the Court found that an instruction on the presumption of innocence was necessary. Id. at 490, 98 S.Ct. 1930. The instruction would have had a “purging” effect, reducing the danger that the jury would convict based on the fact that the defendant was arrested and indicted or based on facts outside the evidence at trial. Id. at 485-86, 98 S.Ct. 1930. Those dangers were present because the trial court’s instruction was “skeletal,” not emphasizing the prosecution’s duty to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and not stressing the duty to judge the defendant only on the evidence at trial. Id. at 486, 98 S.Ct. 1930.

However, no constitutional rule requires that the trial court give an instruction on the presumption of innocence in every criminal trial. Kentucky v. Wharton, 441 U.S. 786, 788, 99 S.Ct. 2088, 60 L.Ed.2d 640 (1979). Failing to give an instruction on the presumption of innocence “must be evaluated in light of the totality of the circumstances — including all the instructions to the jury, the arguments of counsel, whether the weight of the evidence was overwhelming, and other relevant factors — to determine whether the defendant received a constitutionally fair trial.” Id. at 789, 99 S.Ct. 2088; see also Delo v. Lashley, 507 U.S. 272, 278, 113 S.Ct. 1222, 122 L.Ed.2d 620 (1993) (noting that an instruction is warranted only when there is a genuine danger that the jury will convict based on something other than the lawful evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt).

In this case, the totality of the circumstances in Hernandez’s trial shows that the trial court did not err in refusing to give the requested instruction on the presumption of innocence. First, the charge included instructions that (1) the jury could not convict Hernandez unless they found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) they could not consider Hernandez’s choice to not testify; (3) they could not take into consideration any evidence not introduced in court at trial; and (4) because the jurors are not witnesses, they should not relate to *46 other jurors their own experience or knowledge. Also, the prosecutor did not make any statements that would mislead the jury about the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt or cause the jury to rely on facts that were not in evidence at trial. Next, the overwhelming weight of the evidence showed that Hernandez was guilty: Hernandez’s car smelled like alcohol and he had bloodshot eyes. He failed all three field sobriety tests. Also, he made self-incriminating statements.

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

Related

Aaron Ray Morris v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
Suzanne Elizabeth Wexler v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Andre J. Champagne v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Ruben Zavala v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
Eduardo Mora-Hernandez v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
Ulysse Majoro v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
David Kent Thacker, Jr. v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Terri Cox Ferguson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Sean Christopher Brewer v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014
State v. Ahgil Ansari
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013
Dominque Paul Graham v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013
Peggy McIntyre v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012
Dylan Dominguez v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012
Tiffany Nicole Pettis v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012
Terrance Mendoza v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Francisco Javier De La Rosa v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Troy Lee Sullivan v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
William Lee Smarr v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Campbell v. State
325 S.W.3d 223 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Trent Michael Campbell v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
107 S.W.3d 41, 2003 WL 201285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hernandez-v-state-texapp-2003.