In Re Commitment of Miller

262 S.W.3d 877, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 9131, 2007 WL 5442526
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 28, 2008
Docket09-07-062 CV
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 262 S.W.3d 877 (In Re Commitment of Miller) 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
In Re Commitment of Miller, 262 S.W.3d 877, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 9131, 2007 WL 5442526 (Tex. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

HOLLIS HORTON, Justice.

In 2006, a jury determined that Wesley Miller was a sexually violent predator. See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 841.003 (Vernon 2003). Miller appeals from the trial court’s judgment and order of civil commitment. Among other issues, he challenges the constitutionality of amendments to the Texas Sexually Violent Predator Act (“SVPA” or “Act”) that allow a crime “based on sexually motivated conduct” to serve as a predicate offense. See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 841.002(7-a), (8)(D) (Vernon Supp.2007). We affirm.

I. Statute and Its Amendments

The Act 1 provides for the involuntary civil commitment of an offender to outpatient treatment and supervision if the offender is found to be a sexually violent predator (“SVP”). See id. § 841.081. A sexually violent predator, by statutory definition, is a person who “(1) is a repeat sexually violent offender; and (2) suffers from a behavioral abnormality that makes the person likely to engage in a predatory act of sexual violence.” Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 841.003(a) (Vernon 2003) (emphasis added). A repeat sexually violent offender is one who has been convicted of more than one sexually violent offense and a sentence is imposed for at least one of the offenses. Id. § 841.003(b). 2

Prior to 2005, the qualifying predicate offenses that could lead to commitment under the Act included, among others, sexual assault (Penal Code section 22.011) and aggravated sexual assault (Penal Code section 22.021). Act of May 30, 1999, 76th Leg., R.S., ch. 1188 § 4.01, sec. 841.002(A), 1999 Tex. Gen. Laws 4143, 4144 (current version at Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 841.002(8)(A) (Vernon Supp.2007)); see Tex. Pen.Code Ann. §§ 22.011, 22.021 (Vernon 2003 & Supp.2007). In 2005, the Texas legislature expanded the list of qualifying offenses to include murders and capital murders that are “determined beyond a reasonable doubt to have been based on sexually motivated conduct.” Act of May 23, 2005, 79th Leg., R.S., ch. 849 § 1, sec. 841.002(8)(D), 2005 Tex. Gen. Laws 2890, 2891 (amendment codified at Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 841.002(8)(D) (Vernon Supp.2007)); see Tex. Pen.Code Ann. §§ 19.02, 19.03 (Vernon 2003 & Supp. 2007).

The amendments further define “sexually motivated conduct” as “any conduct involving the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person immediately *881 before, during, or immediately after the commission of an offense.” 2005 Tex. Gen. Laws at 2890 (amendment codified at Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 841.002(7-a) (Vernon Supp.2007)). One of the predicate offenses for Miller’s commitment was a murder conviction that the State alleged had been based on sexually motivated conduct. In his appeal, Miller challenges the constitutionality of the 2005 amendments.

II. Background

In 1982, a jury convicted Miller for murdering Retha Stratton and assessed his punishment at twenty-five years in prison. As he neared the end of his prison term, the State filed a petition to commit him under the Act. In the SVP proceeding, the State alleged that the two required predicate offenses were Miller’s conviction of burglary with intent to commit rape and his murder conviction.

In this case, the State undertook the burden of proving during Miller’s civil commitment proceeding that Stratton’s murder had been sexually motivated. At Miller’s civil commitment trial, the State introduced evidence relevant to that issue. That evidence included Miller’s statement that he gave to Detective Dennis Timmons on January 28, 1982, regarding Retha Stratton’s murder. Timmons was present when Miller signed the statement. Miller’s statement explained events preceding the murder. Miller stated that just prior to the murder, Stratton “started coming on to me and I cooperated until she backed off so I stopped.” 3 Miller then explained that Stratton “started coming on to me again and I did not stop this time when she backed off and we started fighting.” At that point, Miller implied he believed that Stratton reached for a knife, the knife fell onto the floor, and he picked the knife up and stabbed her.

At Miller’s commitment trial, Timmons described the homicide scene at Retha Stratton’s home. Timmons testified that Stratton had been stabbed repeatedly in the left breast, the knife was left embedded in her chest, both breasts were exposed, and her underpants had been stuffed into her mouth.

At his commitment trial, Miller testified that he was sexually attracted to Stratton but he was not interested in marriage. He agreed that his goal the evening of the murder was sexual intercourse and that he was interested only in sex.

Three expert witnesses testified about the sexually motivated conduct associated with Stratton’s murder: Dr. Jack Price, a psychologist who is board certified in forensic psychology and neuropsychology; Dr. Michael Arambula, a physician who specializes in psychiatry, with a subspecialty in forensic psychiatry; and Dr. Jason Dunham, a forensic psychologist.

Dr. Price viewed the crime scene photographs in evaluating whether the murder of Retha Stratton was based on sexually motivated conduct. He testified:

I can see no other reason other than something related to sex. That the victim is unclothed from the breasts down. Her panties are stuffed in her mouth. The stab wounds concentrate on the breast. She is placed in a position with her legs spread apart. There’s just no other explanation.

Dr. Price also reviewed an autopsy photograph and explained its significance:

Well, as opposed to the other photograph, where the blood covered up the *882 exact stab wounds, here you can see them very clearly and that they concentrate on the breast, not in the center of the chest, not all over ... they were focused — -the attention was on the breast. That indicates sexual thinking on the part of the offender. It — that’s his focus.

Dr. Arambula testified that “[s]exually motivated conduct was a part of the murder. ...” Dr. Arambula noted that Miller and Stratton were “kissing and petting. That’s sexually stimulating.... So that element is already there.” Dr. Arambula further explained that sexual motivation was indicated by behavioral symbolism present at the murder scene. The elements considered important by Dr. Aram-bula were the removal of Stratton’s clothing, the mutilation cuts, the knife left in Stratton’s chest as a phallic symbol, the positioning of her body, and the panties stuffed into her mouth.

Miller called Dr. Dunham to contradict the testimony of other witnesses regarding the sexually motivated nature of Stratton’s murder. Dr. Dunham testified that he did not “see how someone can say for certain what happened there and what was the motivation behind that.” Significant to Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
262 S.W.3d 877, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 9131, 2007 WL 5442526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-commitment-of-miller-texapp-2008.