In re J. H.

150 S.W.3d 477
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 5, 2004
DocketNo. 03-03-00197-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 150 S.W.3d 477 (In re J. H.) 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 J. H., 150 S.W.3d 477 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

BEA ANN SMITH, Justice.

J.H. appeals his delinquent-child adjudication and disposition after the trial court found he had engaged in the following delinquent conduct: aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child by contact, and indecency with a child by exposure. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 22.021 (West 2003), § 21.11 (West Supp.2004). After the disposition hearing, the court ordered J.H. committed to the Texas Youth Commission for a determinate period of twenty-five years. See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. §§ 51.03, 54.04 (West Supp.2004). Because we hold that the trial court improperly found two of the counts to be true when J.H. had established an affirmative defense to them, we will modify the adjudication order, affirm it as modified, and remand the cause for a new disposition hearing.

BACKGROUND

After waiving his right to a trial by jury, J.H. was tried in a bench trial for nine counts of alleged delinquent conduct — aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child by contact, and indecency with a child by exposure — committed against his three younger sisters, S.H., D.H., and L.H. See Tex. PemCode Ann. §§ 22.021, 21.11. The trial court found the following six paragraphs of the petition to be true and adjudicated J.H. delinquent accordingly: paragraphs three and four, alleging aggravated sexual assault against D.H.; paragraph five, alleging indecency with D.H. by contact; paragraph seven, alleging indecency with S.H. by contact; paragraph ten, alleging indecency with S.H. by expo[480]*480sure; and paragraph eleven, alleging indecency with L.H. by exposure. See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 51.03. The court also determined that J.H. had committed a violation of a penal law listed in section 53.045(a) of the family code. See id. § 53.045(a) (West 2002) (including aggravated sexual assault under penal code section 22.021 and indecency by contact under penal code section 21.11(a)(1)); Tex. Pen. Code Ann. §§ 21.11(a)(1), 22.021. The court then conducted a disposition hearing to determine J.H.’s punishment. The court found that J.H. was in need of rehabilitation and that it would be in his best interest to be committed to the care, custody, and control of the Texas Youth Commission. Because the trial court found that J.H. engaged in a violation of the offense of aggravated sexual assault, the court committed him to the Texas Youth Commission for a determinate sentence of twenty-five years.1 See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 54.04(d)(3) (West Supp.2004); Tex. Hum. Res.Code Ann. § 61.084 (West Supp. 2004).

In five points of error, J.H. appeals his adjudication for several of the offenses and the imposition of the twenty-five-year determinate sentence, arguing that the trial court erred by (1) assessing a determinate sentence after finding that he committed the offense of indecency with a child by exposure because that offense is not one for which a determinate sentence can be imposed; (2) finding that he committed the offense of indecency with S.H. by contact because he had established an affirmative defense to that charge; (3) finding that he committed the offense of indecency with S.H. by exposure because he had established an affirmative defense to that charge; (4) finding that he had committed the offense of indecency with D.H. by contact because the charge, as pled in the petition, is a lesser-included offense of aggravated sexual assault, and thus his rights have been violated under the Texas Constitution’s protections against double jeopardy; and (5) finding that he had committed the offense of indecency with D.H. by contact because the charge, as pled in the petition, is a lesser-included offense of aggravated sexual assault, and thus his rights have been violated under the United States Constitution’s protections against double jeopardy.

DISCUSSION

Determinate sentence

In his first point of error, J.H. argues that the trial court erred in assessing a determinate sentence after finding that he engaged in two counts of indecency with a child by exposure because that offense is not among the listed offenses for which a determinate sentence can be ordered. See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 53.045(a). The offenses for which a determinate sentence can be imposed include the following; aggravated sexual assault under penal code section 22.021 and indecency with a child by contact under penal code section 21.11(a)(1). See id.; Tex. [481]*481Pen.Code Ann. §§ 21.11(a)(1), 22.021. Although we agree with J.H. that the offense of indecency with a child by exposure is not among the listed offenses, both of the other offenses for which he was adjudicated — aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child by contact — are listed in section 53.045(a) of the family code, allowing for a determinate sentence:

[I]f the court or jury found at the conclusion of the adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that included a violation of a penal law listed in Section 53.045(a) ... the court or jury may sentence the child to commitment in the Texas Youth Commission with a possible transfer to the institutional division or the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a term of: (A) not more than 40 years if the conduct constitutes: ... a felony of the first degree.

Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 54.04(d)(3). Based on a plain reading of the statute, we conclude that even one violation of one penal law listed in section 53.045(a) of the family code is sufficient for the imposition of a determinate sentence. Here, J.H. was found to have engaged in both aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child by contact, both of which are listed in section 53.045(a). See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 53.045(a). That he also engaged in another offense — one not listed in section 53.045(a) — does not prohibit the assessment of a determinate sentence. We overrule J.H.’s first point.

Affirmative defense

In points of error two and three, J.H. argues that the trial court erred in finding that he had committed the offenses in paragraphs seven and ten of the petition, alleging indecency with a child by contact and by exposure as to S.H., because the evidence established an affirmative defense to those offenses. A defendant must prove an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. § 2.04(d) (West 2003). When a court of appeals is asked to consider whether an appellant has proven an affirmative defense at trial, “the correct standard of review is whether after considering all the evidence relevant to the issue at hand, the judgment is so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence so as to be manifestly unjust.” Meraz v. State, 785 S.W.2d 146, 154-55 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). It is an affirmative defense to the offense of indecency with a child if the evidence establishes that the actor:

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In Re JH
150 S.W.3d 477 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
150 S.W.3d 477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-j-h-texapp-2004.