In Re RAB

525 S.W.2d 892
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 26, 1975
Docket988
StatusPublished

This text of 525 S.W.2d 892 (In Re RAB) 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 RAB, 525 S.W.2d 892 (Tex. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

525 S.W.2d 892 (1975)

In the Matter of R. A. B., a minor, Appellant.

No. 988.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, Corpus Christi.

June 26, 1975.

*893 Phil Harris, Weslaco, for appellant.

Gordon Young, Asst. Dist. Atty., Juvenile Dept., Edinburg, for appellee.

*894 OPINION

BISSETT, Justice.

This is an appeal by a male juvenile, who will be 17 years of age on August 17, 1975, from an order revoking probation. The appellant will sometime be referred to as "R.A.B.", and sometimes as "the juvenile".

The State of Texas, acting by and through the District Attorney of Hidalgo County, filed a petition in the Juvenile Court of Hidalgo County on November 29, 1973, wherein it was alleged that R.A.B. "is a child whose conduct is delinquent" in that he had theretofore committed two burglaries, two thefts and was knowingly and intentionally in possession of a usable quantity of marijuana consisting of more than two ounces but less than four ounces. The petition was filed in the 93rd District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas, and the case was docketed as "Cause No. 1799-B" in that court. Judge Magus F. Smith was, and is, the regular Judge of the 93rd District Court.

A hearing was had on the petition on July 30, 1974. Following the hearing, judgment was rendered on the same day which declared that R.A.B. "has engaged in delinquent conduct within the meaning of Section 51.03 of the Texas Family Code". By a separate order, entitled "Order of Disposition", also rendered on July 30, 1974, and following a separate hearing, it was ordered that R.A.B. be placed on probation for a period of one year. Judge Smith presided at both hearings and signed both orders. R.A.B. did not appeal from either of those orders.

On December 9, 1974, the State filed a motion, entitled "Motion to Modify Disposition", wherein request was made that R.A.B. be brought before the court to determine whether the court should modify the disposition previously made. A hearing on the motion was held on March 18, 1975, before Judge Joe B. Evins, the regular judge of the 206th District Court of Hidalgo County. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Evins announced from the bench that R.A.B. had violated the terms and conditions of the probation. A written judgment was signed and rendered by Judge Evins on March 27, 1975, wherein it was ordered that the prior disposition order placing R.A.B. on probation be modified so as to commit him to the care, custody and control of the Texas Youth Council. A commitment order which ordered R.A.B. committed to the care, custody and control of the Texas Youth Council was also signed by Judge Evins on March 27, 1975.

R.A.B., in point of error 1, complains that the trial court did not notify him or his parent of his right to appeal from the order that declared him to be delinquent, and which was signed and rendered on July 30, 1974. The point cannot be considered by this Court in this appeal.

Point 1 relates only to the adjudication hearing and the orders which were made following that hearing. They are not before this Court in this appeal. We are concerned here only with the hearing that was held on March 18, 1975 on the State's motion to modify disposition, and the orders which were rendered on March 27, 1975, which revoked probation and committed the juvenile to the care, custody and control of the Texas Youth Council. While there are no juvenile cases on the issue presented by the point, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in cases involving adults, has consistently held that where the defendant fails to appeal from the original judgment which placed him on probation, he may not attack the original conviction for the first time in an appeal from a subsequent order that revokes that probation. See Hoskins v. State, 425 S.W.2d 825 (Tex.Cr.App.1967); Brooks v. State, 459 S.W.2d 640 (Tex.Cr. App.1970); Wise v. State, 477 S.W.2d 578 (Tex.Cr.App.1972); Gossett v. State, 162 Tex.Cr.R. 52, 282 S.W.2d 59 (1955). The rule of those cases applies to the case at bar. Point 1 is overruled.

*895 Points of error 5, 6, 7, and 8 assert error in that the trial court, in both the adjudication hearing on July 30, 1974, and in the hearing on the motion to modify disposition on March 18, 1975, erred in not explaining to the juvenile and his parent: 1) the nature and possible consequences of the proceedings; 2) the allegations made against the child; 3) the privilege against self-incrimination; and 4) the juvenile's right to confrontation of witnesses. None of the points have merit.

As phrased, the points relate to alleged errors that were committed by the trial court on two different occasions and at two different hearings. The points cannot be considered insofar as the adjudication hearing on July 30, 1974, is concerned for the same reason stated in our discussion of point 1.

With respect to the hearing on the motion to modify disposition and the orders which were made and rendered pursuant to that hearing, the record reveals: R.A.B. was represented by counsel; prior to the introduction of any evidence, the comments made by Judge Evins in response to questions raised by counsel for both the State and for the juvenile, fully apprised R.A.B. and his parent of the nature and possible consequences of the proceeding, and of the allegations made against the child; R.A.B. did not testify at the hearings, consequently there is no basis for the complaints concerning "self-incrimination"; counsel for R.A.B. cross-examined the State's witnesses in great detail, and the juvenile was accorded the right of confrontation of witnesses. Points 5, 6, 7, and 8 are overruled.

The juvenile, in point 2, contends that neither Judge Evins nor the 206th District Court of Hidalgo County have jurisdiction over him or Cause No. 1799-B, and that the order which, in effect, revoked his probation, rendered on March 27, 1975, is void. We do not agree.

Under the Texas Family Code Ann., V.T.C.A. (1974), all procedures concerning juveniles are controlled by the provisions of Title 3. Section 51.04 thereof, entitled "Jurisdiction", provides, in part:

"(a) The juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings under this title.
(b) In a county having a juvenile board, the board shall designate one or more district, criminal district, domestic relations, juvenile, or county courts or county courts at law as the juvenile court . .
* * * * * *
(e) A designation made under Subsection (b) ... of this section may be changed from time to time by the authorized boards or judges for the convenience of the people and the welfare of children. However, there must be at all times a juvenile court designated for each county. It is the intent of the legislature that ... changes in the designation of juvenile courts be made only when the best interest of the public requires it."
* * * * * *

It is, therefore, plain that statutory authority existed for the designation of all the district courts of Hidalgo County, Texas, as "the juvenile court". Nothing is presented which indicates that the 206th District Court could not have been so designated.

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525 S.W.2d 892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-rab-texapp-1975.