Jesus Gabriel Zamarripa v. State

573 S.W.3d 514
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 30, 2019
Docket14-17-00267-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 573 S.W.3d 514 (Jesus Gabriel Zamarripa 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
Jesus Gabriel Zamarripa v. State, 573 S.W.3d 514 (Tex. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Affirmed and Opinion filed April 30, 2019.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-17-00267-CR

JESUS GABRIEL ZAMARRIPA, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 178th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 0483100

OPINION

A jury convicted appellant Jesus Zamarripa of aggravated sexual assault of a child under fourteen years of age. The jury sentenced appellant to prison for thirty years and assessed a fine of $10,000. Appellant timely brought this appeal, complaining the trial court erred in denying his motion to quash the indictment for violation of his right to a speedy trial. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.

In his sole issue, appellant argues his constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated. An accused is guaranteed the right to a speedy trial under both the United States and Texas Constitutions. See U.S. Const. amend. VI; Tex. Const. art. I § 10. Texas courts apply the same standard to enforce the state constitutional right to a speedy trial as federal courts use to enforce the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. Harris v. State, 827 S.W.2d 949, 956 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992). We therefore analyze together appellant’s claims that these rights were violated. Ortega v. State, 472 S.W.3d 779, 785 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, no pet.).

STANDARD OF REVIEW AND APPLICABLE LAW

The right to a speedy trial attaches once a person becomes an accused; this can be when he is either arrested or charged with an offense. Henson v. State, 407 S.W.3d 764, 767 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). We analyze speedy trial claims on a case- by-case basis by balancing the following factors: (1) length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) the defendant’s assertion of his right; and (4) the prejudice inflicted on the defendant by the delay. Zamorano v. State, 84 S.W.3d 643, 647–48 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002) (citing Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530 (1972)). To trigger a speedy-trial violation analysis, “an accused must allege that the interval between accusation and trial has crossed the threshold dividing ordinary from ‘presumptively prejudicial’ delay.” Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647, 651–52, (1992). If the first Barker factor is satisfied, an analysis of the remaining factors is triggered. Id. We must analyze the speedy-trial claim by first weighing the strength of each of the Barker factors and then balancing their relative weights in light of “the conduct of both the prosecution and the defendant.” Id. No one factor is “either a necessary or sufficient condition to the finding of a deprivation of the right of speedy trial.” Id. Instead, the four factors are related and must be considered together along with any other relevant circumstances. Id. As no factor possesses “talismanic qualities,” we engage “in a difficult and sensitive balancing process” in each individual case. Id.; see State v. Wei, 447 S.W.3d 549, 554 (Tex. App.—Houston

2 [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. ref’d) (“The defendant’s burden of proof varies inversely to the State’s degree of culpability for the delay.”).

We apply a bifurcated standard of review when considering a trial court’s decision to dismiss an indictment because the defendant was denied his right to a speedy trial. State v. Krizan–Wilson, 354 S.W.3d 808, 815 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). Legal components are evaluated de novo, while the factual components are evaluated for an abuse of discretion. Cantu v. State, 253 S.W.3d 273, 282 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). We give almost total deference to a trial court’s findings of fact that are supported by the record, as well as any mixed questions of law and fact that rely upon the credibility of witnesses. Krizan-Wilson,354 S.W.3d at 815. With respect to the trial court’s resolution of factual issues, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s ruling. Cantu, 253 S.W.3d at 282. Review of the individual Barker factors necessarily involves factual determinations and legal conclusions, but the balancing test is “a purely legal question.” Id.

The trial court made findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record August 15, 2016, when it denied the motion to quash.1 When findings of fact are unchallenged, they are binding on an appellate court unless the contrary is established as a matter of law, or there is no evidence to support the finding. See Goodson v. State, No. 09-18-00018-CV, 2018 WL 5060432, at *3 (Tex. App.— Beaumont Oct. 18, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.) (not designated for publication) (citing McGalliard v. Kuhlmann, 722 S.W.2d 694, 696 (Tex. 1986); Vasquez v. State, No. 01-04-01221-CV, 2006 WL 2506965, at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 31, 2006, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (not designated for publication) (same)). We address those challenged by appellant within his argument on the Barker factors in

1 The trial court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law are attached as Appendix A.

3 our analysis below. We review de novo the conclusions of law drawn by the trial court from the facts to determine their correctness. See Goodson, 2018 WL 5060432, at *3 (citing BMC Software Belg., N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 794 (Tex. 2002)).

ANALYSIS

A. Length of the delay

This first factor is a double inquiry. See Doggett, 505 U.S. at 651. We first “must consider whether the delay is sufficiently long to even trigger a further analysis under the Barker factors, and if it is, then the court must consider to what extent it stretches beyond this triggering length.” Hopper v. State, 520 S.W.3d 915, 924 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).

The length of the delay is measured from the time the defendant is arrested or formally accused until the trial or the defendant’s demand for a speedy trial occurs. United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 313 (1971); see Ortega, 472 S.W.3d at 785– 86; Celestine v. State, 356 S.W.3d 502, 507 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, no pet.). The length of the delay is, to some extent, a triggering mechanism, so that a speedy trial claim will not even be heard until passage of a period of time that is, on its face, unreasonable under the circumstances. Dragoo v. State, 96 S.W.3d 308, 313 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). “If the accused makes this showing, the court must then consider, as one factor among several, the extent to which the delay stretches beyond the bare minimum needed to trigger judicial examination of the claim.” Doggett, 505 U.S. at 652.

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573 S.W.3d 514, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jesus-gabriel-zamarripa-v-state-texapp-2019.