Jewell v. State

593 S.W.2d 314
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 6, 1980
Docket58315-58321
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 593 S.W.2d 314 (Jewell v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jewell v. State, 593 S.W.2d 314 (Tex. 1980).

Opinions

OPINION

PHILLIPS, Judge.

This is an appeal from seven felony convictions for delivery of various controlled substances based on a consolidated trial and plea of guilty before the jury. Punishment was assessed as follows: 15 years in our Cause Nos. 58,315, 58,316, 58,317, and 58,318 (delivery of cocaine); 10 years in our Cause Nos. 58,319 and 58,320 (delivery of Tetrahy-drocannabinol); and 5 years in our Cause No. 58,321 (delivery of marihuana).

[315]*315Appellant’s first ground of error complains of the trial court’s response to the jury’s question propounded to the court after it retired to deliberate during the punishment phase of the appellant’s trial. The question:

“If prison sentences are given as punishment, are the terms concurrent or each served separately?”

elicited the court’s following oral answer:

“I will answer your question, Sir, by simply reading you Article 303 of the Texas Penal Code [sic].
“Our law further provides that ‘when the accused is found guilty of more than one offense arising out of the same criminal episode prosecuted in a single criminal action, sentences for each offense for which he has been found guilty shall be pronounced. Such sentences shall run concurrently.’
“And you are further instructed as the law in this case that you are not to discuss among yourselves how long the defendant will be required to serve these sentences you decide to impose, since as I advised you before, such matters come within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Governor of the State of Texas.”

The defendant’s attorney was advised before delivery of this answer to the jury what the court proposed to do and interposed the following objection:

“Your Honor, we object to the Court’s additional instruction of the jury having been charged heretofore, and the submission of Article 303 [sic] to the jury based on the question that has been propounded to the Court.
THE COURT: Of course, you realize that every time this Court answers a jury’s question it’s an additional charge on the law?
MR. WARDEN [Appellant’s trial attorney]: Your Honor, I don’t feel that the matter that the jury has made inquiry into is properly before the jury. And which action of the Court I will accept [sic] to.”

The issue before us upon this ground of error is not one of noncompliance with Article 36.27, V.A.C.C.P., although the court’s answer to the jury’s inquiry was not in writing as mandated by that provision. We also note that no objection to the procedure used was interposed. Rather, the issue before us is whether the court’s answer to the jury’s inquiry, which was erroneous and objected to, constitutes reversible error. The court’s instruction was clearly erroneous in light of the express provisions of V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Sec. 3.01, which limits the application of the principles enunciated in Chapter 3 to Title 7 offenses, i. e., offenses against property. The instant prosecutions were pursuant to Article 4476-15, V.A.C.S., the Controlled Substances Act. Appellant is correct in stating that Article 42.08, V.A. C.C.P., is the correct law applicable to appellant’s prosecution.1 See Morales v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 416 S.W.2d 403; Christopher v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 489 S.W.2d 573; Branson v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 525 S.W.2d 187.

At the outset, we note that Article 36.27, V.A.C.C.P., requires the trial court to “first submit the question and also submit his answer to the same [the jury’s question] to the defendant or his counsel or [sic] objections and exceptions, in the same manner as any other written instructions are submitted to such counsel, before the court gives such answer to the jury, . . ..” We conclude that there is a typographical error in the enrollment of the bill as noted above. Further, when read as intended, the statute clearly implicates the procedures of [316]*316Article 36.14, V.A.C.C.P., for preserving any error sought to be complained of on appeal. Although appellant’s objection is reflected in the transcribed statement of facts, there is nothing in the record on appeal showing the endorsement of appellant’s objections with the trial “court’s ruling and official signature . . ..” Thus, appellant has failed to preserve his error under the terms of Article 36.14, V.A.C.C.P. See Dirck v. State, 579 S.W.2d 198 (1978).

However, this omission does not end our inquiry since appellant has alleged that the error addressed to our attention is fundamental in nature. Fundamental errors in a charge of the court have been defined by the Legislature as those which are “calculated to injure the rights of defendant.” See Article 36.19, V.A.C.C.P. In addition, a reversal may yet follow if upon review of the record this Court concludes that the appellant was deprived of a “fair and impartial trial.” Id. See also Ashworth v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 418 S.W.2d 668; Peterson v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 508 S.W.2d 844; Smith v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 513 S.W.2d 823; Jefferson v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 487 S.W.2d 331.

In an opinion approved by this Court, Commissioner Keith wrote in Williams v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 508 S.W.2d 83:

“. . . error therein [in a court’s charge to which no objection was interposed] will be considered as fundamental error ‘only in those cases where the erroneous charge goes to the basis of the case and is contrary to and fails to state the law under which- the accused is prose-, cuted.’ ” Id. at 86.

See also Bellah v. State, 415 S.W.2d 418, 421; Cleaver v. State, 498 S.W.2d 945, 948. It was concluded in Williams, supra, that the trial court’s failure to limit the jury’s consideration of evidence on extraneous offenses did not constitute fundamental error absent an objection. See also Henriksen v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 500 S.W.2d 491. Although written in reference to the failure of the court’s charge to apply the abstract propositions of law to the facts of the cause at the guilt or innocence phase of a trial, this Court’s statements concerning the role of the court’s charge with respect to a determination whether such an omission was “calculated to injure the rights of defendant” in Williams v. State, 547 S.W.2d 18, are relevant to our decision here.

“However, this confidential character [of jury deliberations] also requires that the members of the jury, before deliberations, receive proper instructions regarding the performance of their civic duty. * * * There should be but one controlling application of the law to the facts, and that application should come from the court. Its absence impairs the right to trial by jury and, therefore, by definition, is ‘calculated to injure the rights of defendant’ (Art. 36.19, [V.A.C.C.P.]) to a trial by jury.

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593 S.W.2d 314, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jewell-v-state-texcrimapp-1980.