Jordan v. State

897 S.W.2d 909, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 746, 1995 WL 148399
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 6, 1995
Docket2-93-445-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 897 S.W.2d 909 (Jordan 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
Jordan v. State, 897 S.W.2d 909, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 746, 1995 WL 148399 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

LATTIMORE, Justice.

Appellant Christopher Jordan was convicted by a jury of the offense of driving while intoxicated. 1 The jury assessed punishment at ninety days’ confinement in the Denton County Jail, probated for two years, and a $450 fine. In three points of error, Jordan complains that the State improperly commented on his failure to testify, and the trial court erred in failing to require the State to produce a tape recorded interview.

We affirm.

On the evening of June 12,1992, Bill Theodore of the Denton Police Department stopped Christopher Jordan for attempting a left-hand turn through a red light. After smelling alcohol on Jordan’s breath, Officer Theodore administered three separate field sobriety tests. Suspecting that Jordan was intoxicated, Officer Theodore requested that he further undergo a breath or blood-alcohol test. Jordan refused and was arrested and taken to the Denton County Jail, where Officer Theodore videotaped Jordan performing additional field sobriety tests. Later, a local magistrate found no probable cause existed to justify issuance of an arrest warrant and ordered Jordan released. Jordan was subsequently convicted of driving while intoxicated.

In his first and second points of error, Jordan contends the State twice im *912 properly commented on Ms failure to testify. First, Jordan claims the trial court erroneously denied his motion for mistrial urged in response to the prosecutor’s closing argument, on Jordan’s failure to submit a breath or blood sample, wMch was an impermissible comment upon Ms failure to testify. Next, Jordan contends the trial court erroneously overruled Ms objection to the prosecutor’s continued impermissible comments.

A comment upon a defendant’s failure to testify violates the Fifth Amendment to the UMted States Constitution; Fontaine v. California 390 U.S. 593, 88 S.Ct. 1229, 20 L.Ed.2d 154 (1968); Tex. Const, art. I, § 10; Moore v. State, 849 S.W.2d 350, 351 (Tex. Crim.App.1993) (Baird, J., concurring); and Tex.Code CbimProcAnn. art. 38.08 (Vernon 1979). 2 Montoya v. State, 744 S.W.2d 15, 34 (Tex.Crim.App.1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1227, 108 S.Ct. 2887, 101 L.Ed.2d 921 (1988).

Argument will constitute a comment upon the defendant’s failure to testify if the language used is manifestly intended or is of such character that the jury would naturally and necessarily take it to be a comment on the accused’s failure to testify. Moore, 849 S.W.2d at 351; Caldwell v. State, 818 S.W.2d 790, 800 (Tex.Crim.App.1991), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 990,112 S.Ct. 1684,118 L.Ed.2d 399 (1992). To be improper, the comment must be such that it could only be construed to refer to a defendant’s failure to testify; it is not sufficient that the language might be construed as implied or indirect allusion to an accused’s failure to testify. Dickinson v. State, 685 S.W.2d 320, 323 (Tex.Crim.App.1984); Bird v. State, 527 S.W.2d 891, 893 (Tex.Crim.App.1975). The facts and circumstances of each case must be analyzed to determine whether the language is of such a character as to direct the jury to the defendant’s failure to testify. Montoya, 744 S.W.2d at 35. To constitute reversible error, the jury argument must be extreme or mam-festly improper or inject new and harmful facts into evidence. Gaddis v. State, 753 S.W.2d 396, 398 (Tex.Crim.App.1988).

In the instant case, Jordan did not testify in Ms own behalf. Therefore, the only testimony received at trial came from Officer Theodore concerning Jordan’s conduct indicating a level of intoxication sufficient to warrant arrest. During jury argument at the guilt/innoeence phase, the prosecutor commented:

[PROSECUTOR:] He [Jordan] was given his is [sic] statutory warning about submitting a breath or blood sample. Mr. Marsh will have you believe, well, that’s of no benefit to him if he gives a breath or blood sample. You mean to tell me that if that sample came back .03, for example, when the legal limit is way up to .10, that wouldn’t be important for you to know that, that it was that much below what is considered legally intoxicated? I submit to you it was an extreme benefit if he’s not intoxicated for you to know what that level is. But he knows, and he is the only person who really knows. He knows—
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I’m going to object to that, your Honor. Failure of the defendant to testify.
THE COURT: Sustained.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Ask that the jury be instructed to disregard the last remark by the counsel for the State.
THE COURT: The jury is instructed to disregard the previous comment by—
[PROSECUTOR]: Judge, am I being instructed not to argue that the defendant refused the test?
THE COURT: No.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: At this time, your Honor, we’d move for mistrial.
THE COURT: That’s denied.
[PROSECUTOR]: He refused. He didn’t want you to know what that reading *913 was going to be. Why? Why didn’t he want you to know?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I’m going to object to that, your Honor. It’s more argument on the failure of the defendant to testify.
[PROSECUTOR]: And I disagree.
THE COURT: I’ll overrule that objection. Go ahead. [Emphasis added.]

Jordan believes the prosecutor’s remarks are similar to those made in Valles v. State, 817 S.W.2d 138 (Tex.App. — El Paso 1991, no pet.). As in the instant case, the prosecutor in Valles commented during jury argument about the defendant’s failure to take a sobriety and breath test after being arrested for driving while intoxicated. Id. at 138^40. The prosecutor then asked “Why didn’t he explain or someone explain?” According to the El Paso Court of Appeals, this later statement was harmful because the prosecutor deviated from discussing the defendant’s failure to take a sobriety or breathalyzer test and directly commented on the defendant’s failure to testify. Id. at 140. On that point, Valles is distinguishable based on the following analysis.

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Bluebook (online)
897 S.W.2d 909, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 746, 1995 WL 148399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jordan-v-state-texapp-1995.