Kenyon Grady Cox v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 17, 2011·No. 02-09-00297-CR·Published

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH

NO. 02-09-00297-CR

KENYON GRADY COX APPELLANT

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE

------------

FROM CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT NO. 2 OF TARRANT COUNTY

MEMORANDUM OPINION1 ON STATE’S MOTION FOR REHEARING ------------

After considering the State‘s motion for rehearing, we deny the motion, but

we withdraw our opinion and judgment of March 31, 2011 and substitute the

following.

A jury convicted Appellant Kenyon Grady Cox of two counts of aggravated

sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact and

1 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4. assessed his punishment at life imprisonment and a $10,000 fine on each count.

The trial court sentenced him accordingly, ordering the sentences to be served

consecutively. In eight points, Appellant contends that the trial court abused its

discretion by stacking the sentences and that he received ineffective assistance

of counsel at trial. We hold that defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance

at trial by misstating the application of the stacking law to the venire panel and by

not ensuring that such misstatement was corrected before the jury delivered its

punishment verdict, but we also hold that the trial court did not reversibly err and

that Appellant has not proved his remaining claims of ineffective assistance. We

therefore affirm the trial court‘s judgment as to Appellant‘s convictions but

reverse the trial court‘s judgment as to punishment and remand this case for a

new trial on punishment only.

I. Trial Court Did Not Abuse Discretion by Stacking Sentences

In his first point, Appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion

by stacking the sentences. Section 3.03 of the penal code provides that the trial

court has discretion to stack sentences in cases involving aggravated sexual

assault of a child and indecency with a child.2 The trial court‘s decision to stack

the sentences in this case is therefore ―a normative, discretionary function that

does not turn on discrete findings of fact‖ 3 and is ―unassailable on appeal.‖4 We

2 See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 3.03(b)(2)(A) (West 2011); see also id. §§ 21.11, 22.021(a)(1), (2)(B). 3 Barrow v. State, 207 S.W.3d 377, 380 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).

2 consequently hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by stacking the

four sentences and overrule Appellant‘s first point.

II. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel at Trial

In his remaining points, Appellant contends that he received ineffective

assistance of counsel at trial.

A. Standard of Review

To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, an appellant must show by

a preponderance of the evidence that his counsel‘s representation fell below the

standard of prevailing professional norms and that there is a reasonable

probability that, but for counsel‘s deficiency, the result of the trial would have

been different.5

In evaluating the effectiveness of counsel under the first prong, we look to

the totality of the representation and the particular circumstances of each case. 6

The issue is whether counsel‘s assistance was reasonable under all the

circumstances and prevailing professional norms at the time of the alleged error.7

4 Id. at 381; see also Beedy v. State, 250 S.W.3d 107, 110 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). 5 Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064 (1984); Salinas v. State, 163 S.W.3d 734, 740 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); Mallett v. State, 65 S.W.3d 59, 62–63 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001); Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808, 812 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999); Hernandez v. State, 988 S.W.2d 770, 770 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). 6 Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 813. 7 See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688–89, 104 S. Ct. at 2065.

3 Review of counsel‘s representation is highly deferential, and the reviewing court

indulges a strong presumption that counsel‘s conduct fell within a wide range of

reasonable representation.8 A reviewing court will rarely be in a position on

direct appeal to fairly evaluate the merits of an ineffective assistance claim. 9 ―In

the majority of cases, the record on direct appeal is undeveloped and cannot

adequately reflect the motives behind trial counsel‘s actions.‖10 To overcome the

presumption of reasonable professional assistance, ―any allegation of

ineffectiveness must be firmly founded in the record, and the record must

affirmatively demonstrate the alleged ineffectiveness.‖ 11 It is not appropriate for

an appellate court to simply infer ineffective assistance based upon unclear

portions of the record.12

The second prong of Strickland requires a showing that counsel‘s errors

were so serious that they deprived the defendant of a fair trial, that is, a trial with

a reliable result.13 In other words, appellant must show there is a reasonable

probability that, but for counsel‘s unprofessional errors, the result of the

8 Salinas, 163 S.W.3d at 740; Mallett, 65 S.W.3d at 63. 9 Salinas, 163 S.W.3d at 740; Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 813–14. 10 Salinas, 163 S.W.3d at 740 (quoting Mallett, 65 S.W.3d at 63). 11 Id. (quoting Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 813). 12 Mata v. State, 226 S.W.3d 425, 432 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). 13 Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S. Ct. at 2064.

4 proceeding would have been different. 14 A reasonable probability is a probability

sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. 15 The ultimate focus of our

inquiry must be on the fundamental fairness of the proceeding in which the result

is being challenged.16

B. No Ineffective Assistance by Failing to File Motion to Sever

In his fourth and fifth points, Appellant contends that his trial counsel

rendered ineffective assistance by not filing a motion to sever. As Appellant

admits, section 3.04(c) of the penal code provides,

The right to severance under this section does not apply to a prosecution for offenses described by Section 3.03(b) unless the court determines that the defendant or the state would be unfairly prejudiced by a joinder of offenses, in which event the judge may order the offenses to be tried separately or may order other relief as justice requires.17

Section 3.03(b)(2) applies to certain sexual offenses against complainants

younger than seventeen years old, such as the offenses in this case.18

Appellant does not explain how trial counsel‘s filing of a motion to sever

could have possibly changed the outcome of his trial and gives no evidence of

unfair prejudice based on the joinder of the four offenses. Accordingly, he has

14 Id. at 694, 104 S. Ct. at 2068. 15 Id. 16 Id. at 697, 104 S. Ct. at 2070. 17 Tex. Penal Code Ann.

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Mallett v. State
65 S.W.3d 59 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Salinas v. State
163 S.W.3d 734 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Mata v. State
226 S.W.3d 425 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Barrow v. State
207 S.W.3d 377 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Beedy v. State
250 S.W.3d 107 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2008)
Thompson v. State
9 S.W.3d 808 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Hernandez v. State
988 S.W.2d 770 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)