Logan v. State

690 S.W.2d 311, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6741
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 12, 1985
DocketNo. 05-83-00351-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 690 S.W.2d 311 (Logan 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
Logan v. State, 690 S.W.2d 311, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6741 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

GUILLOT, Justice.

Appellant was convicted by a jury of possession of methadone. The court assessed punishment at twenty years imprisonment in the Texas Department of Corree-[313]*313tions. On appeal, appellant raises four grounds of error. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

The facts adduced at trial show that several police officers went to a house on Hall street in search of an armed robbery suspect. In connection with the robbery, the police received a vehicle description and license tag number matching appellant’s brother Larry’s car which was parked in the driveway of that house on Hall Street. Sergeant King asked appellant, who was standing on the porch, if she had seen the owner of the car. Appellant replied that he had just run down the alley. Sergeant King directed Officer Millward to go to the back of the house. When Sergeant King asked to go into the house, appellant insisted that the car’s owner had gone out the back door and down the alley. With the permission of the owner of the house, Sergeant King entered the house. He found the back door locked, determined that no one could have exited that way, and then discovered Larry inside one of the bedrooms. Another officer handcuffed Larry and took him outside. Sergeant King found appellant and informed her that she was under arrest for hindering apprehension. Officer Millward took her outside, and his partner, Officer Kendall, conducted a search. Officer Kendall found, in appellant’s pocket, an aluminum foil packet containing what was later determined to be methadone.

In her first ground of error, appellant complains that there was no valid waiver of counsel because the trial court did not adequately inquire into her capacity to waive counsel or warn her of the dangers of doing so as required by Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). We first address the court’s inquiry into appellant’s capacity. In response to the court’s questions, appellant stated that she was thirty-nine years old, grew up in Dallas, has a G.E.D. (General Equivalency Diploma) and one year of business management, can read and write in the English language, and had previously been tried in a criminal court assisted by a lawyer. Additionally, because the waiver of counsel occurred after the State rested its case, the court had had an opportunity to observe appellant and her demeanor, and, in connection with the waiver, the court discussed with her some of the proceedings and instructions up to that point.

It is well established that, in Texas, a court is not required to ask particular questions. Martin v. State, 630 S.W.2d 952, 954 (Tex.Crim.App.1982) (en banc). Instead, the record as a whole must demonstrate that the defendant was aware of her actions and proceeded “with [her] eyes open.” Martin, 630 S.W.2d at 954; Garza v. State, 635 S.W.2d 644 (Tex.App.—Amarillo, 1982, pet. ref’d). We hold that the record in the case at bar supports the trial court’s determination that appellant was competent to waive counsel.

Next, we review the record for the sufficiency of the warnings given by the trial court regarding the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation. The court informed appellant of the range of punishment she could receive if found guilty and how it could vary if the jury found one or both of the enhancement paragraphs to be true. The court explained that there may be some defenses, and it enumerated three. Furthermore, it warned appellant that:

(1) she would be bound by the rules of evidence and was entitled to have the lawyer present for advice on this;
(2) she would receive no special consideration, but would be held to the same standard as a lawyer;
(3) there is a lot involved in preparing a defense besides just telling the story of what happened;
(4) “there are a lot of dangers and disadvantages of self-representation” and “there are a number of disastrous things that could happen” as a result;
(5) she could “open up extraneous offenses just by asking the wrong question;”
(6) she could alienate the jury by taking over her defense in mid-stream and by [314]*314having a lawyer present only for advice; and
(7) putting character witnesses on would open the door to everything she has ever done.

Finally, the court set forth some possible trial strategies the lawyer may have had in mind when he did the things of which appellant complains. We hold that these admonishments were sufficient to apprise appellant of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation. See Geeslin v. State, 600 S.W.2d 309 (Tex.Crim.App.1980). Thus, the waiver meets the requirements of Faretta.

Appellant further contends that the waiver was the product of dissatisfaction with that particular lawyer rather than the product of a desire for self-representation; therefore, the waiver is invalid. It is true that an expression of dissatisfaction, alone, is not sufficient to constitute a waiver of counsel. Thomas v. State, 550 S.W.2d 64 (Tex.Crim.App.1977). However, each of the cases that appellant cites in support of this proposition lacks either a clear expression of waiver, Thomas, 550 S.W.2d 64, or sufficient inquiry into capacity and warnings as to the dangers. Renfro v. State, 586 S.W.2d 496 (Tex.Crim.App.1979); Privett v. State, 635 S.W.2d 746 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1982, pet. ref’d).

In the case at bar, we have both a clear expression of appellant’s desire to represent herself and a knowing and intelligent waiver following the court’s admonishments. This trial court did not present appellant with the “Hobson’s choice” described in Renfro, 586 S.W.2d 496, and Privett, 635 S.W.2d 644. Appellant never requested another lawyer or any other relief from the trial court. Appellant simply discharged the lawyer appointed by the court. After all of the warnings and questions above, the court asked appellant whether she wanted to proceed with counsel or without. As is her constitutional right, appellant clearly and unqualifiedly stated, “I wish to represent myself.” Appellant’s first ground of error is overruled.

In her second ground of error, appellant contends that the trial court should have sustained appellant’s Motion to Suppress because there was no probable cause for arrest for hindering apprehension. The elements of this misdemeanor offense are as follows:

A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the arrest, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for an offense, he:
(1) harbors or conceals the other;

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690 S.W.2d 311, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6741, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/logan-v-state-texapp-1985.