Marion D. Jones v. State

83 S.W.3d 386, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 5830, 2002 WL 1827642
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 9, 2002
Docket07-01-00393-CR
StatusPublished

This text of 83 S.W.3d 386 (Marion D. Jones 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
Marion D. Jones v. State, 83 S.W.3d 386, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 5830, 2002 WL 1827642 (Tex. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

DON H. REAVIS, Justice.

Upon a plea of not guilty, appellant Marion D. Jones was convicted by a jury of assault on a public servant, enhanced, and the trial court assessed punishment at ten years confinement. By a single issue, appellant contends the trial court erred by not allowing evidence that one of the State’s witnesses was on deferred adjudication community supervision when he testified. By reply brief, the State candidly [388]*388concedes error, and acknowledges that under Maxwell v. State, 48 S.W.3d 196, 200 (Tex.Cr.App.2001), appellant should have been granted unlimited cross-examination of this witness. However, it contends the error was harmless. Reviewing the record as required by Tex.R.App. P. 44.2(a), we conclude the judgment must be reversed.

Appellant attempted to leave a Family Dollar store in Lubbock, Texas, without purchasing any merchandise when she was stopped by the store manager on suspicion of shoplifting. Appellant accompanied the manager to his office, where he called the police. When the responding officer arrived he was unable to converse with the store manager because of appellant’s interruptions, profanity, and threats to sue the store. As instructed by the officer, appellant sat down, but continued her profanity and interruptions. Because of safety concerns, the officer handcuffed appellant, at which time she began slamming herself into a wall. The State contends that as the officer attempted to restrain appellant, she kicked the officer on his legs several, times.

The responding officer, the store manager, and a former store employee were called as witnesses by the State to prove the offense charged in the indictment. At the conclusion of his direct examination, the prosecutor requested and was granted the opportunity to examine the former store employee outside the jury’s presence. On the State’s voir dire, the witness acknowledged he was on community supervision for an offense, but stated he had not been promised anything in exchange for his testimony. Upon examination by appellant’s counsel, the witness acknowledged he would be under community supervision until September 2002. Appellant argued for the right to cross-examine the witness in front of the jury on the status of his deferred adjudication in order to show a potential motive, bias or interest to testify for the State. Notwithstanding appellant’s argument, the trial court announced

With regard to the matter before the Court, the Court finds that [the witness] has not been finally convicted of a felony in this cause, and will deny the request to go into the deferred adjudication.
And I’ll allow you to carry a running objection to ... those matters.

Relying on Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 315, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 1110, 39 L.Ed.2d 347, 353 (1974), appellant argues the trial court’s exclusion of evidence that a State’s witness was on deferred adjudication violated his right to cross-examine and confront the witness. The erroneous denial of the right of confrontation of witnesses is “constitutional error of the first magnitude and no amount of showing of want of prejudice [will] cure it.” Parker v. State, 657 S.W.2d 137, 139 (Tex.Cr.App.1983) (en banc). The State concedes the limitation placed on appellant’s cross-examination was error, but contends that under Maxwell, it is subject to a harmless error analysis. The State agrees our review is governed by Tex.R.App. P. 44.2(a) which provides we

must reverse a judgment of conviction or punishment unless the court determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to the conviction or punishment.

Under Tex R.App. P. 44.2(a) the State carries the burden to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the error made no contribution to the verdict. Crosson v. State, 36 S.W.3d 642, 645 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, no pet.) (citing Williams v. State, 958 S.W.2d 186,194 n. 9 (Tex.Cr.App.1997); Merritt v. State, 982 S.W.2d 634, 636 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1998, pet. ref d, untimely filed)). In our analysis of the error, we consider five factors: (1) the importance of the witness’s [389]*389testimony in the prosecution of the case; (2) whether the testimony was cumulative; (3) the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points; (4) the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted; and (5) the overall strength of the prosecution’s case. Shelby v. State, 819 S.W.2d 544, 547 (Tex.Cr.App.1991) (en banc).

We commence our analysis by observing appellant was not charged with resisting arrest under Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 38.03 (Vernon Supp.2002), and resisting arrest is not a lesser included offense of assault on a public servant. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 22.01 (Vernon Supp.2002); see also Lofton v. State, 45 S.W.3d 649 (Tex.Cr.App.2001). The State called only three witnesses to establish the conduct of appellant, to-wit: (1) the responding officer; (2) the store manager who initiated appellant’s detention; and (3) the former store employee who was subject to deferred adjudication community supervision.

Factors 2, 3, and 4

Although the former store employee’s testimony was (2) somewhat cumulative, (3) other corroborating evidence existed, and (4) cross-examination of the witness was not otherwise limited, these three factors do not completely control the issue or preclude further analysis.

Factors 1 and 5

Our analysis of factors one and five requires us to consider the law included in the court’s charge: namely, that the jurors were the sole judges of the facts proved, credibility of the witnesses, and weight to be given their testimony. Civil case law acknowledges that testimony of a disinterested witness undoubtedly carries more weight over similar testimony from an interested witness. See Tinkle v. Henderson, 777 S.W.2d 537, 539 (Tex.App.—Tyler 1989, writ denied). Although a civil assault case, in Boothe v. Hausler, 766 S.W.2d 788 (Tex.1989), the Court held that as the only non-party not assaulted, a witness was disinterested and therefore his testimony was dispositive on the material issue. Here, the testimony and opportunity to unrestricted cross-examination takes on considerably more importance because of the constitutional implications in this case not presented in civil cases.

Importance of the Witness’s Testimony To State

Over one month before trial, appellant’s counsel filed a motion requesting the State list and furnish the criminal history of its witnesses.

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Related

Davis v. Alaska
415 U.S. 308 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Crosson v. State
36 S.W.3d 642 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Hastings v. State
20 S.W.3d 786 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Fowler v. State
65 S.W.3d 116 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Wesbrook v. State
29 S.W.3d 103 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Boothe v. Hausler
766 S.W.2d 788 (Texas Supreme Court, 1989)
Lofton v. State
45 S.W.3d 649 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Williams v. State
958 S.W.2d 186 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Shelby v. State
819 S.W.2d 544 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Tinkle Ex Rel. Tinkle v. Henderson
777 S.W.2d 537 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Parker v. State
657 S.W.2d 137 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1983)
Maxwell v. State
48 S.W.3d 196 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Merritt v. State
982 S.W.2d 634 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1998)

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Bluebook (online)
83 S.W.3d 386, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 5830, 2002 WL 1827642, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marion-d-jones-v-state-texapp-2002.