Matter of SJ

977 S.W.2d 147, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 3662, 1998 WL 315543
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 17, 1998
Docket04-97-00697-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 977 S.W.2d 147 (Matter of SJ) 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
Matter of SJ, 977 S.W.2d 147, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 3662, 1998 WL 315543 (Tex. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

977 S.W.2d 147 (1998)

In the Matter of S.J.

No. 04-97-00697-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, San Antonio.

June 17, 1998.

*148 Collis White, George Scharmen, San Antonio, for Appellant.

Enrico B. Valdez, Asst. Crim. Dist. Atty., San Antonio, for Appellee.

Before RICKHOFF, DUNCAN and ANGELINI, JJ.

OPINION

DUNCAN, Justice.

After the trial court denied S.J.'s motion to suppress, S.J. pled "true" to aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and received a fifteen-year determinate sentence. On appeal, S.J. claims the trial court was without jurisdiction to impose a determinate sentence because the grand jury did not approve the State's petition, and the court erred in denying his motion to suppress an in-court identification. We disagree and affirm the judgment.

*149 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

S.J., the gunman in the four-man robbery of a convenience store on the afternoon of May 19, 1997, was apprehended the following morning and taken back to the store in the back seat of a patrol car. When S.J. was removed from the car, the clerk identified him from a distance of approximately twenty feet. The clerk also later identified S.J. in a photo line-up. As a result, S.J. was charged with delinquent conduct for committing the offense of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. After the trial court denied S.J.'s motion to suppress the identification evidence, he pled "true" and received a fifteen-year determinate sentence.

GRAND JURY CERTIFICATION OF DELINQUENCY PETITION

In his first point of error, S.J. contends the trial court did not have jurisdiction to impose a determinate sentence because the record does not establish the State properly presented its petition to the grand jury and obtained its approval. We disagree.

Scope and Standard of Review

S.J. argues his first point of error is governed by a factual sufficiency standard of review, citing NCNB Texas Nat'l Bank v. Anderson, 812 S.W.2d 441, 443-44 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1991, no writ). In Anderson, this court held there was legally and factually sufficient evidence to support the trial court's findings of fact relating to a special appearance filed pursuant to Rule 120a, TEX.R.CIV. P. Id. at 445. In this case, on the other hand, we confront a question of law—whether the trial court correctly applied the governing law to the undisputed facts established by documents in the clerk's record. We review questions of law de novo. Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 840 (Tex. 1992); Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85, 89 (Tex.Crim.App.1997).

Discussion

A "determinate sentence" may be assessed against a juvenile who commits aggravated robbery. TEX.FAM.CODE ANN. § 53.045(a)(6) (Vernon Supp.1998). If a determinate sentence is imposed, the juvenile may be committed in the Texas Youth Commission until his eighteenth birthday and then transferred to prison. Id. § 54.04(d)(3). However, a juvenile court may not impose a determinate sentence unless (1) the district attorney refers the petition to the grand jury; (2) the grand jury approves the petition and certifies its approval; (3) the grand jury's approval of the petition is certified to the juvenile court; and (4) the grand jury's certification is filed in the record. Id. §§ 53.045(a), 53.045(d), 54.04(d)(3) (Vernon 1996). If the State fails to obtain and file the requisite grand jury certification, the trial court is without jurisdiction to impose a determinate sentence. Id. § 54.04(d)(2)-(3) (Vernon Supp.1998); In re S.D.W., 811 S.W.2d 739, 744 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1991, no writ). Conversely, when these requirements are met, the petition is deemed an indictment for purposes of later transferring the juvenile to prison or the parole board. Id. § 53.045(d); see In re J.G., 905 S.W.2d 676, 680 (Tex. App.—Texarkana), writ denied per curiam, 916 S.W.2d 949 (Tex.1995); In re D.S., 833 S.W.2d 250, 252-53 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1992, writ denied). Grand jury certification in a juvenile case is thus obtained in the same manner and serves the same legal purpose as an indictment in a criminal case. We therefore turn to this body of law to resolve S.J.'s point of error.

"An indictment is a written instrument presented to a court by a grand jury charging a person with the commission of an offense." TEX. CONST. art. V, § 12(b). "Presentment of an indictment vests the court with jurisdiction of the cause," id., and provides a criminal defendant with sufficient notice to prepare a defense. Cook v. State, 902 S.W.2d 471, 476 (Tex.Crim.App.1995). An indictment from a grand jury is thus a necessary precursor to a trial court's subject matter jurisdiction. See In re A.D.D., 974 S.W.2d 299, 302-03 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1998, n.p.h.) ("subject matter jurisdiction refers to the court's power to hear a particular type of suit") (quoting CSR Ltd. v. Link, 925 S.W.2d 591, 594 (Tex.1996)). However, if "a written instrument ... accuses someone of a crime with enough clarity and specificity to *150 identify the penal statute under which the State intends to prosecute," the instrument is an indictment "even if the instrument is otherwise defective." Duron v. State, 956 S.W.2d 547, 550-51 (Tex.Crim.App.1997); State v. Smith, 957 S.W.2d 163, 164-65 (Tex. App.—Austin 1997, no writ). If there is no evidence to show that an interlineated or altered indictment was changed before or after it was returned, "there is a presumption of regularity" and the alteration is deemed to have been made before the grand jury returned the indictment. Hardeman v. State, 552 S.W.2d 433, 436 (Tex.Crim.App. 1977).

In this case, the record contains a document entitled "GRAND JURY CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL," which states:

On the 12th day of September , A.D., 1996, STEVEN C. HILBIG, Criminal District Attorney, by and through the undersigned Assistant Criminal District Attorney, presented an Original Petition Alleging Delinquent Conduct, pursuant to Section 53.045 of the Texas Family Code, for the Bexar County Grand Jury's approval on the above-referenced cause in which [S.J.] has been charged with AGGRAVATED ROBBERY, which is alleged to have been committed on or about the 19TH day of MAY, A.D., 1996. After considering the facts and circumstances relating to the charge against [S.J.] the Bexar County Grand Jury APPROVES DISAPPROVES the Original Petition Alleging Delinquent Conduct and certifies the same to the Juvenile Court. SIGNED this 12 day of July September, A.D., 1996.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Simmons v. United States
390 U.S. 377 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Neil v. Biggers
409 U.S. 188 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Loserth v. State
963 S.W.2d 770 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1998)
NCNB Texas National Bank v. Anderson
812 S.W.2d 441 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Duron v. State
956 S.W.2d 547 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Rachal v. State
917 S.W.2d 799 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1996)
CSR LTD. v. Link
925 S.W.2d 591 (Texas Supreme Court, 1996)
Cook v. State
902 S.W.2d 471 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1995)
McGlynn v. State
704 S.W.2d 18 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1982)
Walker v. Packer
827 S.W.2d 833 (Texas Supreme Court, 1992)
Guzman v. State
955 S.W.2d 85 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Hardeman v. State
552 S.W.2d 433 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1977)
State v. Smith
957 S.W.2d 163 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
S.D.W., Matter Of
811 S.W.2d 739 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
In re D.S.
833 S.W.2d 250 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992)
In re J.G.
905 S.W.2d 676 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
In re A.D.D.
974 S.W.2d 299 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1998)
In re S.J.
977 S.W.2d 147 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
977 S.W.2d 147, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 3662, 1998 WL 315543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-sj-texapp-1998.