Maysonet v. State

91 S.W.3d 365, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 7508, 2002 WL 31306609
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 16, 2002
Docket06-01-00024-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 91 S.W.3d 365 (Maysonet 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
Maysonet v. State, 91 S.W.3d 365, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 7508, 2002 WL 31306609 (Tex. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice GRANT.

Adan Maysonet, a/Va Luis Manuel Rivera, was convicted by a jury of possession of more than five pounds but less than 2,000 pounds of marihuana after being stopped for speeding. He was sentenced to fifteen years in a state correctional facility. No fine was assessed.

Maysonet contends the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress because the evidence found was the product of an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 9 of. the Texas Constitution. U.S. Const. amend. IV; Tex. Const, art. I, § 9.

Specifically, Maysonet asserts two points of error regarding the denial of his motion to suppress: 1) the State failed to establish a sufficient predicate for admitting radar evidence and consequently cannot show a reasonable suspicion for initially stopping Maysonet’s vehicle, and 2) the search of Maysonet’s vehicle and evidence obtained resulted from an unreasonably long detention.

Fact Summary

Maysonet was traveling on Interstate 20 in a rental vehicle when drug interdiction Officer Robbie Benson stopped him for speeding.

At the suppression hearing, Benson testified that his primary basis for stopping Maysonet was a radar reading of seventy-four miles per hour in a seventy-mile-per-hour posted speed zone. (RR V.l at 18). Also, Benson believed the sports utility vehicle driven by Maysonet was an out-of-state rental vehicle, which he testified indicated Maysonet was a possible drug courier. Shortly after the stop, Benson became more suspicious of drug activity. He based his suspicion on several “indicators.” First, Maysonet was driving a rental vehicle that was neither registered in his name nor that he was authorized to drive. Second, Maysonet told Benson he planned to stop and see friends in Monroe, Louisiana. Benson, however, became suspicious because the vehicle was- due back in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the next day, which at a minimum was over twenty hours of driving time away. Finally, May-sonet told Benson he worked at a 7-11 convenience store which, according to Benson, did not conform to the $167 per day rental fee paid for the ■ 2000 Ford *369 Expedition. Benson then performed a routine driver’s license inspection, as well as a criminal history check. Approximately fifteen minutes after the initial stop, Benson asked Maysonet if he had any weapons or narcotics in the vehicle, to which Maysonet responded: “No. Do you want to check?” Benson said, “Do you mind?” He then instructed Maysonet to open the back door, at which point he discovered marihuana in a tan “see through” plastic bag.

Standard of Review

The standard of review for the trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress is abuse of discretion. Oles v. State, 993 S.W.2d 103, 106 (Tex.Crim.App.1999); Freeman v. State, 62 S.W.3d 883 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2001, pet. ref’d). In a suppression hearing, the trial court is the sole trier of fact and judge of the witnesses’ credibility and the weight to be given their testimony. The evidence should be viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s ruling. State v. Ballard, 987 S.W.2d 889, 891 (Tex.Crim.App.1999); Freeman, 62 S.W.3d at 886. We should afford almost total deference to the trial court’s determination of historical facts that the record supports, especially when the fact-findings are based on an evaluation of the witnesses’ credibility and demeanor. State v. Ross, 32 S.W.3d 853, 856 (Tex.Crim.App.2000); Freeman, 62 S.W.3d at 886.

We review the court’s application of the law of search and seizure to those facts de novo. Ross, 32 S.W.3d at 856. Further, when the trial court does not file findings of fact, we should assume that the trial court made implicit findings that support its ruling, so long as those implied findings are supported by the record. Id. at 855. If the trial court’s decision is correct on any theory of law applicable to the case, we should affirm the decision. Id. at 855-56.

Radar Evidence

Maysonet contends the State failed to establish a sufficient predicate for admitting the results of the radar into evidence, under Kelly v. State, 824 S.W.2d 568, 573 (Tex.Crim.App.1992). Conversely, the State insists Masquelette v. State, 579 S.W.2d 478 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1979), a case that predates Kelly, dispenses for all time with the requirement to establish the underlying reliability of radar.

In Masquelette, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held the State was not required to offer expert testimony about the underlying scientific basis of radar so long as the officer testifies he was trained both to operate the radar set and test it for accuracy. Id. at 480.

Kelly requires the proponent of expert testimony or evidence based on a scientific theory to show by clear and convincing evidence that the evidence is both reliable and relevant to assist the jury (or judge) in its fact-finding duty. Kelly, 824 S.W.2d at 573. To be rehable, evidence derived from a scientific theory must satisfy three criteria: 1) the underlying scientific theory must be valid; 2) the technique applying the theory must be valid; and 3) the technique must have been properly applied on the occasion in question. Id. Under Tex.R. Evid. 702, the State has the burden of proving all three criteria to the trial court, outside the presence of the jury, before the evidence may be admitted. Id. In Hartman v. State, 946 S.W.2d 60 (Tex.Crim.App.1997), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals made it clear the Kelly test applies to all evidence based on a scientific theory, not just to evidence based on novel scientific theories. Id. at 63.

*370 Maysonet asserts the State failed to prove the validity of the underlying scientific theory of radar — the first criteria of Kelly. Maysonet relies on Ochoa v. State, 994 S.W.2d 283 (Tex.App.El Paso 1999, no pet.), an El Paso Court of Appeals case interpreting Kelly in context of radar evidence.

Ochoa involved an appeal from a speeding ticket. In Ochoa, the State offered no evidence about the underlying theory of radar. Rather, it asserted that the standard articulated in Masquelette still governed the admissibility of radar. The El Paso Court of Appeals rejected this argument and concluded that: “although radar is a familiar concept, it is based on a scientific theory and therefore subject to proof of reliability and relevance under

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 S.W.3d 365, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 7508, 2002 WL 31306609, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maysonet-v-state-texapp-2002.