Mazratian v. State

961 S.W.2d 353, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 4064, 1997 WL 430035
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 31, 1997
DocketNo. 01-94-01283-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 961 S.W.2d 353 (Mazratian 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
Mazratian v. State, 961 S.W.2d 353, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 4064, 1997 WL 430035 (Tex. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinions

EN BANC OPINION

MIRABAL, Justice.

Appellant, Mehdi Mazratian, was found guilty of assault by a jury. The trial court assessed punishment at one-year confinement, probated for two years, $1,000 in restitution, a fine of $295, and enrollment in a domestic violence treatment program. We affirm.

The main issue in this case is whether trial counsel is per se ineffective if he consumes alcoholic beverages during the day of trial.

Complainant, Michelle Eddington, testified as follows: As of January 12, 1993, her relationship with appellant was coming to an end. That night, appellant came over to her apartment, and sometime later they went to appellant’s parents’ home. Appellant was upset because he had received a deportation notice.

They left appellant’s parents’ home about 9:00 p.m. While they were driving, they talked about his deportation notice. Appellant started screaming about how he hated the United States and Americans. When he called complainant an obscene name, she began to cry. She told him that if he really hated the U.S. so much he should get the hell out. He then backhanded her, causing her head to hit the passenger’s window. At a red light, she jumped out of the car and ran. Appellant parked his car, chased her, caught her, and forced her into the car, causing her to hit her head on the door frame and her back on the gear shift. Again, she managed to get out and run. Appellant caught her again, and she agreed to get in the car again if he did not touch her.

[355]*355Complainant further testified that when they arrived at her apartment, appellant pushed her inside. They argued some more, and finally they agreed not to see each other again. After appellant had left, complainant decided to return the mountain bike appellant had given her as a Christmas gift. She rode the bike over to appellant’s apartment, and they talked about ending their relationship. Appellant then took her home.

According to complainant, the next day, January 13,1993, appellant left a message on complainant’s answering machine saying he wanted to talk and to return some things to her. She assumed he was going to return some money she had lent him. Appellant arrived about six that evening, and told her he could not pay her the money he owed her. She walked outside with him and they sat in his car. They began to talk about his deportation notice, and she tried to suggest what he could do to stay in the United States. He screamed at her and called her obscene names.

Complainant thought appellant was going to hit her. As she was trying to get out of the ear, she put up her hands and accidentally hit appellant in the face. She ran toward her apartment, but appellant grabbed her and pushed her into the apartment. Appellant grabbed her throat, picked her up, shook her, called her an obscene name, and told her he hated her. He slammed her down into the sofa, picked her up again by the throat, and slammed her down into the floor. He got on top of her, choked her, and told her he could kill her if he wanted to. She thought he was going to do it.

Complainant further testified appellant went outside with complainant in tow. She asked him to leave and pushed him away. Appellant grabbed her by the hair and pushed her face down in the dirt and rubbed her face in it. She begged him to leave; when he finally did, she called 911. While she was calling 911, appellant came back into her apartment. Appellant grabbed the phone and hung it up. Complainant ran into the bedroom, and appellant followed her. Appellant finally left when a friend of complainant’s arrived.

Appellant was charged by information with misdemeanor assault against complainant occurring on January 12, 1993. Appellant was also charged by separate information with misdemeanor assault against complainant occurring on January 13, 1993. Both causes were joined for trial. The jury found appellant guilty of the January 13, 1993 assault, but acquitted appellant of the January 12, 1993 charge. Appellant received a probated sentence.

Procedural Background

On September 26, 1994, the parties selected a jury. On September 27, the trial began and the State presented its case; later that day, appellant began his case. After trial that day, the trial judge asked appellant’s defense counsel to come to his office. In chambers, counsel admitted to the judge that during his lunch he had two beers “and was working on a third one when I looked at the clock and came back.” Sometime later that day, trial counsel told appellant about the conference in the judge’s chambers.

On the morning of September 28,1994, the third day of trial, appellant presented a letter to the trial court requesting a mistrial on the ground his attorney was under the influence of alcohol on the second day of trial and, therefore, was ineffective. Appellant complained in the letter that his trial counsel did not question the witnesses in an effective manner and forgot to address important points.

As a result of the. letter, the trial court conducted a hearing on the record. At the hearing, appellant testified that his trial counsel had represented him for a year and a half. Appellant admitted his counsel conducted a 30-minute voir dire and had asked the venirepersons coherent questions. Appellant did not notice if his counsel slurred his speech while asking questions. Appellant agreed his counsel walked fairly well with a steady pace. He said he did see some shaking when his counsel approached a witness or approached the bench. Appellant further testified he smelled alcohol on his counsel’s breath on September 27. When asked if there were signs of intoxication other than the smell of alcohol, appellant said trial coun[356]*356sel “did not listen to anything I told him to say.” However, he later agreed that this did not indicate trial counsel was intoxicated.

At the hearing, appellant’s trial counsel admitted to drinking three beers on the second day of trial with his beef and coleslaw lunch, but he denied he was intoxicated. He opined he had presented a fairly decent case on cross-examination, and he thought his direct examination of a witness from San Antonio presented a valid alibi defense for one of the assault charges. He also said he had been drinking nothing but coffee so far that morning.

The judge then ruled there was not sufficient cause to grant a mistrial. Noting this was the third day of trial and the only remaining witness to testify was appellant himself, the judge said:

I am going to take the action necessary to protect the interest of the accused in this case and to protect the interest of justice concerning all of the parties involved. I have asked Attorney Gene Jones to assist the Court and he will join Mr. Hendrix as co-counsel in this case for the duration of the trial. I believe there is one more witness left for the defense. I am going to continue the ease until 1:15. That will give you an opportunity to visit Mr. Jones who is a respected member of the Bar and either he or Mr. Hendrix can continue the direct examination of you if you decide to take the stand. We will complete this trial under that format. I don’t believe that sufficient causes [sic] exists at this time for me to grant a mistrial.

The trial court gave Jones two and one-half hours to confer with the defendant. After the recess, Jones asked the court for permission to withdraw appellant’s “not guilty” plea and go to the court for punishment.

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961 S.W.2d 353, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 4064, 1997 WL 430035, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mazratian-v-state-texapp-1997.