Morales v. State

828 S.W.2d 261, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 813, 1992 WL 59165
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 26, 1992
Docket07-90-0155-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by72 cases

This text of 828 S.W.2d 261 (Morales 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
Morales v. State, 828 S.W.2d 261, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 813, 1992 WL 59165 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

ON REMAND

REYNOLDS, Chief Justice.

On original submission, we affirmed the judgment decreeing the jury’s conviction of appellant Ray Morales of intentionally and knowingly engaging in conduct that caused serious bodily injury to a child and his punishment of confinement for sixty years. Morales v. State, 814 S.W.2d 824 (Tex.App.—Amarillo 1991, pet’n granted). 1 En route to the affirmance, we overruled appellant’s four points of error, determining that because he had not complied with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 74(f), he had not properly raised his fourth-point contention of insufficient evidence to establish his state of mind at the time of the offense. Id. at 829.

In its discretionary review, the Court of Criminal Appeals held that appellant adequately raised his sufficiency claim, vacated our judgment, and remanded the case for our consideration of that claim. Morales v. State, 820 S.W.2d 805 (Tex.Cr.App., 1991). After further briefing, 2 our ensuing review of the record reveals sufficient evidence for the jury to find Morales’ intent to cause serious bodily injury to the child, and we will affirm the trial court’s judgment.

In developing his fourth-point contention, appellant submits, on the authority of Alvarado v. State, 704 S.W.2d 36 (Tex.Cr.App.1985), and Beggs v. State, 597 S.W.2d 375 (Tex.Cr.App.1980), that the State was required, but failed, to prove he intentionally and knowingly engaged in conduct resulting in serious bodily injury with the specific intent to cause serious bodily injury. His position is that his statement which the State introduced, the evidence of his frustration and the baby’s disturbing crying, and the doctors’ testimony, are not sufficient to establish the specific “result oriented” intent required by law.

Appellant agrees that our standard of review of his contention is as enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), which was favorably quoted from 443 U.S. at 318-19, 99 S.Ct. at 2788-89, with emphasis supplied and citations omitted, in Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d 866 (Tex.Cr.App.1988), as follows:

[T]he critical inquiry on review of the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction must not be simply to determine whether the jury was properly instructed, but to determine whether the record evidence could reasonably support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable *263 doubt, [footnote omitted]. But this inquiry does not require a court to ‘ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ [citation omitted]. Instead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, [citation omitted].

Id. at 867. Then, because the jury is in the best position to consider all the evidence first hand, and view the valuable and significant demeanor and expression of the witnesses, the verdict must stand unless it is found to be irrational or unsupported by more than a mere modicum of evidence, with such evidence being viewed under the Jackson light. Id.

Proof of a defendant’s culpable state of mind is almost invariably proven by circumstantial evidence. On the question of intent, the jury is called upon to review all the evidence and may reasonably conclude from the circumstantial evidence that the requisite mental state existed, Warren v. State, 797 S.W.2d 161, 164 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1990, pet’n ref'd), which may be inferred from acts, words, and conduct. Dues v. State, 634 S.W.2d 304, 305 (Tex.Cr.App.1982). In this regard, the jury is the sole judge of the weight of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses, and it may believe or disbelieve all or any part of any witness’ testimony. Williams v. State, 692 S.W.2d 671, 676 (Tex.Cr.App.1984).

Given these guiding principles, it follows that the jury, receiving appellant’s written statement wherein he said, “I dropped him, letting him go inside the tub,” was not required to credit his later disclaimer, “I didn’t mean to hurt him like that.” Johnson v. State, 571 S.W.2d 170, 173 (Tex.Cr.App.1978). Instead, the jury could consider that appellant’s intent was more reasonably inferable from his acts and conduct as revealed in the medical evidence.

The record reveals testimony from three medical experts which, by its quotation, accurately depicts the evidence before the jury. Doctor Ralph Erdmann, the pathologist who conducted an autopsy of the child, gave this testimony on direct examination:

Q Okay. Now then, in terms of the degree of injury that you saw in this baby’s brain, and in the skull and in between the scalp and the skull, would you describe those injuries as serious bodily injuries?
A Yes.
Q Okay. In fact, were they critical injuries?
A Bad enough to have killed the baby, yes, ma’am.
Q Okay. Now then, the kind of force that would be necessary to cause the degree of injury which you saw, would that be just consistent with dropping a child into—
A No, ma’am.
Q —from this level, onto a hard object? (Indicating)
A No. No, Not — particularly when you have the bruising under the scalp. That doesn’t happen from that; that is more than one area.
* * * * * *
Q Okay. Would the injuries that you saw be more consistent with a slamming motion?
A Well, remember, there is more than one place.
Q Right.
A Unless you tell me several slam-mings.
Q Is that what it’s consistent with?
A Would be more consistent, yes.

From Dr. Rafael Garcia, a consulting pediatrician, the State adduced the following information:

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Bluebook (online)
828 S.W.2d 261, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 813, 1992 WL 59165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morales-v-state-texapp-1992.