Roland Booher v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 21, 2005
Docket06-05-00239-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Roland Booher v. State (Roland Booher 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
Roland Booher v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion



In The

Court of Appeals

Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana


______________________________


No. 06-05-00239-CR



ROLAND BOOHER, Appellant

 

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee



                                              


On Appeal from the 102nd Judicial District Court

Bowie County, Texas

Trial Court No. 04F0207-102



                                                 



Before Morriss, C.J., Ross and Carter, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Ross



MEMORANDUM OPINION


          Roland Booher attempts to appeal his conviction for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon finding. Booher was convicted by a jury and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Booher's sentence was imposed September 10, 2005. On October 31, 2005, this Court received Booher's pro se notice of appeal with the postmark date of October 27, 2005. We received the clerk's record November 16, 2005. The issue before us is whether Booher timely filed his notice of appeal. We conclude that he did not and dismiss the attempted appeal for want of jurisdiction.

          A timely notice of appeal is necessary to invoke this Court's jurisdiction. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Rule 26.2(a) prescribes the time period in which a notice of appeal must be filed by the defendant in order to perfect appeal in a criminal case. A defendant's notice of appeal is timely if filed within thirty days after the day sentence is imposed or suspended in open court, or within ninety days after sentencing if the defendant timely files a motion for new trial. Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a); Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 522. The record does not contain any motion for new trial. The last date Booher could timely file his notice of appeal was October 10, 2005, thirty days after the day the sentence was imposed in open court. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1). Further, no motion for extension of time was filed in this Court within fifteen days of the last day allowed for filing the notice of appeal.

          Booher has failed to perfect his appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

                                                                           Donald R. Ross

                                                                           Justice


Date Submitted:      November 18, 2005

Date Decided:         November 21, 2005


Do Not Publish

obable than it would be without the evidence. Tex. R. Evid. 401. J.T. maintains the probative value of this evidence is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or confusion of the issues by the jury. See Tex. R. Evid. 403. J.T. points out that a juror interrupted Dr. Morgan's testimony with the question "Has he been in the hospital since 2001?" J.T. contends that this spontaneous question from the juror demonstrates the impact that the evidence had on the jury.

We review a trial court's evidentiary ruling for an abuse of discretion. Campbell v. State, 118 S.W.3d 788, 795 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 2003, pet. denied). When faced with a similar argument, the Houston-Fourteenth Court disagreed that the patient's prior violent acts were not relevant to the jury's assessment of the Section 574.035 factors:

The state of an individual's emotional and psychological well-being--or lack thereof--and whether the person should remain committed because of a mental illness, requires more than a snapshot of a single year in a person's life; it is a broad inquiry. In an involuntary commitment case, we ask whether the person is mentally ill and needs help (1) to protect himself or others or (2) to maintain his health. Especially when a person was criminally violent while insane and has been committed for years, focusing only on the most recent years of life provides no frame of reference. To determine if one who has been mentally ill is now well, or at least able to protect others and maintain his health, a psychological history is necessary.

Id. at 796. Of course, the precise nature of the evidence in Campbell is somewhat different than the evidence at issue here. We recognize, though, that a similar perspective applies here. Here, we are called upon specifically to examine the record for a recent overt act or a continuing pattern of behavior. That said, we must look at what J.T. has done in the past. Inevitably, since J.T. was, in fact, in the state hospital, evidence relevant to a continuing pattern of his behavior will refer to the fact that J.T. was in the state hospital. We note that the State presented evidence relating to J.T.'s condition and behavior rather than simply taking the position that J.T. should be involuntarily committed this time because he has been committed in the past.

We also note that, in certain circumstances, a judge or jury must find that the proposed patient has received court-ordered inpatient mental health services for at least sixty consecutive days during the preceding twelve months. See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 574.035(a)(4). Section 574.035(d) eliminates the need for this finding when, as here, the proposed patient already has been subject to an order for extended mental health services. By creating such an exception, Section 574.035 contemplates the admission of evidence relating to prior orders authorizing extended mental health services. The evidence in question is relevant.

We must now consider whether this evidence, though relevant, should be excluded because it was unfairly prejudicial. Under Rule 403, relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Tex. R. Evid. 403. To properly apply Rule 403 to relevant evidence, the trial court must balance and weigh the probative effect of the evidence against its potential for unfair prejudice or confusion. In re C.J.F., 134 S.W.3d 343, 356 (Tex. App.--Amarillo 2003, pet. denied). In weighing the probative value of the evidence against the danger of unfair prejudice, the court must first examine the necessity for and probative effect of the evidence. Id. As we have concluded, evidence referring to J.T.'s prior commitments is relevant to the issues the jury must examine, and any risk of unfair prejudice must be measured against this relatively high degree of relevance. See Campbell, 118 S.W.3d at 798.

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

Related

State for the Best Interest & Protection of P.W.
801 S.W.2d 1 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1990)
Johnstone v. State
961 S.W.2d 385 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Campbell v. State
118 S.W.3d 788 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Olivo v. State
918 S.W.2d 519 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Broussard v. State
827 S.W.2d 619 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992)
Mezick v. State
920 S.W.2d 427 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Montgomery v. State
810 S.W.2d 372 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Holliman v. State
762 S.W.2d 656 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1988)
In the Interest of C.J.F., a Child
134 S.W.3d 343 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
In re J.S.C.
812 S.W.2d 92 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
L.S. v. State
867 S.W.2d 838 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993)
In the interest of C.H.
89 S.W.3d 17 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)
In the Interest of R.M.
90 S.W.3d 909 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
In the Interest of J.F.C.
96 S.W.3d 256 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Roland Booher v. State, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roland-booher-v-state-texapp-2005.