S____ C v. State

715 S.W.2d 379
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 9, 1986
DocketNo. 04-85-00226-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 715 S.W.2d 379 (S____ C 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
S____ C v. State, 715 S.W.2d 379 (Tex. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

CANTU, Justice.

Appeal is from a finding of delinquency. Appellant was charged by petition with having engaged in delinquent conduct by committing the offense of capital murder. Following an unfavorable jury trial, appellant was ordered committed to the Texas Youth Council.

We are favored with five points of error, some of which require a review of the evidence adduced.

The petition alleging delinquent conduct recites in pertinent part:

... on or about the 28TH day of DECEMBER, A.D., 1984, in the County of Bexar and the State of Texas, S_ C_, Jr., hereinafter called respondent, did then and there intentionally cause the death of an individual, namely: ISIDRO FELAN, hereinafter called complainant, by STABBING THE SAID IDIDRO FELAN WITH A KNIFE, and the said respondent did then and there intentionally cause the death of the said complainant while in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of ROBBERY upon THE SAID ISIDRO FELAN; ...

We begin with a summary of the facts.

On December 28, 1984, in San Antonio, appellant, a fourteen year old male, and four other male companions ranging in ages from fifteen to nineteen spent the day at appellant’s house drinking beer and smoking marihuana. That evening at about 11:00 p.m. someone suggested that they “go roll a wetback” which meant that they were to go find an illegal alien to rob.

One of the youths left but the others, including appellant, agreed to go down to the business area along U.S. Highway 90 to search for a victim. Before leaving, how[381]*381ever, appellant went inside his house and obtained a kitchen knife. One of the other youths, the fifteen year old X_R_, carried a club-like stick.

As the group approached a nearby elementary school a figure was spotted walking along U.S. Highway 90. Appellant and his companions hid in the bushes and followed behind the subject in an effort to get closer to him.' X_R_and appellant then broke from the group and ran towards the subject who in turn began to accelerate his pace.

X_ R_ began to beat upon the subject with the club as the subject, who was later identified as the complainant, attempted to elude his assailant. By this time appellant had caught up to X_ R-who was still chasing and beating up on the complainant behind one of the business establishments on U.S. Highway 90. Appellant and X_R_then demanded money and cigarettes of the complainant at knife point. The complainant was then forced to remove his shoes in a search for money.

As a police officer drove by, appellant stabbed the complainant twice and ran off with X_ R_The youths all gathered at a common meeting area and from there returned to appellant’s house. The complainant died later as a result of two six inch deep wounds to the abdomen. Appellant subsequently, through a conversation, admitted to one of the other youths that he had stabbed someone two times while he was “rolling” him.

Appellant’s first assignment of error complains of the trial court’s refusal to grant his timely motion to shuffle and redraw the jury list.

Immediately following rulings on pretrial motions and before jury voir dire the following transpired.

THE COURT: Anything else?
(Defense Counsel)
MR. FIDLER: Looking at the jury list I will request a shuffle.
THE COURT: You have already had your shuffle by the computer. We have a local rule on that.
(Prosecutor)
MR. HERYEY: There has been a shuffle already.
THE COURT: It has been shuffled by computer and this is in random shuffled order done by the central jury room.
MR. FIDLER: I am requesting that the 32 jurors called down here, standing outside the courtroom, starting with Cathleen Rothen and ending with Robert Olivari—
THE COURT: The shuffle has already taken place. It was done by the computer and that is denied. Is there anything else?
MR. FIDLER: Judge, by shuffle do you mean—
THE COURT: I mean that it is totally random.
MR. FIDLER: In other words, these 32 individuals were picked at random?
THE COURT: Each up there was picked at random. This is a random selection.
(Prosecutor)
MR. JACKSON: Under the Civil Rules do the parties have a right to a second shuffle?
THE COURT: In my mind, no.
MR. FIDLER: Wait a minute. We’re getting confused. This is a random list but there has been no request that this panel of 32 be shuffled. But if they were chosen at random, then I accept the court’s explanation that it was random. But I think that I have the right to shuffle these 32 that were called.
THE COURT: That is denied ...

Rule 223, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, provides in pertinent part:

...; provided, however, that the trial judge upon the demand of any party to any case reached for trial by jury, or of the attorney for any such party, shall cause the names of all the members of the general panel available for service as [382]*382jurors in such case to be placed in a receptacle and well shaken, and said trial judge shall draw therefrom the names of a sufficient number of jurors from which a jury may be selected to try such cause, and such names shall be transcribed in the order drawn on the jury list from which the jury is to be selected to try such case.

Appellant points out that the TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 35.11 is similar to Rule 223.

Article 35.11 provides:

The trial judge, upon the demand of the defendant or his attorney, or of the State’s counsel, shall cause the names of all the members of the general panel drawn or assigned as jurors in such case to be placed in a receptacle and well-shaken, and the clerk shall draw therefrom the names of a sufficient number of jurors from which a jury may be selected to try such case, and such names shall be written, in the order drawn, on the jury list from which the jury is to be selected to try such case, and write the names as drawn upon two slips of paper and deliver one slip to the State’s counsel and the other to the defendant or his attorney.

In criminal cases, it is error for the trial court to refuse a jury panel shuffle when timely requested under article 35.11. Hall v. State, 661 S.W.2d 113 (Tex.Crim.App.1983) (en banc); Latham v. State, 656 S.W.2d 478 (Tex.Crim.App.1983) (en banc); Davis v. State, 573 S.W.2d 780 (Tex.Crim.App.1978); Woerner v. State, 523 S.W.2d 717 (Tex.Crim.App.1975).

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715 S.W.2d 379, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/s____-c-v-state-texapp-1986.