Sebalt v. State

28 S.W.3d 819, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 5980, 2000 WL 1234603
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 31, 2000
Docket13-99-498-CR, 13-99-604-CR to 13-99-606-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 28 S.W.3d 819 (Sebalt 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
Sebalt v. State, 28 S.W.3d 819, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 5980, 2000 WL 1234603 (Tex. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Chief Justice SEERDEN.

Aloycious Tekoi Sebalt, appellant, was charged in three indictments with aggravated sexual assault (Cause Numbers 99-498-CR, 99-604-CR, and 99-605-CR) and in another with indecency with a child (Cause Number 99-606-CR). Appellant was convicted of all four offenses. He has [821]*821appealed each of these convictions. We will consider each cause in turn.

Cause Number 99-498-CR

In cause number 99-498-CR, appellant appeals his conviction for aggravated sexual assault. On or about February 28,1998, appellant met S.D.R. in Beeville. Appellant picked up S.D.R. and her friend in his vehicle, and the three drove around Bee-ville. After arriving at a park, appellant had sexual intercourse with S.D.R. in his vehicle. At the time, appellant was twenty four years old and S.D.R. was thirteen. In a subsequent statement made to police, appellant admitted that he had sexual intercourse with S.D.R. on several other occasions after this meeting.

After a jury trial, appellant was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. By five issues, appellant complains that: (1) the trial court erred in admitting his statement which refers to extraneous offenses committed by him; (2) he was not given reasonable notice of the State’s intention to use the extraneous offenses at trial; (3) he was not afforded effective assistance of counsel; (4) the ineffective assistance of counsel resulted in injurious jury misconduct; and (5) there is insufficient evidence to establish that the victim was less than fourteen years old at the time of the offense.

By his first issue, appellant contends the trial court erred in admitting his statement to police which refers to other instances of sexual intercourse with S.D.R. Specifically, appellant contends that the statement should not have been admitted because it refers to inadmissible extraneous offenses. See generally Tex.R. Evid. 404(b) (extraneous offenses are generally not admissible). We note, however, that the code of criminal procedure specifically provides an exception to Rule 404(b) for cases in which the defendant is charged with, aggravated sexual assault of a child under seventeen years of age. See Tex. Code CRIM. Proc. Ann. art. 38.37, § 1 (Vernon 2000). Article 38.37 provides that notwithstanding rule 404:

evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts committed by the defendant against the child who is the victim of the alleged offense shall be admitted for its bearing on all relevant matters, including:
[[Image here]]
(2)the previous and subsequent relationship between the defendant and the child.

Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.37, § 2 (Vernon 2000). Here, the defendant was charged with aggravated sexual assault. The statement he sought to exclude refers to an on-going sexual relationship with S.D.R., a child under seventeen years of age. This statement is admissible pursuant to article 38.37. Appellant’s first issue is overruled.

By his second issue, appellant contends that without regard to the foregoing, the statement should not have been admitted because he did not have reasonable notice of the State’s intention to use the extraneous offenses. Article 38.37 provides that a defendant who timely requests notice of the State’s intent to introduce extraneous offenses during the case-in-chief is entitled to notice “in the same manner as the state is required to give notice under Rule 404(b).” Tex.Code Crim. PROC. Ann. art. 38.37, § 3 (Vernon 2000). Rule 404(b) provides that the notice of the State’s intent need only be reasonable. See Tex.R. Evid. 404(b). The defendant is similarly entitled to notice of the State’s intent to use extraneous offenses during the punishment phase, provided he makes a timely request for such information. See Tex.Code CRim. Proc. Ann. art. 37.07, § 3(g) (Vernon 2000).

The record reflects that appellant made a request for the state’s intent to introduce extraneous offenses on February 18, 1999. The State filed its notice of intent to use extraneous offenses on April 1, 1999, or three days before trial. There is no authority in support of the proposi[822]*822tion that notice given the Friday prior to a Monday trial is per se unreasonable. See Ramirez v. State, 967 S.W.2d 919, 923 (Tex.App.—Beaumont 1998, no pet.). Instead, the reasonableness of the notice is determined by all of the facts and circumstances of the case. See id. Several cases closely approximate this situation, however, and are enlightening on what has been considered reasonable. The Waco Court of Appeals held that so-called “Friday notice” was unreasonable, but did so in light of the fact that the defendant’s request for notice had been on file for over ten months prior to trial. See Hernandez v. State, 914 S.W.2d 226, 284 (TexApp.—Waco 1996, no pet.). Similarly, the Austin Court of Appeals held the State’s notice unreasonable when that notice was provided on the morning of trial, despite the fact that the defendant’s request was made six weeks earlier. See Neuman v. State, 951 S.W.2d 538, 540 (Tex.App.—Austin 1997, no pet.). By contrast, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals held the notice was reasonable when it was provided five days prior to trial after a request made two weeks earlier. See Self v. State, 860 S.W.2d 261, 264 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1993, pet refd).

Ultimately, the determination of reasonableness is made by the trial court and is committed to its sound discretion. Here, in light of the fact that the defense had the statement which contained the references to the extraneous offenses, the trial court may have determined that three days was an adequate period to eliminate the possibility of surprise. That determination, being within the zone of reasonable disagreement, did not constitute an abuse of discretion. See generally Ramirez, 967 S.W.2d at 923.

Appellant furthermore contends that he did not have adequate notice of the dates of the extraneous offenses, the county in which those acts occurred, or the name of the alleged victim. The notice filed by the State includes specific references to the cause numbers related to the indictment for the extraneous offenses and the county in which the indictments were returned. From that information, the additional information appellant sought was available to him prior to trial. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the State provided appellant with reasonable notice of the extraneous offenses it intended to use at trial. Appellant’s second issue is overruled.

By his third and fourth issues, appellant contends that:

Appellant’s trial attorney rendered ineffective assistance of counsel when he failed to object to the Court’s Charge on Punishment which failed to charge the jury in accordance with the language of Article 37.07, § 4(a) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which among other things specifies that the defendant will not be eligible for parole until the actual time served equals one-half of the sentence imposed. Such failure to object to the charge then resulted in jury misconduct.

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

Related

Clarence Edward Lippert v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
James Monroe Foster v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Nathan Dewayne McDaniel v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Ferrer v. State
548 S.W.3d 115 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018)
Mark Augustin Castellano v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Tracy Blaine Francis v. State
445 S.W.3d 307 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Miguel Quinones Iii v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Jessie Vernon Jochims v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007
Datillo Daniels v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007
Castillo v. State
186 S.W.3d 21 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Martin v. State
176 S.W.3d 887 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Carl Edwin Martin, II v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005
Felix Castillo, Jr. v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005
Travis Gabriel v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004
Ervin Eugene Wilkerson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004
Gustavo David Sanchez v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004
Howard, Nathan George v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003
Scott v. State
57 S.W.3d 476 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Charles Russell v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 S.W.3d 819, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 5980, 2000 WL 1234603, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sebalt-v-state-texapp-2000.