Sensabaugh v. State

426 S.W.2d 224, 1968 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 906
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 3, 1968
Docket41172
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 426 S.W.2d 224 (Sensabaugh v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sensabaugh v. State, 426 S.W.2d 224, 1968 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 906 (Tex. 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

ONION, Judge.

The offense is Murder with Malice; the punishment, assessed by the jury, life.

The sufficiency of the evidence is not challenged and we do not deem it necessary to set forth all the facts. The record does show that the deceased, Grover Cecil Steward, died from massive bleeding resulting from multiple stab wounds inflicted by the appellant in the front yard of the deceased’s house at approximately 3 p.m. on November 30, 1966. The State’s testimony reflects that approximately one week prior to the killing appellant, in presence of witnesses, displayed a knife, identified as the murder weapon, and threatened to kill the deceased with the same, and further stated he had a pistol if he was unsuccessful with a knife. Such threats were shown to have been communicated to the deceased. Other State’s testimony reflects that when the appellant entered the yard just prior to the killing the deceased told him to “stay out” and fired a shotgun into the ground approximately 30 degrees away from appellant’s position. Thereafter it appears that appellant with a knife in hand advanced on the deceased, a struggle ensued and the stab wounds resulted. Appellant’s claim of self-defense was rejected by the jury’s verdict.

In appellant’s first ground of error it is claimed that the improper cross-examination of appellant, permitted by the trial court over objection, resulted in the introduction of unsworn, improper and prejudicial testimony before the jury.

He contends that the prosecutor’s questions were framed and calculated to convey to the jury that (1) appellant had encountered the deceased on the morning of the day of the killing, (2) was then armed with a pistol and (3) made the deceased dance by shooting at his feet, (4) that appellant had that morning threatened to kill the deceased and (5) that the deceased was so scared he had his car packed ready to move at the time of the killing, (6) that the police had been looking for appellant all day, and (7) that appellant had threatened to kill his 13-year-old daughter and she had called the police.

“When the defendant in a criminal case voluntarily takes the stand and testifies in his own behalf he occupies the same position and is subject to the same rules as any other witness, except where some statute forbids certain matters to be used against him, such as proof of his conviction on a former trial of the same case, or his failure to testify on a former trial, or a confession made while he was in jail without his having been first cautioned that it might be used against him.” 61 Tex.Jur.2d, Witnesses, Sec. 36, p. 573.

With such rule in mind we return to the record. Appellant’s testimony shows that he had been to the deceased’s house twice on the morning of the killing to see Sal Stewart, who lived with the deceased and who later left the scene of the killing with the appellant, but who had died prior to trial. Such testimony does not show that on such occasions he encountered the deceased.

After denying on cross-examination that he had a gun at the time of the killing, a transcription of the court reporter’s notes reflects the following:

“Q. But you had it that morning, didn’t you, when you went out there to Cecil’s house, and told him ‘Dance, *226 Boy, dance’, and you shot at his feet in the floor of that house out there, didn’t you ?
“A. I did not.
“Q. You had it that very morning, didn’t you?
“A. I did not.
“Q. And you pulled it out, and you told him ‘Dance’?
“A. I did not.
“MR. CRAIG: May it please the Court, there is no testimony of any kind to support a question of that sort.
“THE COURT: This is cross-examination. I will permit it. Overruled.
“MR. CRAIG: Not [Sic] my exception.”

It is observed that the question was asked and answered in the negative three times before any objection was interposed.

State’s witnesses had related that appellant had threatened to kill the deceased and that these threats had been communicated to the deceased.

Thereafter appellant was asked on cross-examination :

“Q. The truth of the matter is, you had threatened to kill him, hadn’t you, before you went over there ?
“A. I had not.
“Q. And the truth of the matter is, that Cecil had been running scared all day, hadn’t he?
“A. I don’t know.
“MR. CRAIG: Now, Your Honor, I am going to object; Counsel is engaged in more badgering of the witness.
“THE COURT: I’ll overrule it.”

We find nothing in the foregoing to indicate that the question was limited to a threat made only on the morning of the killing.

Appellant disclaimed on cross-examination any knowledge as to whether the deceased’s car was packed and ready to move at the time of the killing. No objection was offered to such testimony.

After having stated on direct examination that his only purpose of going to the deceased’s house at the time the killing occurred was to see if Sal Stewart was still interested in the purchase of his car, appellant was asked on cross-examination:

“Q. You are certain that you got your wife to take you over there to hide from the Police, because the Police had been called by your own daughter to come out there — ”

Appellant’s general objection to such question was promptly sustained and thereafter appellant made no request to instruct the jury to disregard or a motion for mistrial.

Subsequently, as the cross-examination changed from subject to subject, the prosecutor, after establishing the appellant’s daughter’s name, age and address, asked:

“Q. In truth and in fact, this is not the only person you have threatened to kill, is it?”

Again appellant’s general objection was sustained and no further relief was requested by the appellant.

In answer to the prosecutor’s questions appellant related that following the killing he had gotten rid of his bloody clothes and that he and Sal had driven around to avoid being “picked up by the police.” He was then asked:

“Q. The Police had been looking for you all day, had they not ?
“A. No; they hadn’t.
“Q. You had no reason to believe that they were looking for you that morning ?
“A. No.. I was at home—
*227 “MR. CRAIG: Your Honor, we object to that—
“THE COURT: Just a minute, Counsel.
“A. I was at home until around three o’clock. * * * I was at home from nine-thirty until three o’clock.

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

Related

Zemen v. State
912 S.W.2d 363 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
Dedric Steven Wallace v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993
Huffman v. State
746 S.W.2d 212 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1988)
Reyes v. State
741 S.W.2d 414 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1987)
Adin v. State
727 S.W.2d 310 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)
Sanchez v. State
707 S.W.2d 575 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1986)
Guzmon v. State
697 S.W.2d 404 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1985)
Cisneros v. State
692 S.W.2d 78 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1985)
Jones v. State
685 S.W.2d 86 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1984)
Duwe v. State
642 S.W.2d 804 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1982)
Losoya v. State
636 S.W.2d 566 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1982)
Wilson v. State
638 S.W.2d 16 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1982)
Williams v. State
607 S.W.2d 577 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Ayers v. State
606 S.W.2d 936 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Cavender v. State
547 S.W.2d 601 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1977)
Ashley v. State
527 S.W.2d 302 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1975)
McCarter v. State
527 S.W.2d 296 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1975)
Els v. State
525 S.W.2d 11 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1975)
Gowans v. State
522 S.W.2d 462 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1975)
Pearce v. State
513 S.W.2d 539 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
426 S.W.2d 224, 1968 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 906, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sensabaugh-v-state-texcrimapp-1968.