Shaffer v. State

184 S.W.3d 353, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 410, 2006 WL 133511
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 19, 2006
Docket2-04-483-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by57 cases

This text of 184 S.W.3d 353 (Shaffer 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
Shaffer v. State, 184 S.W.3d 353, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 410, 2006 WL 133511 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION ON REHEARING

DIXON W. HOLMAN, Justice.

After reconsidering our prior opinion on Appellant’s motion for rehearing, we deny the motion, but withdraw our opinion and judgment dated November 23, 2005, and substitute the following.

Appellant Brandon Keith Shaffer appeals his conviction for possession of certain chemicals, namely pseudoephedrine, with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine. After the jury convicted Appellant, he pled true to the enhancement paragraphs that alleged previous convictions for burglary of a building and burglary of a vehicle, and the jury assessed a sentence of fifty years’ confinement and a $10,000 fine. The trial court sentenced Appellant accordingly. In his three points, Appellant contends that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to sustain a conviction for the offense of possession of pseu-doephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, the trial judge abused his discretion in admitting, over objection, hearsay evidence that the labeling on the packages could serve as proof of the contents of the package, and Texas Health and Safety Code Section 481.124(a)(2) is unconstitutional. We affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On November 21, 2003, Wichita Falls Police Officer Joe Lemond stopped Appel *358 lant’s vehicle for speeding. Officer Le-mond radioed for a records check of Appellant and also requested that a dog handler respond to the scene. Sergeant Joe Snyder arrived at the scene with a dog certified in narcotic detection and began walking the dog around the vehicle. The dog indicated that he detected something inside the vehicle. A search of the inside of the vehicle revealed a partially smoked marihuana cigarette and a bag containing six cans of lighter fluid, eight lithium batteries, and twenty-four bottles of cold medicine containing pseudoephed-rine. After finding these items, the officers arrested Appellant, and the grand jury returned an indictment charging him with possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.

The State alleged that Appellant possessed the chemical precursor pseu-doephedrine, which was marked as an ingredient on the twenty-four bottles of “Max Brand” cold medicine seized from Appellant’s vehicle. At trial, the State offered the two boxes which contained twelve sealed bottles of “Max Brand” cold medicine tablets. The labeling on the bottles identified the cold medicine as containing pseudoephedrine, sixty milligrams. The State relied upon the labeling as proof that the tablets contained pseudoephed-rine, and Appellant objected, complaining that the labeling was hearsay. The trial court overruled Appellant’s objection and the bottles were admitted into evidence.

LEGAL AND FACTUAL SUFFICIENCY

In his first point, Appellant asserts that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient because the evidence as to the proof of a chemical precursor and the intent to manufacture methamphetamine was inadequate to sustain Appellant’s conviction. Appellant contends that the State’s failure to offer any scientific or expert testimony identifying the nature of the alleged chemical precursor, pseu-doephedrine, relying instead exclusively on the labels on the bottles, resulted in legally and factually insufficient evidence that the substance seized was pseudoephedrine. Additionally, Appellant complains that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to prove that Appellant had the requisite intent to manufacture a controlled substance.

1. Legal Sufficiency Standard of Review

In reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we view all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict in order to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Hampton v. State, 165 S.W.3d 691, 693 (Tex.Crim.App.2005).

This standard gives full play to the responsibility of the trier of fact to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts. Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789. The trier of fact is the sole judge of the weight and credibility of the evidence. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.04 (Vernon 1979); Margraves v. State, 34 S.W.3d 912, 919 (Tex.Crim.App.2000). Thus, when performing a legal sufficiency review, we may not re-evaluate the weight and credibility of the evidence and substitute our judgment for that of the fact finder. Dewberry v. State, 4 S.W.3d 735, 740 (Tex.Crim.App.1999), cer t. denied, 529 U.S. 1131, 120 S.Ct. 2008, 146 L.Ed.2d 958 (2000). We must resolve any inconsistencies in the evidence in favor of the verdict. *359 Curry v. State, 30 S.W.3d 394, 406 (Tex.Crim.App.2000).

In determining the legal sufficiency of the evidence to show appellant’s intent, and faced with a record that supports conflicting inferences, we “must presume — even if it does not affirmatively appear in the record — that the trier of fact resolved any such conflict in favor of the prosecution, and must defer to that resolution.” Matson v. State, 819 S.W.2d 839, 846 (Tex.Crim.App.1991). We must consider all the evidence admitted at trial, even improperly admitted evidence, when performing a legal sufficiency review. Moff v. State, 131 S.W.3d 485, 489-90 (Tex.Crim.App.2004).

2. Factual Sufficiency Standard of Review

In reviewing the factual sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we are to view all the evidence in a neutral light, favoring neither party. See Zuniga v. State, 144 S.W.3d 477, 481 (Tex.Crim.App.2004). The only question to be answered in a factual sufficiency review is whether, considering the evidence in a neutral light, the fact finder was rationally justified in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 484. There are two ways evidence may be factually insufficient: (1) when the evidence supporting the verdict or judgment, considered by itself, is too weak to support the finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; or (2) when there is evidence both supporting and contradicting the verdict or judgment and, weighing all of the evidence, the contrary evidence is so strong that guilt cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 484-85. “This standard acknowledges that evidence of guilt can ‘preponderate’ in favor of conviction but still be insufficient to prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 485.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
184 S.W.3d 353, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 410, 2006 WL 133511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shaffer-v-state-texapp-2006.