Sosa, Jose Luis

Texas Supreme Court·Decided October 20, 2015·No. PD-1233-15·Published

Opinion

PD-1233-15

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS

Transmitted 10/19/2015 8:07:23 PM Accepted 10/20/2015 4:50:50 PM ABEL ACOSTA

CLERK

No. PD-1233-15

Court of Appeals No. 03-13-00764-CR

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS

JOSE SOSA,

Petitioner

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

On Appeal from the District Court 403rd District Court

of Travis County, Texas

Trial Cause No. D1DC11205390

PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

DAVID W. CRAWFORD

P.O. Box 686

Austin, Texas 78767

(512) 795-2000

FAX (512) 237-7792

October 20, 2015 dcrawford@crawfordcruz.com Texas Bar No. 24031601

ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER

STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT

Oral argument would not be helpful in this case, and Petitioner does not request it.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Statement Regarding Oral Argument.................................................................ii Table of Contents...............................................................................................iii Names of Parties................................................................................................v Index of Authorities...........................................................................................vii Statement of the Case.........................................................................................1 Statement of Procedural History........................................................................2 Grounds for Review...........................................................................................3 Reason for Review.............................................................................................3 Arguments and Authorities ...............................................................................4

I. The Court of Appeals incorrectly determined that the trial court had not abused its discretion in denying the motion to suppress.

II. The Court of Appeals incorrectly determined that there is no mandate for the appellate review of a jury determination of the admissibility of evidence that is subject to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 38.23.

Conclusion and Prayer........................................................................................9 Certificate of Service.........................................................................................10 Certificate of Service..........................................................................................11

iii

Appendix............................................................................................................12

iv

NAMES OF ALL PARTIES

The following is a complete list of all names and addresses of all parties to the Trial Court‘s final judgment and the names and addresses of all trial counsel:

Appellant: Jose Sosa

Appellate Counsel: David W. Crawford State Bar No. 24031601

Crawford & Cruz, PLLC

P.O. Box 686

Austin, Texas 78767

Telephone: (512)795-2000

E-fax: (512)237-7792

Trial Counsel: David W. Crawford State Bar No. 24031601

Crawford & Cruz, PLLC

P.O. Box 686

Austin, Texas 78767

Telephone: (512)795-2000

E-fax: (512)237-7792

Appellee: State of Texas

Counsel: Rosemary Lehmberg Travis County District Attorney P.O. Box 1748

Austin, Texas 78767

Telephone: (512)854-9400

Lisa A. McMinn

Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney P.O. Box 13046

Austin, Texas 78711-3046

Telephone: (512) 463-1660

v

Trial Court: The Honorable Brenda Kennedy 403rd District Court

P.O. Box 1748

Austin, Texas 78767

Telephone (512)854-4885

vi

INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

Cases Page(s)

Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010) 7

Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996) 7 Hanks v. State, 137 S.W.3d 668 (Tex.Crim.App. 2004) 7

vii

No. PD-1233-15

Court of Appeals No. 03-13-00764-CR

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS

JOSE SOSA,

Petitioner

V.

STATE OF TEXAS,

On Appeal from the District Court 403rd District Court

of Travis County, Texas

Trial Cause No. D1DC11205390

PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS:

NOW COMES Petitioner-Appellant Jose Sosa (“Sosa") and respectfully submits this his petition for discretionary review pursuant to Rule 68 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This is an appeal of a denied motion to suppress evidence and the verdict of the jury at trial. The motion was argued in front of the trial court. The trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress evidence. At trial, the jury found Sosa guilty of a lesser included charge after determining the admissibility of evidence against him.

STATEMENT OF PROCEDURAL HISTORY Sosa was accused of the offense of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. Sosa presented a motion to suppress evidence. The trial court heard evidence through testimony, and heard argument of the parties. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. Following the ruling on the motion to suppress, the case was heard by jury at trial. The jury was given an instruction under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 38.23 to consider the admissibility of evidence. The jury found Sosa guilty of the lesser included offense of possession of a controlled substance, and implicitly ruled that the disputed evidence was admissible. Sosa appealed the case to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin. The Court of Appeals handed down its opinion affirming the district court on August 18, 2015. The opinion of the Court of Appeals is unpublished. A copy of the Court’s opinion is attached hereto as Appendix A. No subsequent motion for rehearing was filed.

GROUNDS FOR REVIEW

I. The Court of Appeals incorrectly determined that the trial court had not abused its discretion in denying the motion to suppress.

II. The Court of Appeals incorrectly determined that there is no mandate for the appellate review of a jury determination of the admissibility of evidence that is subject to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 38.23.

REASON FOR REVIEW

Facts of the case. An arrest was initially made for the offense of

public intoxication on October 7, 2011. During the search of the appellant following that arrest, an amount of a controlled substance, namely cocaine, was found on his person. Appellant was subsequently arrested for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. A pretrial hearing was held on the appellant's motion to suppress the evidence on the grounds that was not sufficient probable cause to sustain his arrest for public intoxication. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, and the case was subsequently tried to a jury. The jury was presented with a charge under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 38.23 regarding the admissibility of the evidence against the appellant. The jury found appellant guilty of the lesser included offense of possession of a controlled substance, and implicitly ruled that the arrest for public intoxication was valid. The court of

appeals ruled that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to suppress and that it had no standing to review the jury's implicit finding under 38.23.

ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES

I. The Court of Appeals incorrectly determined that the trial court had not abused its discretion in denying the motion to suppress.

The Court of Appeals found that the trial court in this circumstance had not abused its discretion in finding that there existed probable cause for the initial arrest and detention of Sosa for the offense of public intoxication. This initial detention led to the search of Sosa and the seizure of the controlled substance that was admitted as evidence in the trial against him.

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