State v. French

770 S.W.2d 600, 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 1356, 1989 WL 50575
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 19, 1989
DocketNo. 3-88-121-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 770 S.W.2d 600 (State v. French) 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
State v. French, 770 S.W.2d 600, 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 1356, 1989 WL 50575 (Tex. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The State appeals from an order of the trial court granting appellee’s special plea of former jeopardy. Tex.Code Cr.P.Ann. art. 44.01(a)(4) (Supp.1989). The question presented is whether a pending prosecution of appellee for driving while intoxicated, 1983 Tex.Gen. Laws, ch. 303. § 3 [Tex. Rev.Civ.Stat. art. 6701/ -1, since amended], is barred by his prior acquittal in a prosecution for criminally negligent homicide, Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 19.07 (1989). The cause is pending in Tom Green County on a change of venue from Ector County.

On December 21, 1984, at a street intersection in Odessa, an automobile driven by appellee collided with an automobile driven by Amy Gomez. Gomez died as a result of injuries suffered in this accident. Subsequently, an information accusing appellee of criminally negligent homicide was filed in which it was alleged that

in said County [of Ector] ... on or about the 21st day of December, A.D., 1984 ... RAPHEL EUGENE FRENCH, did then and there operate a motor vehicle and cause his vehicle to collide with a vehicle occupied by Amy E. Gomes [sic], hereafter styled the Complainant, by criminal negligence causing the death of the Complainant, by failing to exercise due care by exceeding the posted speed limit and by Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol.

The statement of facts and a partial transcript from the negligent homicide cause, which was tried in Midland County on a change of venue, is part of the record before this Court. The jury heard evidence that appellee was driving approximately 40 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone. Appellee admitted drinking two beers and part of a third on the afternoon in question, and a blood test revealed an alcohol concentration of .12. There was also testimony that visibility at the intersection was hindered by a fence, and that Gomez had run a stop sign when she entered the intersection. The jury was charged, in relevant part, as follows:

A person is deemed to be under the influence of intoxicating liquor withing [sic] the meaning of the law when such person does not have the normal use of his physical or mental faculties by reason of the voluntary introduction of alcohol into his body.
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Now, bearing in mind the foregoing instructions, if you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or about the 21st day of December, 1984, in Ector County, Texas, the defendant, RA-PHEL EUGENE FRENCH, did, then and there operate a motor vehicle and cause his vehicle to collide with a vehicle occupied by AMY E. GOMEZ, hereafter styled the Complainant, by criminal negligence causing the death of the Complainant, by failing to exercise due care by exceeding the posted speed limit and by driving while under the influence of alcohol, then you will find the defendant guilty of criminally negligent homicide.
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You are further instructed that even though you believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that RA-PHEL EUGENE FRENCH on December 21,1984, in Ector County, Texas did then and there operate a motor vehicle and did fail to exercise due care by exceeding the posted speed limit and driving while under the influence of alcohol and while so driving and operating said vehicle at such time and place he did through accident and mistake cause the death of AMY E. GOMEZ you can not convict the defendant unless you further find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that such intoxication and excessive speed if any caused the collision and death of AMY E. GOMEZ. Unless you so find beyond a reasonable doubt you say by your verdict “not guilty.”

[602]*602The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.1

The constitutions of the United States and of this State provide that no person may “be twice put in jeopardy” “for the same offense.” U.S. Const, amend. V; Tex. Const. Ann. art. I, § 14 (1984). This constitutional guarantee protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after a prior acquittal or conviction (the issue presented here), and also protects against multiple punishments for the same offense. Illinois v. Vitale, 447 U.S. 410, 415, 100 S.Ct. 2260, 2264, 65 L.Ed.2d 228 (1980).

While the proscription against double jeopardy is easy to express, it has proved exceedingly difficult to apply. In particular, courts have had difficulty determining the meaning of the words “same offense,” “a phrase deceptively simple in appearance but virtually kaleidoscopic in application.” Whalen v. United States, 445 U.S. 684, 700, 100 S.Ct. 1432, 1442, 63 L.Ed.2d 715 (1980) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting). One principle, however, appears well-established: where the same criminal conduct violates two different penal statutes, and where one of the offenses so committed is a lesser included offense of the other, successive prosecutions for both offenses constitute double jeopardy. Illinois v. Vitale, supra; Harris v. Oklahoma, 433 U.S. 682, 97 S.Ct. 2912, 53 L.Ed.2d 1054 (1977); Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977); Ex parte Peterson, 738 S.W.2d 688 (Tex.Cr.App.1987); May v. State, 726 S.W.2d 573 (Tex.Cr.App.1987); Davis v. Herring, 800 F.2d 513, 518 (5th Cir.1986). See also Ohio v. Johnson, 467 U.S. 493, 104 S.Ct. 2536, 81 L.Ed.2d 425 (1984); Jeffers v. United States, 432 U.S. 137, 97 S.Ct. 2207, 53 L.Ed.2d 168 (1977).

May and Peterson are factually and legally analogous to this cause. In both cases, the defendant was involved in an automobile accident in which another person was killed. In May, the defendant was tried and convicted of involuntary manslaughter pursuant to an indictment which alleged that she had operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated and, by reason of such intoxication, had caused the death of an individual by accident or mistake. Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 19.05(a)(2) (1989). When the State then sought to prosecute her for driving while intoxicated, the defendant raised a double jeopardy claim in a pretrial habeas corpus proceeding. The trial court denied relief and the court of appeals affirmed. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, holding that under the facts of the case, a prosecution for driving while intoxicated would impermissibly place the defendant in jeopardy for the same offense for which she had previously been convicted.

Facially allegations of the greater offense of involuntary manslaughter required proof of the lesser offense, i.e., that appellant operated her motor vehicle upon a public roadway while intoxicated and collided with another vehicle after driving across a center median.

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Bluebook (online)
770 S.W.2d 600, 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 1356, 1989 WL 50575, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-french-texapp-1989.