Stewart v. State

856 S.W.2d 567, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1825, 1993 WL 225544
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided May 26, 1993·No. No. 09-92-202 CR·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinions

[569] OPINION

WALKER, Chief Justice.

Appellant was indicted by a Jefferson County Grand Jury for the offense of Possession of a Controlled Substance on February 12, 1992. The indictment additionally alleged two prior convictions in order to enhance the punishment for that of a Habitual Felon. On September 17, 1992, a jury trial was held. At the conclusion of the evidence and argument of counsel, the jury found appellant guilty of the offense of Possession of a Controlled Substance. The jury further found that both enhancement paragraphs of the indictment were true and assessed appellant’s punishment at confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a term of thirty-five years. It is from this judgment and conviction that appellant has perfected his appeal to this Court setting forth six points of error.

Factually, the State called two police officers, who testified that they arrested appellant for possession of a “erackpipe” after one of the officers observed him throw the object during a drug sweep. The State also called a lab technician who testified that the alleged controlled substance was cocaine. Appellant called a fact witness, a female companion, who disputed the testimony of the arresting officers concerning whether or not appellant possessed the “erackpipe.”

Appellant’s point of error one contends that the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s objection to the designation of the trial court as the “Drug Impact Court.” Appellant contends that this designation of the very court in which appellant was tried denied him a fair trial. Counsel for appellant objected to this prominently displayed sign in the hallway where all jurors must directly look before entering the courtroom. Appellant contends that the designation of the court as the “Drug Impact Court” is a comment on the weight of the evidence. More specifically appellant contends that the court’s designation is tantamount to instructing the jury that appellant is a drug dealer. The trial court overruled appellant’s objection.

On January 13, 1993 this Court filed its opinion in Rogers v. State, 846 S.W.2d 883 (Tex.App.—Beaumont 1993, no pet). In Rogers, appellant’s point of error one was very similar to our present appellant’s point of error one. In Rogers, we declined to rule that the sign was not prejudicial as a matter of law. We did determine that Rogers had failed to show in the record where his right to an impartial jury had been violated. We believe it incumbent upon appellant to make a clear showing from the record that his right to an impartial jury has been somehow overcome, hindered or adversely affected by the trial court’s designation as “Drug Impact Court.” We shall not presume harm to appellant. Point of error one is overruled.

We now consider appellant’s points of error two, three, and four together, in that these three points of error relate to the enhancement paragraph of the indictment.

The complained of portion of the indictment reads as follows:

AND THE GRAND JURORS AFORESAID, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present in and to said Court, at said term, that before the commission of the primary offense, and after the conviction in Cause No. 32324 became final, the Defendant committed of the felony of Burglary of a Building on March 7, 1983, in Cause No. 42043, in the 252nd District Court of Jefferson County, Texas,

Appellant points out that the proof offered consisted of “Pen packet,” State’s Exhibit No. 6, which indicated that appellant committed a burglary of a building on July 4, 1982, and not on March 7, 1983, as alleged in the indictment. Prior to trial, the State moved the trial court to amend the indictment to allege that appellant was finally convicted of such felony on March 7, 1983, and not that appellant had committed said offense on that date. The trial court entered an order to that effect. As a part of this order, the clerk was ordered to make an amendment on the face of the indictment. A review of the record indi[570] cates that the face of the indictment was never so amended. Appellant positions that the failure of the clerk to make such change resulted in a trial on a defective indictment. Appellant moved to quash the indictment, said motion being denied by the trial court.

Appellant relies on Montoya v. State, 841 S.W.2d 419 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1992, no pet. h.), wherein the complainant was erroneously designated as “Lora” rather than “Lisa” in the indictment. The Court in Montoya, entered an order changing the name, but did not physically alter the face of the indictment. The Dallas Court points out that the mere granting of a motion to amend is not an actual amendment, but rather an appropriate vehicle by which to indicate the amending process. The Dallas Court reversed the trial court holding that it was reversible error for the trial court not to physically correct the indictment. Appellant further relies on Ward v. State, 829 S.W.2d 787 (Tex.Crim.App.1992) as a clear message that the State shall not maintain a conviction where it has not matched its proof to the indictment under which it charged the defendant. See Tex. Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 28.10 (Vernon 1989). We note that in both Montoya and Ward, the complainant’s name was wrong in the indictment. A complainant’s name is an element of the original offense.

Our case deals with a clerical error in the enhancement paragraph of the indictment relating to the date of a prior conviction. Cole v. State, 611 S.W.2d 79 (Tex.Crim.App.1981) held, “It is well settled that it is not necessary to allege prior convictions for the purpose of the enhancement of punishment with the same particularity as must be used in charging the original offense.”

The question this Court must answer is whether or not appellant had notice of what the State intended to prove as a prior conviction for enhancement purposes. To sustain appellant’s points of error two, three, and four, it must be shown that the enhancement paragraph lacked the requisite item of notice to appellant and that such deficiency impacted on appellant’s ability to prepare his defense.

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Stewart v. State, 856 S.W.2d 567, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1825, 1993 WL 225544 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

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