Texas Department of Public Safety v. Anonymous Adult Texas Resident

382 S.W.3d 531, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 7468, 2012 WL 3793249
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided August 30, 2012·No. 03-11-00602-CV·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinions

OPINION

J. WOODFIN JONES, Chief Justice.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) appeals from a trial court judgment in favor of the appellee, an anonymous adult Texas resident, reversing the DPS’s determination that the appellee is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Texas Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 62.001-62.408 (West 2006 & Supp.2011). On appeal, the DPS complains that the trial court erred by (1) excluding a police report that recounted the victim’s allegations against the appel-lee and (2) determining that the elements of the Massachusetts statute under which the appellee was convicted are not substantially similar to a SORA reportable offense. We will affirm the district court’s judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The relevant facts in this case are undisputed. In 1993 the appellee, then 22 years old, was convicted in Massachusetts for “indecent assault and battery on a person over fourteen years of age.” See Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 265, § 13H.1 He received a probated sentence and is required to register as a sex offender under Massachusetts law until 2015, unless earlier termination of the reporting requirement is granted by the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. See id. ch. 6, § 178C, D, F, G.

In 2006 the appellee moved to Texas and became a licensed emergency medical technician. From 2007 to 2010, the appel-lee applied for firefighter positions in several Texas cities and disclosed his 1993 Massachusetts conviction in his applications. At the request of one of his prospective employers, he provided additional documentation related to the Massachusetts conviction.

Shortly thereafter, the DPS notified the appellee that he was required to register as a sex offender in Texas based on his Massachusetts conviction, stating that the elements of the Massachusetts crime are “substantially similar” to the elements of the Texas offense of “sexual assault,” which is a reportable conviction under SORA with a lifetime registration requirement. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 62.001(5)(A), (H) (defining reportable convictions to include convictions under other states’ laws with elements “substantially similar” to Texas offense of sexual assault), .001(6)(A) (defining “sexually violent offenses” to include sexual assault under section 22.011 of the Texas Penal Code), .003(a) (West 2006) (granting DPS authority to determine whether elements of offenses are “substantially similar”), .101(a)(1) (West Supp.2012) (prescribing length of registration requirement for “sexually violent” offenses); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.011 (West 2012) (sexual assault statute). Appellee complied with the registration requirement, but also appealed the DPS’s determination to the district court in Travis County. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 62.003(c) (West 2006) (requiring appeals of DPS’s determinations to be filed in Travis County district court).

In cross-motions for summary judgment, the parties joined issue regarding whether [533] the elements of the Massachusetts statute are substantially similar to the elements of Texas offenses that are reportable under SORA. The DPS alleged that, “depending on the context,” a violation of the Massachusetts indecent assault and battery law would be substantially similar to several reportable Texas offenses — specifically, sexual assault, indecency with a child, and attempts at either of those crimes. See id. art. 62.001(5)(A), (G), (H); see also Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 15.01 (criminal attempt), 21.11 (indecency with child), 22.011 (sexual assault) (West 2011). To establish that the context of appellee’s crime satisfies the elements of the foregoing offenses, the DPS attempted to introduce into evidence a police report that recounted the victim’s allegations against the appellee in significant detail; the DPS did not introduce any other documentation, such as jury findings, stipulations, statements by the appellee, or other evidence of adjudicated or undisputed facts. The appellee moved to strike the police report on relevancy, hearsay, and authentication grounds. The trial court granted the motion without stating the basis for its ruling. The court also contemporaneously granted the appellee’s motion for summary judgment and denied the DPS’s motion for summary judgment. The court did not disclose the basis for its ruling, and the DPS’s motion for new trial was overruled by operation of law. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is proper if the movant establishes that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c); Southwestern Elec. Power Co. v. Grant, 73 S.W.3d 211, 215 (Tex.2002). In our de novo review of a summary judgment, we indulge every reasonable inference and resolve any doubts in the nonmovant’s favor. Id. When, as here, both parties move for summary judgment and the district court grants one motion and denies the other, we review the summary-judgment evidence presented by both sides, determine all questions presented, and render the judgment the trial court should have rendered. Texas Workers’ Comp. Comm’n v. Patient Advocates, 136 S.W.3d 643, 648 (Tex.2004).

DISCUSSION

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Texas Department of Public Safety v. Anonymous Adult Texas Resident, 382 S.W.3d 531, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 7468, 2012 WL 3793249 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

382 S.W.3d 531 (Texas Department of Public Safety v. Anonymous Adult Texas Resident) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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