VCH v. State

662 S.W.2d 42
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 13, 1983
Docket01-82-00727-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 662 S.W.2d 42 (VCH 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
VCH v. State, 662 S.W.2d 42 (Tex. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

662 S.W.2d 42 (1983)

V.C.H., a/k/a V.H.C., Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 01-82-00727-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.).

October 13, 1983.
Rehearing Denied December 8, 1983.

*43 Frank Panzica, Houston, for appellant.

Carl Haggard, Betty Purvis, Houston, for appellee.

Before BASS, JACK SMITH and COHEN, JJ.

OPINION

BASS, Justice.

This is an appeal from a certification of a minor as an adult for trial for the offense of murder.

The judgment is affirmed.

The State of Texas petitioned for a waiver of juvenile jurisdiction and discretionary transfer to the appropriate criminal district court for trial as an adult. A discretionary transfer hearing was conducted and the court ruled that the appellant should be certified. A transfer order was signed on April 15, 1979, but on August 6, 1979, counsel for appellant and the State agreed that the case should be remanded to juvenile court for another discretionary transfer hearing.

At the second hearing the court ruled that the appellant should be certified and a *44 transfer order was signed on October 18, 1979. Appellant appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals which reversed and remanded for another discretionary transfer hearing.

At the third discretionary transfer hearing, the court refused appellant's request for a jury trial and ruled that appellant should be certified as an adult. A transfer order was signed on March 12, 1981, and appellant appealed to the Court of Appeals on the issue of the trial court's refusal to grant a jury trial. The cause was again reversed and remanded for a discretionary transfer hearing.

At the fourth discretionary transfer hearing, and the one that forms the basis for this appeal, a jury trial was conducted on appellant's fitness to stand trial. Appellant was found competent. The trial court ruled that appellant should be certified, and a transfer order was signed on August 11, 1982.

The state questions whether this court has jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

Rule 354 Tex.R.Civ.P. requires the filing of an appeal bond to perfect the appeal, unless such bond is excused by law. The record reflects that a pauper's oath was duly filed August 10, 1982, and a notice of appeal was duly filed August 18, 1982. The trial judge entered an order, on August 31, 1982, which stated, in part, as follows:

"It is therefore ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED, that the Respondent, V.C.H., his custodian, John Hopkins, is unable to pay the costs of appeal or any part thereof, and is further unable to give security therefor, including the statement of facts and transcript. It is further ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED, that such Pauper's Affidavit and Oath be and it is hereby approved."

The notice of appeal, the pauper's oath, and the above order were all filed within 30 days of the entry of the order for transfer of the juvenile. We hold that the record shows that the appeal was timely perfected, and that this court has jurisdiction to entertain the appeal.

Appellant, in his first point of error, alleges that the trial court erred in failing to comply strictly with Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 51.09 (Vernon Supp.1982), which requires that the juvenile respondent affirmatively waive any right granted to him pursuant to Title 3 of the Texas Family Code, or the Constitution of the State of Texas or the United States. He contends that at the beginning of the fourth hearing his counsel expressed his desire to waive a jury trial, but that the judge refused to allow him to waive.

Appellant was before the trial court to determine whether he was unfit to proceed to a hearing for discretionary transfer because of mental disease or defect pursuant to § 55.04, Tex.Fam.Code Ann. provides in pertinent part as follows:

(c) The Court or jury shall determine from the psychiatric and other evidence at a hearing separate from, but conducted in accordance with the requirements for, the adjudication hearing whether the child is fit or unfit to proceed.
(e) If the Court or jury determines that the child is fit to proceed, the juvenile court shall continue with proceedings under this title as though no question of fitness to proceed had been raised.
(f) if the court or jury determines that the child is unfit to proceed, the court or jury shall determine whether the child should be committed for a period of temporary hospitalization for observation and treatment in accordance with section 55.02 of this code or committed to a facility for mentally retarded persons for care and treatment in accordance with section 55.03 of this code.

Section § 54.03 Tex.Fam.Code Ann. mandates that trial shall be by jury unless a jury is waived in accordance with section 51.09 of the Family Code.

Section 51.09 provides for the waiver of any rights as follows:

Unless a contrary intent clearly appears elsewhere in this title, any right granted to a child by this title or by the constitution or laws of this state or the *45 United States may be waived in proceedings under this title if:
(1) the waiver is made by the child and the attorney for the child;
(2) the child and the attorney waiving the right are informed of and understand the right and the possible consequences of waiving it;
(3) the waiver is voluntary; and
(4) the waiver is made in writing or in court proceedings that are recorded. (emphasis added).

Appellant, in the context of this appeal therefore has two rights under §§ 51.09 and 55.04. First, he has the right to a jury trial, on the issue of his competency to proceed under the cause for discretionary transfer, §§ 54.03 and 55.05. Second, he has the right to waive a jury trial, as to his competency to proceed under the cause for discretionary transfer, § 51.09. Both of these rights are subject to the provisions of Section 51.09 as to a valid waiver in due form.

The record in this case is complex. The second and third transfer hearings were argued on appeal as follows:

In The Matter of V.C.H., 605 S.W.2d 643 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1980), the court found that V.C.H., in the second transfer hearing, timely requested a jury trial on the fitness issue, and that the trial court erred in denying his request. The transfer order was reversed and the cause was remanded to the Family District Court for a jury hearing. In V.C.H. a/k/a V.H.C. v. State, 630 S.W.2d 787 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1982), the court found that in the third transfer hearing, although appellant waived a jury trial on the question of fitness to proceed to trial for a transfer hearing, his waiver was ineffective because he was not properly admonished as to his rights. The court found that the record was devoid of any evidence showing that the child was informed of the waiving of the jury, that the child joined in the waiver, or that the child was informed of and understood both the right to and possible consequences of his waiving a jury trial.

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Bluebook (online)
662 S.W.2d 42, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vch-v-state-texapp-1983.