Washington v. State

127 S.W.3d 197, 2003 WL 22456200
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 3, 2004
Docket01-02-00926-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by52 cases

This text of 127 S.W.3d 197 (Washington 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
Washington v. State, 127 S.W.3d 197, 2003 WL 22456200 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

127 S.W.3d 197 (2003)

Dana Wayne WASHINGTON, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 01-02-00926-CR.

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

October 30, 2003.
Discretionary Review Dismissed March 3, 2004.

*199 Douglas Durham, Houston, for Appellant.

Donald W. Rogers, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., William J. Delmore, III, Chief Prosecutor, Appellate Division, Charles A. Rosenthal, Jr., Dist. Atty.-Harris County, Houston, for Appellee.

Panel consists of Justices TAFT, JENNINGS, and HANKS.

OPINION

TIM TAFT, Justice.

A jury found appellant, Dana Wayne Washington, guilty of aggravated sexual assault and assessed punishment at 36 years in prison. Appellant appealed that conviction to this Court, and we reversed the judgment and remanded the cause for a new trial.[1]See Washington v. State, 16 S.W.3d 70 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, pet. ref'd). At the second trial, appellant was again found guilty by a jury, but elected to have his punishment assessed by the court, rather than by the jury. The trial court found enhancement allegations of prior convictions for delivery of cocaine and of simulated cocaine true and assessed punishment at 45 years in prison.

We determine (1) whether appellant had to preserve his factual-sufficiency challenge, (2) whether the evidence was factually insufficient to support appellant's conviction, and (3) whether the trial court's imposition of a harsher punishment upon the retrial was the result of presumptive vindictiveness. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On June 22, 1998, S.L., the complainant, woke up around 9:00 a.m. and lingered around her home, which she shared with her family. She drank alcohol throughout the day and left her home sometime after 10:30 p.m. to buy more alcohol. She walked to a local store, but it was closed. At this point, S.L. encountered appellant, who told her that his name was "Joe." S.L. told him that she planned to buy alcohol. Appellant offered her a ride in his car, and the two visited a nearby gas station, where they ran into S.L.'s brother. Because S.L. did not want to buy alcohol in front of her brother, S.L. and appellant left to find another place at which to make their purchases. After the two had unsuccessfully visited a local night club, which was closed, they decided to buy their alcohol from the local "bootleg."[2] Each obtained alcohol from the bootleg.

Afterwards, S.L. told appellant that she wanted to go home. She was under the impression that appellant was driving her home because he was driving in the direction of her home. Appellant instead stopped at a house, which he told S.L. was his mother's house. Both appellant and S.L. went inside. While the two drank their alcohol, S.L. told appellant that she *200 wanted to go home, and appellant struck her with his hand without provocation. Appellant repeatedly said to S.L., "Bitch, do what I say." S.L. claimed that appellant continued to hit her with his fists and ripped off her clothing until she remained in only her undergarments. Appellant then dragged her by her hair out of the back of the house and into a small, unfurnished structure behind the house. Appellant continued to beat S.L., tried to separate her legs, and removed her undergarments so that she was completely unclothed. Appellant then removed his clothing and penetrated S.L. with his penis. Appellant pulled a knife, with which he began to poke and to slice S.L. Appellant then forced S.L. to perform fellatio on him. Appellant told S.L. not to leave or he would shoot her. Appellant then slept for a few hours, and S.L. decided that it was safe to leave early in the morning. S.L. ran back into the house, retrieved her clothing, and walked home.

Several hours later, S.L. decided to contact the police, who came to her home to investigate, to retrieve her clothing, and to take photographs and statements. S.L. had taken a bath before the officers' arrival. S.L. was interviewed by Houston Police Officer Blades. At trial, Officer Blades described S.L.'s demeanor as "shaken and almost ... in tears." Officer Blades also indicated that S.L.'s face was swollen, that she had a "three-inch laceration" on her neck, and that she had bruises on her arms and "puncture wounds" on her back. Officer Blades surmised that S.L. had been badly beaten, and S.L. told him that she had been raped. S.L. told Officer Blades that appellant's name was "Joe" and described appellant to the officer. After the police had concluded their initial investigation, S.L. went to the hospital for an examination.

During this preliminary investigation, Officer Blades also questioned appellant's brother, who told Officer Blades that he was present in the house at the time of the assault and that he was aware that a woman was present in the house with appellant.

At trial, S.L. testified that she did not know whether appellant had used a condom during the alleged assault. S.L.'s brother testified that he had encountered appellant and S.L. at the gas station on the night that the assault occurred. S.L.'s brother testified that, at the time that he encountered appellant and S.L. that night, S.L. did not look as if she had been physically assaulted and her face had not yet been lacerated or bruised.

Appellant called only one witness, Doctor John Arigbogu, the emergency room physician who had treated S.L. on the day after the assault. On direct examination, Doctor Arigbogu testified that, because S.L. visited the hospital more than 18 hours after the sexual assault, hospital policy precluded the administration of a rape kit. Doctor Arigbogu testified that he had conducted a pelvic examination on S.L. and could not find evidence of trauma, but that he did observe facial trauma and skin lesions on S.L. Doctor Arigbogu further testified that S.L. had gonorrhea, but that, due to the gestation period of gonorrhea, it had not been transmitted to her on the day of the assault.

Preservation of Error

The State contends that appellant did not preserve his factual-sufficiency challenge because he did not move for a directed verdict[3] and because his motion *201 for new trial did not present a factual-sufficiency point of error with sufficient particularity. The State thus argues that, under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1(a)(1)(A), appellant has forfeited his factual-insufficiency challenge. See Tex. R.App. P. 33.1(a)(1)(A).

The State relies on the recent amendment to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1, which amendment added subsection (d) effective January 1, 2003. Subsection (d) states:

In a nonjury case, a complaint regarding the legal or factual insufficiency of the evidence—including a complaint that the damages found by the court are excessive or inadequate, as distinguished from a complaint that the trial court erred in refusing to amend a fact finding or to make an additional finding of fact—may be made for the first time on appeal in the complaining party's brief.

Tex.R.App. P. 33.1(d).

The State claims that the Court of Criminal Appeals, by adopting this provision expressly exempting factual-sufficiency challenges in non-jury cases from the general preservation rule, implicitly intended to subject factual-sufficiency challenges in jury cases to the general preservation rule.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Evender Gene Jackson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Allen, Alfred Carl
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Alfred Carl Allen v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Bobby Joe Evens v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Fred Douglas Moore, Jr. v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2015
Fred Douglas Moore, Jr. v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Bobby Joe Evens v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2015
Willie Frank Jackson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Timothy Paul Bates v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2015
Michael Earitt White v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2015
Donny Joe Curry v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Donny Joe Curry v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2015
Samuel Deleon Garza v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014
Chad Stueber v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Carl Rogers v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Emiliano Escobar v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Ex Parte Miller
330 S.W.3d 610 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Terrill Cruz v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Clifford Allen Smith v. Brad Livingston
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009
Quincy v. State
304 S.W.3d 489 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
127 S.W.3d 197, 2003 WL 22456200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-v-state-texapp-2004.