William Owens v. State

381 S.W.3d 696, 2012 WL 4098990, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 7922
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 19, 2012
Docket06-11-00231-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 381 S.W.3d 696 (William Owens 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
William Owens v. State, 381 S.W.3d 696, 2012 WL 4098990, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 7922 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice CARTER.

William Owens was convicted by a Bowie County jury of sexually assaulting his daughter, who was four years old at the time of the offense. The jury assessed punishment of life imprisonment and a fine of $10,000.00. On appeal, Owens alleges the following errors: (1) the State violated the holding of Brady v. Maryland 1 by not providing exculpatory evidence; (2) Article 38.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows testimony of an outcry witness, was violated; (3) evidence from a nurse who examined the child was not relevant; (4) reversible error occurred when the investigating officer opined the child-complainant was truthful in her accusations; and (5) following the child’s recantation of her allegation, the evidence was not sufficient to support the verdict. After reviewing the record and applicable law, and considering the arguments of the parties, we find no reversible error and affirm the trial court’s judgment and sentence.

I. No Brady Violation

Owens first claims the trial court erred in refusing to require the State to turn over a file on another criminal defendant, in an unrelated case, or in failing to conduct an in camera review of that file. The State is required to provide potentially exculpatory information to the defense. Brady, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194; Thomas v. State, 841 S.W.2d 399 (Tex.Crim.App.1992). The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is violated when a prosecutor fails to disclose evidence favorable to the accused that creates a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the proceeding. Thomas, 841 S.W.2d at 404; see Pena v. State, 353 *701 S.W.3d 797, 812 (Tex.Crim.App.2011). “Evidence withheld by a prosecutor is ‘material’ if there is ‘a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the outcome of the proceeding would have been different.’ ” Wyatt v. State, 23 S.W.3d 18, 27 (Tex.Crim.App.2000) (quoting United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 676, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985)). Further, the information must be disclosed to the accused in time to put it to effective use at trial. See Palmer v. State, 902 S.W.2d 561, 563 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, no pet.). This includes disclosure of any favorable information in the possession of police agencies or other parts of the “prosecutorial team.” Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995). A Brady violation may also occur when a prosecutor fails to disclose evidence that may impeach the credibility of a State’s witness where the witness’ credibility is material to the disposition of an accused’s guilt. Johnston v. State, 917 S.W.2d 135 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1996, pet. ref'd).

Owens’ claim of a Brady violation was based on a statement supposedly made to Owens by another inmate while Owens was in jail pending trial. Through his attorney, at a pretrial hearing, Owens claimed Billy Speight, another jail inmate, told Owens that Speight had also been accused of fondling or inappropriately touching Owens’ daughter.

The prosecutor responded that she had reviewed the ease pending against Speight and that the alleged victim in the Speight case was a male, and “not the child in this case.” Owens offered no other evidence or specific argument that the victim in the instant case was also the victim of Speight’s alleged offense. The trial court opined that the only way such evidence could be exculpatory as to Owens would be if there was evidence that only one assault occurred, and the victim in Owens’ case made two allegations, one against Owens and one against Speight. No such evidence was present here.

A defendant in a criminal case does not have a general right to discovery of evidence in the possession of the State. See Scaggs v. State, 18 S.W.3d 277, 294-95 (Tex.App.-Austin 2000, pet. ref'd); Gowan v. State, 927 S.W.2d 246, 249 (Tex.App.Fort Worth 1996, pet. ref'd). Limited statutory discovery has been provided. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 39.14 (West Supp.2012). The decision about what is discoverable under the statute has long been committed to the discretion of the trial court. See Whitchurch v. State, 650 S.W.2d 422, 425 (Tex.Crim.App.1983) (per curiam).

The trial court, having been presented with nothing that “contradicts or rebuts the allegations against this defendant,” found no exculpatory evidence existed. We find that Owens only speculated to the trial court that information or a file on Speight’s charge might be material to Owens’ case, and the State definitively stated the victims in the two cases were not the same.

Normally, courts will not order the State' to produce information under Brady based upon a defendant’s speculation that the requested information contains exculpatory evidence. Page v. State, 7 S.W.3d 202, 206 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1999, pet. ref'd); Gowan, 927 S.W.2d at 250 (refusing to make “leap of faith” necessary to assume police file on seven unrelated rapes would show rape for which defendant charged committed by another assailant). “The mere possibility that an item of undisclosed information might have helped the defense, or might have affected the outcome of the trial, does not establish ‘materiality’ in the constitutional sense.” United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. *702 97, 109, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976); see also Hampton v. State, 86 S.W.3d 603, 612 (Tex.Crim.App.2002). Also, there is no Brady duty to make available to the defendant things about which he or she is already aware. Hayes v. State, 85 S.W.3d 809, 815 (Tex.Crim.App.2002). Brady only applies when the defense discovers information that was known to the prosecution but unknown to the defense. Pena, 353 S.W.3d at 810. Brady does not require the State to disclose information to defendants that the State does not have in its possession and that is not known to exist. Id.; see also Hafdahl v. State, 805 S.W.2d 396, 399 n. 3 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). 2

There was no suggestion that anything in the Speight file contained exculpatory or material evidence regarding the charge pending against Owens. The trial court did not err in not requiring the State or its agents to produce the Speight file. 3 We overrule Owens’ first point of error.

II. Outcry Statute Correctly Applied

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
381 S.W.3d 696, 2012 WL 4098990, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 7922, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/william-owens-v-state-texapp-2012.