Withers v. State

902 S.W.2d 122, 1995 WL 355186
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 20, 1995
Docket01-94-00724-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 902 S.W.2d 122 (Withers 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
Withers v. State, 902 S.W.2d 122, 1995 WL 355186 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

OLIVER-PARROTT, Chief Justice.

Appellant, Kenneth Randall Withers, was charged by indictment with the offense of aggravated robbery, enhanced by two prior robbery convictions. After the jury found appellant guilty, the trial court found one enhancement true and sentenced appellant to life imprisonment. Appellant raises nine points of error on appeal. We affirm.

Background

The complainant, Frank Coselli, is the vice president of operations for Spec’s Liquor. He testified that on December 30, 1993, he and a Spec’s clerk, Lynda Walker, were checking-out customers when the appellant entered the Spec’s store located on Kleckley Street. Coselli further testified that the appellant went around the store before approaching the counter to inquire where he might find the Crown Royal. Upon retrieving a bottle of Crown Royal and placing it on the counter, the appellant was asked if there would be anything else. Appellant responded by leaning across the counter with a pistol and demanding the money in the cash register.

Approximately one week later, appellant was arrested for an outstanding warrant during a routine traffic stop. Appellant was placed in a lineup where he was positively identified by Coselli.

Appellant’s appointed trial court counsel withdrew after two months due to conflict problems. New counsel was appointed and soon thereafter, appellant decided to continue his defense pro se with new counsel acting as his assistant.

Points of error one and two

Appellant contends in his first two points of error that the trial court erred by refusing to submit an article 38.23 jury instruction regarding the issue of identity, and that the lineup identification was unduly suggestive. 1 Because his line-up identification by Coselli was impermissibly suggestive, appellant argues, the jury should have been instructed to *125 disregard the identification if it found that the identification was obtained illegally.

When an article 38.23 instruction is mandatory, the trial court’s failure to submit the requested charge to the jury is reversible error. Bell v. State, 881 S.W.2d 794, 802 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994, no pet.). However, whether a defendant is entitled to an article 38.23 instruction depends on whether there is a disputed fact issue regarding the evidence in contention. Patterson v. State, 847 S.W.2d 349, 353 (Tex.App.—El Paso 1993, pet. ref'd); Poulos v. State, 799 S.W.2d 769, 772 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, no pet.). Therefore, “[a] trial court is required to include a properly worded article 38.23 instruction in the jury charge only if there is a factual dispute as to how the evidence was obtained.” Poulos, 799 S.W.2d at 772 (quoting Thomas v. State, 723 S.W.2d 696, 707 (Tex.Crim.App.1986)); see also Andujo v. State, 755 S.W.2d 138, 142-43 (Tex.Crim.App.1988).

Appellant does not raise a factual dispute as to how evidence of his identification was obtained. There was no dispute as to the physical characteristics of the other lineup participants. Neither was there a dispute as to how the lineup was conducted. In short, appellant did not offer any evidence at all which contradicted the State’s facts as to how the identification of appellant was conducted. Appellant merely contends that his identification was unduly suggestive and resulted in an irreparable misidentification. Without a factual dispute, however, it is not error for the trial court to refuse an article 38.23 jury instruction. Poulos, 799 S.W.2d at 772.

Appellant also contends that his lineup identification was unduly suggestive and, therefore, his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution were violated when the trial court denied appellant’s motion to suppress his in-court identification. Appellant bases his argument on the disparity of characteristics among the lineup participants. Appellant primarily contends that he was the shortest person in the lineup, and that some of the other lineup participants had facial hair. Appellant also argues that the over-all disparity of characteristics among the participants made the lineup identification unduly suggestive.

A lineup is considered unduly suggestive if other participants are greatly dissimilar in appearance from the suspect. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 232-233, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 1935, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967). Thus, a lineup is suggestive when the accused is placed with persons of distinctly different appearance, race, hair color, height or age. Foster v. California, 394 U.S. 440, 442-443, 89 S.Ct. 1127, 1128-29, 22 L.Ed.2d 402 (1969). Minor discrepancies between lineup participants will not render a lineup unduly suggestive. Partin v. State, 635 S.W.2d 923, 926 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1982, pet. ref'd). Neither due process nor common sense requires participants in a lineup to be identical. Buxton v. State, 699 S.W.2d 212, 216 (Tex.Crim.App.1985). In fact, a lineup is not unduly suggestive where there is a weight range of 40 pounds or height range of 5 inches. Id. The courts also allow great latitude concerning the age disparity among lineup participants. Latson v. State, 713 S.W.2d 137, 140 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1986, pet. ref'd) (16 year discrepancy between lineup participants not unduly suggestive).

In this ease, appellant was 39 years of age at the time of his identification, 5'8" in height, 160 pounds and clean shaven. Cosel-li’s description of appellant was 5'6" to 5'7" in height, 150 to 160 pounds and 30 to 35 years of age. The four other participants in the lineup ranged in age from 21 to 41, their height ranged from 5'9" to 6'1" and their weight ranged from 155 to 205. Appellant points out that two of the participants wore beards, while he was clean shaven. However, without more, this is not enough to make the identification unduly suggestive. We overrule appellant’s first and second points of error.

Points of error three, four, and five

In points of error three, four, and five, appellant argues that the State violated article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, article 1, section 10 of the Texas Constitu *126 tion, and the fifth, sixth, and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution by failing to disclose certain exculpatory evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
902 S.W.2d 122, 1995 WL 355186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/withers-v-state-texapp-1995.