Woodard, Robert Lee

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 20, 2004
DocketAP-74,080
StatusPublished

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Bluebook
Woodard, Robert Lee, (Tex. 2004).

Opinion



IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

OF TEXAS



NO. 74,080
ROBERT LEE WOODARD, Appellant


v.



THE STATE OF TEXAS



APPEAL FROM

HARRIS COUNTY

Womack, J., delivered the opinion for an unanimous Court.

The appellant was found guilty of the capital murders of Thankachen Mathai and Achamma Mathai, who were husband and wife. He was sentenced to death on March 8, 2001. On appeal, he presents six points of error about the trial on the issue of guilt, and five more points about the punishment stage.

The Mathais owned and operated a convenience store in Houston. On the night of February 12, 2000, Thankachen was working at the store, and Achamma had brought him dinner. Between 10 and 11 p.m., Cory Calloway bought gasoline from the store's pumps for his 1989 Lincoln. Leaving the engine running at the gas pumps, Calloway went to a pay telephone at the side of the building.

While Calloway talked on the phone, Garvina Sadiki came in the store to buy merchandise. As Sadiki paid for her items, a man dressed in a hooded jacket entered the store with a gun in his hand. The man fired a shot and said, "This is a robbery. Don't anybody move."

The robber ran behind the counter where Thankachen and Achamma stood, and ordered Thankachen to open the register. He ordered Sadiki not to look at him, and she obeyed. When Thankachen could not get the register open, the robber shot him. The man then ordered Achamma to open the register and threatened to shoot Thankachen again if she did not. Achamma cried and screamed, begging the man not to hurt them. As she fumbled with the register, the man pointed the gun toward Thankachen and fired another shot.

Hearing police sirens, the robber cursed and ran from behind the counter to the front door only to discover that it had been locked. The man screamed for Achamma to open the door. Sadiki heard the lock open, and she saw the man push open the door. Then the robber returned to the counter where Achamma and Sadiki were standing. He backed up to Sadiki, keeping his face hidden, and demanded her keys. Sadiki handed the man her keys. The man said to Achamma, "Bitch," and he shot her in the head. He then ran out the front door.

Outside the store, Calloway was still talking on the telephone. He heard the gunshots and then "a loud bust through the door." He looked up and saw a person wearing a hooded sweater run toward his Lincoln. Calloway ran toward the man, who pointed a gun at him. Calloway retreated to safety, and the man drove away in Calloway's Lincoln. Calloway went in the store and called for help.

Police officers arrived quickly. Achamma was already dead. Thankachen died shortly after being taken to a hospital. I. Guilt-stage Issues

The appellant's complaints include (A) two points about illegal search and seizure, (B) two points about improper identification procedures before trial, (C) a point about improper identification procedures during trial, and (D) a point about the court's charge.

A. Search and Seizure

1. Identifying the Appellant's Complaints

We must specifically identify the appellant's complaints about search and seizure, because the facts and the law will require different treatments of the several complaints. We find that, within his first two points, the appellant presents nine complaints.

The first point of error in the appellant's brief is that the "trial court erred in denying the appellant's motion to suppress the appellant's arrest in violation of" Article I, Section 3 of the Texas Constitution and Articles 14.04 and 38.23 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. (1) The second point, which complains of the same error, is different only in that it invokes the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. (2)

The motion to which the points refer was the appellant's "Motion to Suppress the Arrest and Search of Defendant." (3) The title of his motion cannot be taken literally. A court could not have suppressed the arrest and the search of the appellant, which were performed months before the motion was filed. It could have "suppressed," by ruling inadmissible, evidence that was obtained as a result of an illegal arrest or search. The texts of the motion and the brief, and the record of the proceedings before and during the trial, make it clear enough that these points complain of the admission of such evidence.

The appellant's brief specifies three kinds of evidence: "As a result of the appellant's arrest, the State was able to introduce at trial [1] evidence that was seized from apartment 414 (R. XXV, 112-113; State's Exhibit 111) as well as [2] the line-up (State's Exhibit 4) and [3] Calloway's 'strong tentative' identification." (4)

Therefore, we can tell that the appellant's first two points comprise nine complaints about the admission of evidence. Point one has six complaints, three of which are that the admission of each kind of evidence was contrary to the state constitution, and three of which are that the admission of each kind of evidence was contrary to state statutes. Point two presents three complaints, which are that the admission of the three kinds of evidence violated the federal constitution.

2. Inadequate Briefing

The appellant's brief presents and argues points one and two together. (5) The argument is that the arrest of the appellant without warrant violated Article 14.04 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The argument has no discussion or citation of either the state constitution or the federal constitution. We hold that the three state-constitutional complaints in point one and the three federal complaints in point two are inadequately briefed.

Appellate complaints that purport to be based on both state law and federal constitutional law are not rare. We have held more than once that the mere invocation of a provision of the state constitution is not enough; the appealing party must present an argument, supported by authority, that explains why each constitution has been violated. (6)

An appealing party is obliged to present argument and authority for complaints that the federal constitution was violated as well as for complaints that are based on state law. (7)

The appellant has presented neither argument nor authority to support the nominal complaints in point one that the denial of his motion violated the state constitution or the complaint in point two that the ruling violated the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Therefore, we hold that the six constitutional complaints in points one and two are inadequate for review. Point of error two is overruled.

3. Facts relevant to Point One

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