Wooldridge v. State

319 S.W.3d 747, 2009 WL 4918509
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 7, 2010
Docket11-08-00134-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 319 S.W.3d 747 (Wooldridge 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
Wooldridge v. State, 319 S.W.3d 747, 2009 WL 4918509 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RICK STRANGE, Justice.

Dewayne Heath Wooldridge was convicted of aggravated assault with two priors. Appellant appeals from a punishment hearing setting his punishment at twenty-five years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division. We affirm.

Procedural History

This case has spanned seven years and is before this court for the third time. In 2002, Wooldridge was indicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The indictment alleged two enhancements for theft of motor vehicle convictions. The first occurred in 1990 and the second in 1992. Both offenses were classified as third degree felonies at the time of Wool-dridge’s convictions. See former Tex. Penal Code § 81.03(e)(4)(A) (1989) (current version at Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 31.03 (Vernon Supp. 2009)). In 1993, the legislature amended Section 31.03 to provide that theft of property with the value involved in Wooldridge’s 1992 conviction would be classified as a state jail felony and his 1990 conviction a Class A misdemeanor. Act of May 29, 1993, 73rd Leg., R.S., ch. 900, *749 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 3586, 3637-3638. Because of this change in the law, the trial court found that the alleged enhancements were state jail felonies and could not be considered for enhancement purposes under Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 12.42(d) (Vernon Supp. 2009) and sentenced Wooldridge to seven years confinement.

The State appealed the trial court’s judgment, asserting that the trial court illegally sentenced Wooldridge because it had failed to sentence him as a habitual offender to a minimum sentence of twenty-five years under Section 12.42(d). See State v. Wooldridge, 135 S.W.3d 312 (Tex.App.-Eastland 2004, pet. granted). We held that we did not have jurisdiction because the State did not have grounds to appeal under Tex.Code CRiM. Proc. Ann. art. 44.01(b) (Vernon Supp. 2009). We held that the State was not appealing the legality of the sentence but, rather, was appealing the trial court’s ruling on a question of law. Id. at 317. We further held that the enhancements were not part of Wool-dridge’s sentence because the trial court did not find the enhancements true. Id.

On petition for discretionary review, the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed this court’s judgment and held that we did have jurisdiction to consider the State’s appeal. Wooldridge v. State, 158 S.W.3d 484 (Tex.Crim.App.2005). The court explained that “[a]ny legal significance attributable to the trial court’s failure to find the enhancement allegations to be true ... relates to the merits of the State’s contention that the sentence is illegal, and not to whether the State is appealing a sentence on the grounds that the sentence is illegal.” Id. at 485. The Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the case to this court to determine whether the sentence was legal. Id.

On remand, we held that the trial court made an error in law by finding that the prior convictions could not be considered for enhancement purposes. State v. Wooldridge, 170 S.W.3d 194 (Tex.App.-Eastland 2005, pet. granted). The alleged convictions were for offenses that were third degree felonies when they were committed; therefore, they could be used as felony enhancements under Section 12.42(d). Id. at 196. However, relying on Harris v. State, 153 S.W.3d 394 (Tex.Crim.App.2005), we concluded that the trial court’s seven-year sentence was not illegal because the trial court did not make a finding of true on the enhancements. Id. at 197. Without a finding of true on the enhancements, the trial court could not sentence Wooldridge as a habitual offender. Id.

The Court of Criminal Appeals again granted discretionary review and reversed this court’s judgment. State v. Wooldridge, 237 S.W.3d 714 (Tex.Crim.App.2007). The Court of Criminal Appeals distinguished Harris by noting that while in both cases the trial court received evidence of prior convictions, and in both cases it made no specific finding of true, in this instance the court discerned that the trial court believed the enhancement allegations were true. Id. at 718. Because it believed the enhancement allegations were true, the original punishment was not based upon a fact but on a ruling of law. Id. The case was remanded to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing.

Despite the Court of Criminal Appeals’s postulation, the trial court on remand noted that there was no finding of true, and the State conceded that there was no finding “one way or the other on the record.” The trial court proceeded to make a factual determination on the enhancement allegations. The State agreed with the trial court that Wooldridge needed to enter a plea. Wooldridge pleaded not true, and the trial court heard evidence and found that the enhancement paragraphs were *750 true. The trial court then sentenced Wooldridge to twenty-five years confinement. Wooldridge appeals the trial court’s judgment.

Issues

Wooldridge raises three issues on appeal. In his first two issues, he asserts that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict of guilty. In his third issue, he asserts that his resentencing was barred by double jeopardy.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Wooldridge argues that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to sustain the jury’s guilty verdict for aggravated assault. This is the first time that Wooldridge has raised this issue on appeal. Wooldridge initially filed an appeal challenging his conviction. However, before any briefs were filed, Wooldridge moved to dismiss his appeal, and we did so. See State v. Wooldridge, No. 11-03-00186-CR, 2003 WL 22103212 (Tex.App.-Eastland, Sept. 11, 2003).

When a court of appeals or the Court of Criminal Appeals reverses a judgment only on the basis of an error or errors made during the punishment phase of a trial, the case shall stand as if a finding of guilt has been returned and proceed to the punishment stage of the trial. Tex.Code Crim. Proc. ANN. art. 44.29(b) (Vernon Supp. 2009). When a case is remanded for punishment only, the conviction on guilt/innocence is essentially affirmed. Sanders v. State, 963 S.W.2d 184, 186 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1998, pet. refd).

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319 S.W.3d 747, 2009 WL 4918509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wooldridge-v-state-texapp-2010.