Ziolkowski v. State

223 S.W.3d 640, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 2580, 2007 WL 967029
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 3, 2007
Docket06-06-00030-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 223 S.W.3d 640 (Ziolkowski 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
Ziolkowski v. State, 223 S.W.3d 640, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 2580, 2007 WL 967029 (Tex. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by Justice CARTER.

Cory Ziolkowski appeals his conviction for murdering James “Bucky” Ball. Ziol-kowski was convicted by a Bowie County jury for causing the death of Ball, who was shot while tied to a chair on November 8, 2003, in Texarkana, Texas. The jury recommended a sentence of fifty years, and Ziolkowski was sentenced accordingly.

We affirm the trial court’s judgment of conviction and sentence after finding: 1) although there was an abuse of discretion, Ziolkowski did not suffer harm when the trial court ordered him to wear ankle shackles through trial; 2) the evidence is legally sufficient; 3) the evidence is factually sufficient; and 4) there was no error in the trial court’s exclusion of portions of Ziolkowski’s statements to the police.

Ankle Shackles During Trial

After voir dire, and out of the presence of the jury, Ziolkowski’s trial counsel lodged an objection to the fact Ziolkowski had been required to wear ankle shackles during jury selection. 1 On appeal, Ziol-kowski contends that there was insufficient cause for the trial court’s shackling order and that Ziolkowski suffered reversible harm. Although we find the trial court abused its discretion in ordering Ziolkow-ski to wear ankle shackles, we overrule this point of error as we find no evidence of harm to Ziolkowski.

When a defendant is viewed by the jury in handcuffs or shackles, his or her presumption of innocence is seriously infringed. Long v. State, 823 S.W.2d 259, 282 (Tex.Crim.App.1991). Only in rare circumstances is shackling called for, and in such event, the record must detail the grounds for such action. Id.; Marquez v. State, 725 S.W.2d 217, 229 (Tex.Crim.App. 1987). The trial court must set forth with specificity the reasons supporting its decision to restrain the defendant. Cooks v. State, 844 S.W.2d 697, 722 (Tex.Crim.App. 1992) (citing Long, 823 S.W.2d at 282; Marquez, 725 S.W.2d at 228). On appeal, the role of an appellate court is to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in authorizing the restraint. Long, 823 S.W.2d at 282. Even if an abuse of discretion exists, reversal may not be called for if such abuse was harmless. Canales v. State, 98 S.W.3d 690, 697-98 (Tex. Crim.App.2003); Cooks, 844 S.W.2d at 723; Long, 823 S.W.2d at 283. In Canales, Cooks, and Long, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that, where the record did not affirmatively show that the jury had seen the defendant’s ankle shackles, the appellant could not demonstrate harm. In Long, the court found that the trial court’s order that the defendant be shackled did not have adequate support in the record and found that the trial court’s decision was thus an abuse of discretion. Long, 823 S.W.2d at 283. However, as in Canales, any error was harmless error.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has long recognized the danger of allowing *643 an accused to be seen shackled by the jury. “We desire to make it perfectly plain that we regard a trial with the prisoner in irons as obnoxious to the spirit of our laws and all ideas of justice, and it is only when the record brings the case clearly within one of the rare exceptions that we would consent for a conviction to stand. Before a judge should permit a case to proceed under such circumstances, he should be very sure of his ground.” Gray v. State, 99 Tex.Crim. 305, 268 S.W. 941, 950 (1924) (op. on reh’g). The Gray court described such “rare exceptions” as circumstances where “in the sound discretion of the [trial] court, it appears necessary to retain [the accused’s] shackles to prevent the escape or self-destruction of the prisoner, or to prevent him from injuring bystanders or officers of the court, or if necessary to maintain a quiet and peaceable trial, the court may try the prisoner without having the shackles removed; his action being subject to the closest scrutiny and review by the appellate court.” Id. at 949.

For example, where the defendant had previously been convicted of capital murder, had carried deadly weapons in prison, choked and stabbed fellow inmates, attacked and spit on cameramen, and threatened to run and cause police officers to have to shoot and kill him, it was found the trial court had not abused its discretion when it ordered the defendant shackled during the punishment phase of trial. Marquez, 725 S.W.2d at 228-30. Likewise, where a defendant had a history of escapes and had expressed his wish to die rather than face imprisonment, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found the trial court had not abused its discretion in ordering the defendant to wear leg restraints in trial. Jacobs v. State, 787 S.W.2d 397, 407 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). Where the trial court fails to make specific findings on the need for restraints, that court abuses its discretion. Simms v. State, 127 S.W.3d 924, 928 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2004, pet. refd); Cox v. State, 931 S.W.2d 349, 352 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1996), pet. dism’d, improvidently granted, 951 S.W.2d 5 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). 2

In the instant case, the trial court ordered Ziolkowski to wear ankle restraints during trial out of concern for “courtroom security, [and] the seriousness of the offense.” The use of restraints, such as shackles, cannot be justified based on a general appeal to the need for courtroom security or simple reference to the severity of the charged offense. Wynn v. State, No. 01-05-00767-CR, 2006 WL 3230284, 2006 Tex.App. LEXIS 9711 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 9, 2006, no pet.) (citing Long, 823 S.W.2d at 283; Jacobs, 787 S.W.2d at 407). If the trial court determines the defendant should be shackled during trial, the trial court must specify the reasons for restraining the defendant. Cooks, 844 S.W.2d at 722. Additionally, all efforts must be made to ensure the jury does not view the defendant in shackles. Long, 823 S.W.2d at 282.

Here, the trial court’s statement that Ziolkowski would be shackled out of concern for courtroom security and because Ziolkowski was on trial for murder are not specific reasons as required by caselaw. However, the trial court did take specific preventive measures to keep the jury from observing the shackles. The trial court commented that Ziolkowski had only ankle shackles and that Ziolkowski was not required to stand, in order to “eliminate any *644 possibility” the jury might observe the shackles. The court ordered that Ziolkow-ski would be seated at the counsel table before the jury was brought into the courtroom and that the jury would be removed before Ziolkowski was moved.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
223 S.W.3d 640, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 2580, 2007 WL 967029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ziolkowski-v-state-texapp-2007.