Gloria Elena Melton v. the State of Texas ( 2021 )


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  • Affirm and Opinion Filed May 11, 2021
    In The
    Court of Appeals
    Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
    No. 05-20-00543-CR
    GLORIA ELENA MELTON, Appellant
    V.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
    On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2
    Kaufman County, Texas
    Trial Court Cause No. 17-80274-CC2-F
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Myers, and Justice Partida-Kipness
    Opinion by Justice Myers
    Gloria Elena Melton appeals her conviction for felony driving while
    intoxicated. The trial court sentenced appellant to imprisonment for sixty years.1
    Appellant brings two issues on appeal contending (1) the trial court erred by
    determining appellant used or exhibited a deadly weapon, an automobile, during the
    offense, and (2) that she lacked effective assistance of counsel at trial. We affirm
    the trial court’s judgment.
    1
    The State also alleged for punishment enhancement that appellant had prior convictions for felony
    DWI and felony theft. Appellant pleaded true to these allegations. See TEX. PENAL CODE § 12.42(d).
    BACKGROUND
    On December 6, 2017, shortly after 7:00 p.m., the 911 dispatchers for
    Kaufman County received calls about a car on eastbound Interstate 20 swerving into
    other lanes and driving only 10 to 45 miles per hour in an area with a 75 mile-per-
    hour speed limit. One of the callers stated that whoever was driving the vehicle was
    going to cause an accident on the interstate and that “someone’s gonna die.” Another
    caller said the vehicle “just like almost slammed right into me.”
    Paul Rose testified he was going eastbound on I-20 when he saw a vehicle in
    front of him “weaving from shoulder to shoulder all the way across the interstate.”
    He called 911, and he stayed behind the vehicle tapping on his brakes to warn drivers
    behind him. He testified the vehicle was mostly driving 30 to 70 miles per hour, but
    it came to a stop two or three times, and he had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting
    it. A couple of other cars had to swerve onto the shoulder. At one point, the vehicle
    exited the interstate onto the service road. Then, the vehicle got onto the entrance
    ramp for the interstate, stopped, and then backed down the entrance ramp going the
    wrong way. Rose testified he “was afraid somebody was going to get hurt or killed.”
    Deputy Sheriff Charles Carr testified that when he got behind the vehicle, it
    pulled over to the side of the road, almost hit the guardrail, returned to the main lanes
    of the interstate, and then pulled back onto the side of the road into the grass. The
    vehicle stopped, moved forward again, stopped again, moved forward again, and
    finally stopped. When Carr approached the vehicle, appellant was in the driver’s
    –2–
    seat. There was an open 32-ounce beer can on the center console and “a gallon-size
    jug of some kind of alcohol between her and the driver’s side door.”2 Appellant told
    Carr she was headed to Waco. Carr asked appellant to get out of the vehicle, and
    when she tried to, the vehicle moved forward because she did not have it in “Park.”
    When appellant and Carr got the vehicle into Park and appellant got out of the
    vehicle, she could hardly stand. She said she was headed to Waco, which was in the
    wrong direction from where she was driving. Carr testified that with the traffic on
    I-20 that night, appellant’s driving at speeds near 10 miles per hour and weaving
    from shoulder to shoulder was capable of causing an accident resulting in “injury or
    death.” Carr asked the dispatcher to send a Department of Public Safety (DPS)
    trooper to assist with the DWI investigation.
    DPS Trooper Alan Hale testified he performed the horizontal gaze nystagmus
    test on appellant, and he “observed six out of possible six clues.” Appellant was not
    able to complete the other intoxication tests, which were the finger-count and ABC
    tests. Hale testified that on the finger-count test, appellant “was unable to touch her
    thumb to her ring finger on the first attempt. And then she gave up on it.”3 Hale
    determined that, in his opinion, appellant was intoxicated, and he arrested her. Hale
    2
    Trooper Allen Hale testified that the can of beer was almost empty and that the bottle of alcohol was
    a bottle of 80-proof vodka that “looked like there was a couple or several swigs taken out of it.” Hale
    searched appellant’s car and found a receipt indicating the vodka had been purchased at 6:49 p.m. that
    evening.
    3
    The video recording from Hale’s squad car showed Hale asked appellant to recite the alphabet
    beginning with the letter “H” and ending with the letter “S.” Appellant said she was a teacher and familiar
    with the alphabet, but she appeared not to understand the instructions, and she did not perform this test.
    –3–
    testified that stopping in the traffic lanes on I-20, traveling from shoulder to shoulder
    of the interstate, and going the wrong way down an entrance ramp with the traffic
    he observed on the interstate that evening could cause an accident and “result in
    serious bodily injury or death.”
    The video from Hale’s squad car showed the eastbound interstate highway
    was two lanes wide and the traffic was passing at high speed, sometimes at a rate of
    two or three cars per second, and sometimes with a few seconds between cars.
    DPS Sergeant Audry O’Leary testified she was riding with Hale when they
    went to the scene. O’Leary testified that appellant was intoxicated due to the
    introduction of alcohol into her body. O’Leary testified that a driver weaving from
    shoulder to shoulder in the traffic conditions shown on the video of the stop could
    cause a crash resulting in “serious bodily injury or death.”
    A judge issued a warrant authorizing seizure of samples of appellant’s blood.
    The samples of appellant’s blood were taken at 10:25 p.m., about three hours after
    appellant stopped driving. A sample was tested and found to have an alcohol
    concentration of 0.371 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. See PEN. §
    49.01(2)(B) (“‘Intoxicated’ means: . . . (B) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08
    or more.”).
    Appellant pleaded “no contest” to the charge of DWI. She testified she had
    no memory of the events leading up to her arrest. She did not remember buying
    –4–
    alcohol or being stopped by the police. She testified she has a seizure disorder. She
    admitted having seven prior DWI convictions.
    DEADLY WEAPON
    In her first issue, appellant contends the State failed to present sufficient
    evidence to support the trial court’s finding that appellant used or exhibited a deadly
    weapon, to wit, an automobile, in the commission of the offense.
    When assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, we review the record to
    determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the
    verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that
    appellant’s vehicle was used or exhibited as a deadly weapon. Couthren v. State,
    
    571 S.W.3d 786
    , 789 (Tex. Crim. App. 2019). An automobile is not a statutory
    deadly weapon per se, but the trier of fact can find it was a deadly weapon if it was
    used in a manner that was capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. Id.; see
    TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 1.07(a)(17)(B) (defining “deadly weapon”). Whether a
    deadly weapon finding in a driving-while-intoxicated case is appropriate is
    “dependent upon specific testimony in the record about the manner of use.”
    
    Couthren, 571 S.W.3d at 790
    (quoting Brister v. State, 
    449 S.W.3d 490
    , 494 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2014)). “To support a deadly weapon finding, there must be evidence
    that the manner of driving was capable of causing death or serious bodily injury apart
    from the fact of a collision and the defendant’s intoxication.”
    Id. –5– The evidence
    in this case shows appellant was driving mostly between 10 and
    45 miles per hour on an interstate highway with a 75-mile-per-hour speed limit. She
    was driving erratically, crossing lanes and moving from the left shoulder to the right
    shoulder and back again. Although no collisions occurred, other vehicles on the road
    had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting appellant. Rose testified appellant
    came to a complete stop on the interstate at least twice and that he had to slam on
    his brakes to avoid a collision. Rose stated in his call to the 911 dispatcher that
    appellant was “all over the road” and almost hit an 18-wheeler. Another caller to
    911 said, “He’s going to cause a wreck. . . . Someone’s gonna die.” A third caller
    said appellant “almost slammed right into me.” Rose testified he was afraid someone
    was going to get hurt or killed. The law-enforcement witnesses testified appellant’s
    driving, as described by Rose and the other 911 callers, was capable of causing death
    or serious bodily injury. From the video exhibits, the trial court could see the amount
    of traffic on the roadway and determine whether appellant’s driving as described by
    the witnesses was capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. That evidence
    supports the trial court’s finding that appellant’s automobile was a deadly weapon.
    Appellant argues the evidence showed her driving was not capable of causing
    death or serious bodily injury because all the other vehicles managed to avoid
    collisions.   Appellant states, “Functionally, said testimony demonstrate[s] that
    Appellant was able to operate her vehicle in such a way as to avoid contact with
    other drivers on the roadway.” We disagree—that evidence shows the other drivers
    –6–
    were able to operate their vehicles so as to avoid contact with appellant; it is not
    necessarily evidence that appellant was able to avoid the other drivers. Moreover,
    the test is not whether a collision occurred. “[T]he statute itself does not require
    pursuing police officers or other motorists to be in a zone of danger, take evasive
    action, or require appellant to intentionally strike another vehicle to justify a deadly
    weapon finding.” Drichas v. State, 
    175 S.W.3d 795
    , 799 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
    Instead, the test is whether the evidence showed that appellant’s manner of driving
    was capable of causing death or serious bodily injury apart from any collision and
    appellant’s intoxication. 
    Couthren, 571 S.W.3d at 790
    . The witnesses and the
    callers to 911 describing appellant’s driving presented evidence that her driving was
    capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.
    Appellant asserts that no testimony “showed how this type of use or operation
    of a motor vehicle would be more dangerous than any other driving struggling with
    a flat tire, mechanical failure of the vehicle, or some other type of visual or personal
    impairment.” The State had no burden to establish that appellant’s driving was more
    dangerous than those situations, which, depending on the circumstances could also
    be capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.
    Appellant points to the fact that appellant pulled off to the side of the road,
    that Carr did not testify he was endangered by appellant’s use or intended use of her
    vehicle, and that Carr testified that any intoxicated person on the road is deadly.
    Because appellant was already pulling over to the side of the road, and, eventually
    –7–
    stopped, Carr was not an eyewitness to appellant using her vehicle as a deadly
    weapon. Appellant is correct that Carr’s testimony that any intoxicated driver is
    deadly is not evidence supporting a deadly weapon finding because the deadly
    weapon finding must be based on evidence “apart from the fact of . . . the defendant’s
    intoxication.” 
    Couthren, 571 S.W.3d at 790
    (emphasis added). Other evidence,
    however, including Rose’s testimony and the 911 calls, described appellant’s
    dangerous driving.
    Appellant states that no evidence showed slow driving was capable of causing
    death or serious bodily injury. We disagree. The prosecutor asked Carr whether
    driving at speeds near 10 miles per hour on Interstate 20 was “capable of causing an
    accident”; Carr answered, “It can be fatal.” The prosecutor asked Hale and O’Leary
    whether stopping in the middle of I-20 in the traffic shown on the video exhibits
    would be capable of causing an accident resulting in death or serious bodily injury,
    and they testified that it was.
    Moreover, appellant was not just driving slowly. She was also driving at an
    unsteady speed, sometimes stopping entirely, while being unable to stay in a single
    lane of traffic. Rose testified that a couple of cars pulled onto the shoulder to avoid
    appellant. The relevant issue before the trial court was whether appellant’s driving
    overall, not merely one aspect of her driving, was capable of causing death or serious
    bodily injury. The prosecutor described to Carr, Hale, and O’Leary appellant’s
    manner of driving as reported by Rose, who drove behind appellant, and by the other
    –8–
    911 callers, and Carr, Hale, and O’Leary testified that the manner of driving
    described by the prosecutor was capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.
    We conclude the evidence was sufficient to support the trial court’s finding
    that appellant used or exhibited a deadly weapon. We overrule appellant’s first issue.
    INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL
    In her second issue, appellant contends she did not receive effective assistance
    of counsel.
    Standard of Review
    To prove a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, appellant must show (1)
    his trial counsel’s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness
    and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors,
    the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland v. Washington,
    
    466 U.S. 668
    , 687–88 (1984); Lopez v. State, 
    343 S.W.3d 137
    , 142 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2011). “A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence
    in the outcome.” 
    Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694
    . In reviewing counsel’s performance,
    we look to the totality of the representation to determine the effectiveness of counsel,
    indulging a strong presumption that counsel’s performance falls within the wide
    range of reasonable professional assistance or trial strategy. See Robertson v. State,
    
    187 S.W.3d 475
    , 482–83 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
    Appellant has the burden of establishing both prongs by a preponderance of
    the evidence. Jackson v. State, 
    973 S.W.2d 954
    , 956 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). “An
    –9–
    appellant’s failure to satisfy one prong of the Strickland test negates a court’s need
    to consider the other prong.” Williams v. State, 
    301 S.W.3d 675
    , 687 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 2009); see also 
    Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697
    . Generally, a silent record that
    provides no explanation for counsel’s actions will not overcome the strong
    presumption of reasonable assistance. Goodspeed v. State, 
    187 S.W.3d 390
    , 392
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). “It is a rare case in which the trial record will by itself be
    sufficient to demonstrate an ineffective-assistance claim.” Nava v. State, 
    415 S.W.3d 289
    , 308 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). In the rare case in which trial counsel’s
    ineffectiveness is apparent from the record, an appellate court may address and
    dispose of the claim on direct appeal. 
    Lopez, 343 S.W.3d at 143
    . However, “[i]f
    trial counsel has not been afforded the opportunity to explain the reasons for his
    conduct, we will not find him to be deficient unless the challenged conduct was ‘so
    outrageous that no competent attorney would have engaged in it.’” 
    Nava, 415 S.W.3d at 308
    (quoting Menefield v. State, 
    363 S.W.3d 591
    , 593 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2012)). When, as in this case, the record on appeal is silent regarding counsel’s
    actions, we may not speculate to find trial counsel ineffective. See Thompson v.
    State, 
    9 S.W.3d 808
    , 814 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999).
    Hearsay and Right of Confrontation
    Appellant argues her counsel was ineffective for failing to object to hearsay
    evidence, the 911 calls. We disagree. Out-of-court statements that are present sense
    impressions or excited utterances are excepted from exclusion as hearsay. See TEX.
    –10–
    R. EVID. 803(1), (2). A statement is a present sense impression if it is “describing
    or explaining an event or condition, made while or immediately after the declarant
    perceived it.”
    Id. 803(1).
    The recordings of the two callers who did not testify
    described their observations of appellant’s driving immediately after observing it.
    Rose’s 911 call described appellant’s driving while he observed it. Therefore, all
    the calls were excepted from the hearsay exclusion rule by the exception for present
    sense impressions.
    Also, hearsay statements are admissible as excited utterances when they
    “relat[e] to a startling event or condition, made while the declarant was under the
    stress of excitement that it caused.”
    Id. 803(2).
    The trial court could determine that
    a vehicle traveling 30 to 50 miles per hour below the rest of the traffic while weaving
    back and forth across an interstate highway would be a startling event or condition,
    and the trial court could also determine that the three callers were under the stress of
    the excitement from the event when they talked to the 911 operator. Therefore, the
    calls were admissible as excited utterances. We conclude appellant has not shown
    her counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the 911 calls as hearsay.
    Appellant argues that, except for Rose’s 911 call, the recordings of the other
    911 calls violated appellant’s right of confrontation and that her counsel was
    ineffective for failing to object to the calls on confrontation grounds.          “The
    Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment guarantees that ‘[i]n all criminal
    prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses
    –11–
    against him.’” Vinson v. State, 
    252 S.W.3d 336
    , 338 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008)
    (quoting U.S. CONST. amend. VI).         The Confrontation Clause prohibits the
    “admission of testimonial statements of a witness who did not appear at trial unless
    the witness was unavailable to testify, and the defendant had a prior opportunity for
    cross-examination.”
    Id. (quoting Crawford v.
    Washington, 
    541 U.S. 36
    , 53–54
    (2004)). Thus, the question is whether the 911 calls were testimonial, which we
    determine de novo. See Wall v. State, 
    184 S.W.3d 730
    , 742 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
    Statements are nontestimonial when made in the course of police
    interrogation under circumstances objectively indicating that the
    primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to
    meet an ongoing emergency. They are testimonial when the
    circumstances objectively indicate that there is no such ongoing
    emergency, and that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to
    establish or prove past events potentially relevant to later criminal
    prosecution.
    
    Vinson, 252 S.W.3d at 338
    (quoting Davis v. Washington, 
    547 U.S. 813
    , 813–14
    (2006)). In Vinson, the court of criminal appeals stated that in Davis v. Washington,
    the Supreme Court
    noted a non-exhaustive list of factors to consider when determining
    whether statements were made during on ongoing emergency: 1)
    whether the situation was still in progress; 2) whether the questions
    sought to determine what is presently happening as opposed to what
    has happened in the past; 3) whether the primary purpose of the
    interrogation was to render aid rather than to memorialize a possible
    crime; 4) whether the questioning was conducted in a separate room,
    away from the alleged attacker; and 5) whether the events were
    deliberately recounted in a step-by-step fashion.
    Id. at 339
    (citing 
    Davis, 547 U.S. at 829
    –30)).
    –12–
    The two callers’ statements were made during an ongoing emergency. The
    situation was still in progress, i.e., appellant was still driving erratically on the
    interstate. The 911 operators’ questions asked the callers where their emergency
    was. The callers spontaneously described the situation. The operators did not ask
    about past events. The primary purpose of the questions was to determine the nature
    of the emergency and to determine a course of action to alleviate the emergency,
    which in this case was to dispatch law enforcement officers to the scene to assess
    the situation. The questioning was not conducted to memorialize a crime. The
    events were not recounted in a step-by-step fashion; instead, the callers’ provided
    spontaneous descriptions of the situation. We conclude the recordings of the 911
    calls were not testimonial and did not implicate appellant’s right of confrontation.
    See Neal v. State, 
    186 S.W.3d 690
    , 694 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2006, no pet.).
    Therefore, appellant’s counsel was not ineffective for failing to assert the evidence
    violated appellant’s right of confrontation.
    Retrograde Extrapolation Testimony
    Appellant argues her counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the
    retrograde-extrapolation questions the prosecutor asked the forensic scientist who
    tested appellant’s blood sample.
    In this case, the forensic scientist testified that she could not say what the
    alcohol elimination rate was for a specific individual, “but I can give . . . an average
    for a regular average person.” The prosecutor then asked how many drinks it would
    –13–
    take for a female weighing approximately 150 pounds to get to a blood-alcohol
    concentration of .371, and the witness answered, “Approximately 15, 16” standard
    drinks, meaning a 12-ounce beer, 5 ounces of “normal wine,” or one to one-and-a-
    half ounces of distilled liquor. The prosecutor then asked if it was possible, based
    on elimination, that a person who was driving at 7:15 p.m. and who had blood drawn
    at 10:25 p.m. and did not consume alcohol in between could have had a higher
    alcohol concentration at the time of driving. The forensic scientist answered, “It’s
    possible, yes.”
    On cross-examination by defense counsel, the forensic scientist testified, “The
    standard normal regular person eliminates about .02 per hour,” so appellant likely
    “would have eliminated .05, .06.” Defense counsel asked if that “would have put
    her at over .4,” and the forensic scientist answered, “Yes, very likely.”
    Appellant asserts the evidence presented by the prosecutor was inadmissible
    because the State failed to show the forensic scientist was qualified as an expert on
    retrograde extrapolation or that her testimony on the subject was reliable. Appellant
    does not assert on appeal that defense counsel was ineffective for his questioning the
    witness about retrograde extrapolation on cross-examination.
    In Mata v. State, 
    46 S.W.3d 902
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2001), the supreme court
    discussed the admissibility of retrograde-extrapolation testimony.          The court
    emphasized that an expert witness’s testimony on this subject must be reliable. The
    witness must be able “to apply the science and explain it with clarity.”
    Id. at 916.
    –14–
    The witness must also “demonstrate an awareness of the subtleties of the science and
    the risks inherent in any extrapolation.”
    Id. The court, in
    determining whether the
    evidence was reliable, should consider: “(a) the length of time between the offense
    and the test(s) administered; (b) the number of tests given and the length of time
    between each test; and (c) whether, and if so, to what extent, any individual
    characteristics of the defendant were known to the expert in providing his
    extrapolation.”
    Id. Appellant argues, referring
    to the evidence elicited by the prosecutor, “The
    admission of such prejudicial and inadmissible evidence had no strategic value and
    only served to harm appellant.” Appellant cites the case of Blumenstetter v. State,
    
    135 S.W.3d 234
    (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2004, no pet.), but she does not explain
    how the opinion applies to this case. In Blumenstetter, the defense counsel testified
    that he did not know about Mata before the trial and that his strategy was to argue
    that the expert witness was guessing and that no one really knew the defendant’s
    level of intoxication.
    Id. at 247.
    Counsel said he thought if he had objected, then
    the State would have proved the witness’s qualifications and solidified his testimony
    to the jury.
    Id. The court of
    appeals stated it was “highly unlikely” that the State
    could have proven the testimony was reliable.
    Id. The court of
    appeals concluded
    counsel’s assistance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness because he
    did not object to the retrograde-extrapolation testimony.
    Id. at 247–48.
    However,
    the court concluded counsel’s failure to object to the evidence did not affect the
    –15–
    outcome because that evidence was cumulative of evidence showing the defendant
    was intoxicated while driving.
    Id. at 250.
    In this case, appellant’s counsel did not testify. “Therefore, appellant has
    failed to rebut the presumption this was a reasonable decision.” 
    Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 814
    . Furthermore, appellant does not explain how the exclusion of the
    retrograde-extrapolation testimony would probably have resulted in a different
    outcome. Appellant pleaded nolo contendere to driving while intoxicated, and she
    signed a stipulation of evidence admitting to being intoxicated. The laboratory test
    of her blood proved her alcohol concentration three hours after she stopped driving
    was over four-and-a-half times the legal limit. She failed or did not complete the
    intoxication tests Hale administered. Partially consumed open containers of alcohol
    were next to appellant in her vehicle. Appellant does not explain how testimony of
    appellant’s alcohol concentration being higher than 0.371 affected the outcome of
    the case. We conclude appellant has failed to established the prejudice prong of the
    Strickland standard because appellant has not shown the result of the trial would
    probably    have    been     different   if     appellant   had   objected   to   the
    retrograde-extrapolation testimony.
    Failure to Designate Expert Witness
    Appellant also contends her counsel was ineffective for failing to provide the
    State with timely notice of an expert witness. On the second day of the trial,
    appellant called her employer, with whom she resided as his housekeeper, to testify
    –16–
    that appellant did not appear intoxicated in the videos. She also wanted this witness
    to explain and confirm her medical conditions to the trial court. The witness had a
    medical degree and had been a board-certified anesthesiologist with a subspecialty
    in pain management. However, his medical license had been revoked. The State
    objected on two grounds to the witness testifying as an expert: first, because he was
    not a proper medical expert due to the revocation of his license, and second, because
    appellant did not give notice that the witness would be testifying as an expert
    witness.
    Appellant’s attorney explained to the trial court that he did not learn the
    witness had a medical degree until the first day of the trial. The trial court overruled
    the State’s objection that the witness was not a medical expert but sustained the
    objection to the failure to designate the witness as an expert witness.
    The witness testified that appellant’s mental state on the video recordings of
    the stop and arrest “did not seem consistent with somebody that had fatal alcohol
    levels.” He stated appellant’s “behavior was consistent with postictal syndrome
    from her seizure disorder” and that appellant’s “last seizure was approximately ten
    years ago.” The State objected that this testimony was expert testimony, not lay
    testimony. The trial court sustained the objection because “[a] lay person would
    have no knowledge of what you just testified to at all unless they went to medical
    school.”
    –17–
    Appellant argues on appeal, “This was Appellant’s only witness to support
    her theory that her impaired condition may have been the result of some other reason,
    other than just intoxication.” Appellant does not explain how evidence that her
    condition may have been due to some reason other than intoxication would have
    affected the outcome of the case. Appellant pleaded nolo contendere to driving
    while intoxicated, and she stipulated that she was intoxicated. The laboratory
    evidence showed her alcohol concentration three hours after being stopped was more
    than four-and-a-half times the legal limit.
    We conclude appellant has not overcome the presumption of reasonable
    assistance. Her counsel did not testify as to the strategic reasons, if any, he may
    have had for his actions, and we decline to speculate as to them. See 
    Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 814
    . We overrule appellant’s second issue.
    CONCLUSION
    We affirm the trial court’s judgment.
    /Lana Myers//
    LANA MYERS
    200543f.u05                                   JUSTICE
    Do Not Publish
    TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2
    –18–
    Court of Appeals
    Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
    JUDGMENT
    GLORIA ELENA MELTON,                          On Appeal from the County Court at
    Appellant                                     Law No. 2, Kaufman County, Texas
    Trial Court Cause No. 17-80274-
    No. 05-20-00543-CR          V.                CC2-F.
    Opinion delivered by Justice Myers.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee                  Chief Justice Burns and Justice
    Partida-Kipness participating.
    Based on the Court’s opinion of this date, the judgment of the trial court is
    AFFIRMED.
    Judgment entered this 11th day of May, 2021.
    –19–