Sam Kuzbary v. State ( 2018 )


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  • Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed June 26, 2018.
    In The
    Fourteenth Court of Appeals
    NO. 14-17-00146-CR
    SAM KUZBARY, Appellant
    V.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
    On Appeal from the County Criminal Court at Law No. 9
    Harris County, Texas
    Trial Court Cause No. 2103580
    MEMORANDUM                        OPINION
    Appellant Sam Kuzbary was charged by information with harassment. See
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 42.07 (West 2016). The jury found appellant guilty and the
    trial court assessed his punishment at confinement in jail for 180 days, but it
    suspended the sentence and ordered appellant to serve two years of community
    supervision. Appellant raises six issues on appeal.
    In his first issue, appellant asserts that the trial court violated his Sixth
    Amendment rights to compulsory process and to confront the witnesses against him
    when it quashed subpoenas he had issued for three people to testify at his trial. We
    overrule this issue because appellant has not shown that the trial court denied him
    the opportunity to cross-examine any witness against him, nor did he establish that
    the three people he sought to subpoena would offer testimony that was both material
    and favorable to his defense.
    Appellant’s second and third issues address evidentiary rulings allegedly
    made by the trial court. In his second issue, appellant contends the trial court abused
    its discretion when it admitted evidence of prior acts by appellant. We overrule this
    issue because appellant has not pointed out where in the record the prior acts were
    offered and then admitted into evidence. Appellant argues in his third issue that the
    trial court abused its discretion when it admitted copies of numerous emails, rather
    than the originals, into evidence. We overrule this issue because the email copies
    were admissible as duplicates under Rule 1003 of the Texas Rules of Evidence.
    Appellant argues in his fourth issue that the evidence is insufficient to support
    his conviction because (1) the harassment statute does not cover email
    communications, (2) those communications are protected by the First Amendment
    to the United States Constitution, and (3) the number of emails he sent to the
    complainant do not rise to the level of harassment criminalized under the statute.
    We overrule this issue because the plain language of the statute brings email
    communications within its purview, appellant did not preserve his facial
    constitutional challenge in the trial court, and the evidence establishes that appellant
    violated the statute by sending repeated electronic communications to the
    complainant with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, or torment her in a
    manner reasonably likely to bring about that intended result.
    In his fifth issue, appellant asserts that Harris County was not the proper venue
    2
    for his trial because he sent the emails at issue from his residence in Fort Bend
    County. We overrule this issue because it was undisputed that the complainant
    received the emails in Harris County, and venue for a harassment case is proper in
    either the county from which the emails were sent, or the county where the emails
    were received. Finally, appellant complains in his sixth issue that the trial judge was
    biased against him and he did not receive a fair punishment as a result. We overrule
    this issue because appellant failed to make a clear showing of bias or partiality by
    the trial court and was therefore required to object in the trial court to the sentence
    imposed on him, which he did not do. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment.
    BACKGROUND
    The complainant is appellant’s daughter.           After graduating from the
    University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in mathematics, the complainant moved
    to Houston to begin graduate studies at Rice University. Soon thereafter, appellant
    lost his job in the Dallas area. Appellant accepted a contract job in Houston and
    moved in with his daughter to save money. This living arrangement deteriorated
    quickly as a result of appellant’s heavy drinking and verbal abuse of the complainant.
    The complainant made appellant move out in November; by January, she told
    appellant that she no longer wanted any contact with him. Appellant subsequently
    moved to Fort Bend County.
    Appellant began emailing the complainant after she had expressed her desire
    to end her relationship with him. The first emails were innocuous as appellant told
    his daughter that he missed her. The emails soon took on a darker and more
    threatening tone. For the next year, appellant emailed the complainant harassing
    messages multiple times per day.       The emails became such a problem for the
    complainant that she sought and obtained a two-year protective order prohibiting
    appellant from contacting her in any way.          Appellant stopped emailing the
    3
    complainant while the protective order remained in effect.
    Appellant resumed sending harassing emails to the complainant three days
    after the protective order expired. The emails were generally derogatory and bitter.
    They also contained what could be viewed as threats of harm.1 The emails indicated
    that appellant had knowledge of the complainant’s activities, so he was given a
    trespass notice that he was not permitted on Rice University’s campus. Appellant
    then began sending harassing emails to various members of the faculty and staff at
    Rice and copying the complainant.
    The complainant testified that the emails created a great deal of personal stress
    on her as she was concerned they might cause her to be kicked out of graduate
    school. The complainant also testified that the emails made her concerned for her
    own safety as well as the safety of various members of the Rice community.
    According to the complainant, appellant’s emails did result in the Rice University
    administration removing her from teaching a mathematics class for high school
    students that she had helped design because the administration was concerned about
    her safety as well as that of the students. The stress caused by appellant’s emails
    impacted the complainant’s academic progress to the point where she had to obtain
    permission to delay her graduation by one full year.
    Appellant was charged by information with harassment. Appellant went to
    1
    Appellant sent more than ninety emails to the complainant. Examples include an email
    stating: “[Complainant], I know you have been passing my e-mails to Rice scumbag low lives.
    Watch out not to get burned by your own continuing defeat. Once barbecue party is over, you will
    not have Rice to parent you anymore. Your so-called friends at Rice security will be no more.
    They are not a police agency. They are a bunch of private security guards that will be
    decommissioned permanently when I get done.” Another provides: “[Complainant], you just made
    your May 25th memorable with your mother. Blame yourself only for all of what is coming next.”
    Finally, another email ran as follows: “I regret that I am sick and tired from these two. In a short
    time heads will be rolling and rear ends will be put on the barbecue grill. No mercy. They may
    elect to be part of the collateral damage which will be their loss and their lesson for a lifetime. All
    will be public record. Neither one of them will be able to find a hole in the ground to hide.”
    4
    trial before a jury, which found him guilty. The trial court assessed appellant’s
    punishment at confinement in the county jail for 180 days, but suspended the
    sentence and ordered appellant to serve two years of community supervision. The
    trial court also imposed conditions on appellant’s community supervision. Two
    conditions are relevant to appellant’s appeal: (1) appellant was to have no contact
    with several specified people, including the trial court’s staff; and (2) appellant was
    required to serve fifteen days in the Harris County Jail. This appeal followed.
    ANALYSIS
    I.    Sufficient evidence supports appellant’s harassment conviction.
    We address appellant’s fourth issue first because success on this issue would
    afford him the greatest relief. See Tex. R. App. P. 43.3; Campbell v. State, 
    125 S.W.3d 1
    , 4 n.1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, no pet.) (stating reviewing
    court should first address complaints affording greatest relief). Appellant contends
    that the evidence is insufficient to support his harassment conviction because (1) the
    harassment statute does not encompass email communications, (2) the number of
    emails that he sent to his daughter was insufficient to qualify as criminal conduct
    under the harassment statute, and (3) the emails he sent are protected by the First
    Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    A.     Standard of review
    When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we view all of the evidence
    in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether any rational trier of
    fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Gear
    v. State, 
    340 S.W.3d 743
    , 746 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (citing Jackson v. Virginia,
    
    433 U.S. 307
    , 318–319 (1979)). In viewing the evidence in the light most favorable
    to the verdict, we must “defer to the jury’s credibility and weight determinations
    5
    because the jury is the sole judge of the witnesses’ credibility and the weight to be
    given their testimony.” Brooks v. State, 
    323 S.W.3d 893
    , 899 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2010) (citing 
    Jackson, 433 U.S. at 319
    (1979)).
    In analyzing legal sufficiency, we consider all evidence from the record,
    whether admissible or inadmissible. Winfrey v. State, 
    393 S.W.3d 763
    , 767 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2013) (citing Dewberry v. State, 
    4 S.W.3d 735
    , 740 (Tex. Crim. App.
    1999)). Direct and circumstantial evidence are to be treated equally. Clayton v.
    State, 
    235 S.W.3d 772
    , 778 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (quoting Hooper v. State, 
    214 S.W.3d 9
    , 16–17 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007)). As such, knowledge and intent can be
    inferred from circumstantial evidence. Guevara v. State, 
    152 S.W.3d 45
    , 50 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2004). In conducting a sufficiency review, we do not engage in a second
    evaluation of the weight and credibility of the evidence but only ensure that the jury
    reached a rational decision. Young v. State, 
    358 S.W.3d 790
    , 801 (Tex. App.—
    Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, pet. ref’d).
    B.      The plain language of the statute covers email communications
    such as those sent by appellant.
    Appellant initially argues that the harassment statute does not cover email
    communications. Because emails were the only evidence the State offered during
    his trial, appellant contends the evidence is legally insufficient to support his
    conviction.
    Statutory construction is a question of law, and our review of the trial court’s
    construction of a statute is de novo. Ramos v. State, 
    303 S.W.3d 302
    , 306 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2009). We construe a statute according to its plain meaning, unless such
    a construction would lead to absurd results that the Legislature could not possibly
    have intended or the language is found to be ambiguous. Arteaga v. State, 
    521 S.W.3d 329
    , 334 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017). To determine plain meaning, we examine
    6
    the wording and structure of the statute, construing the words and phrases according
    to the rules of grammar and usage, unless they are defined by statute or have acquired
    a particular meaning. 
    Id. We also
    presume that every word has been used for a
    purpose and that each word, phrase, clause, and sentence should be given effect if
    reasonably possible. 
    Id. A person
    commits the offense of harassment if, with the intent to harass,
    annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person sends repeated
    electronic communications in a manner that is likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse,
    torment, embarrass, or offend another.        Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 42.07(a)(7).
    Electronic communications include “a communication initiated through the use of
    electronic mail, . . . a computer, . . . an Internet website, [or] any other Internet-
    based communication tool . . . .” 
    Id. at §
    42.07(b)(1)(A). Although the statute does
    not use the word “email,” that word is an abbreviation of “electronic mail.” New
    Oxford Am. Dictionary 564 (3d ed. 2010). Therefore, emails are covered by the
    harassment statute. See Wagner v. State, 
    539 S.W.3d 298
    , 308–09 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2018) (using the ordinary and commonly understood meaning of words used in
    statute to determine statutory phrase’s meaning); Karanev v. State, 
    281 S.W.3d 428
    ,
    429 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (rejecting facial constitutional challenge to harassment
    statute in case involving emails); Lebo v. State, 
    474 S.W.3d 402
    , 405–08 (Tex.
    App.—San Antonio 2015, pet. ref’d) (rejecting constitutional challenge to
    harassment statute in case arising out of emails sent by defendant). We overrule this
    part of appellant’s fourth issue.
    C.     The evidence establishes that appellant sent more than ninety
    emails to the complainant with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm,
    abuse, or torment her.
    Appellant next argues that sending approximately ninety harassing emails to
    the complainant, over a period spanning more than 100 days, is insufficient to violate
    7
    the harassment statute. We disagree.
    The information alleged that appellant, “on or about March 31, 2016
    continuing through July 24, 2016, did then and there unlawfully with the [intent] to
    HARASS, ANNOY, ALARM, ABUSE OR TORMENT another, namely [the
    complainant], send repeated electronic communications, to-wit: BY EMAIL to [the
    complainant] in a manner reasonably likely to HARASS, ANNOY, ALARM,
    ABUSE, OR TORMENT [THE COMPLAINANT].”                      The Court of Criminal
    Appeals recently explained that “the communications’ periodic frequency or the
    temporal relationship of each communication are characteristics that may further
    describe the communications’ nature, but we do not find those characteristics
    necessary to the definition of repeated.” Wilson v. State, 
    448 S.W.3d 418
    , 424 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2014) (addressing the meaning of “repeated” as used in telephone section
    of harassment statute).      The court concluded that “the total number of
    communications (provided it is greater than one) and the frequency and the temporal
    relationship of the communications are more appropriately considered evidentiary
    matters that may be probative of both the defendant’s intent and whether the
    communications are made in a manner prohibited by statute.” 
    Id. Here, the
    jury was able to review the number and content of the emails
    admitted into evidence. The jury also heard the complainant and other witnesses
    testify about the impact the emails had on the complainant, which we have
    summarized in the background section above. Appellant, who also testified during
    his trial, did not deny sending the emails. He asserted instead that the emails were
    sent in an effort to correct what he perceived was the complainant’s “bad conduct or
    behavior.” The jury was free to disbelieve appellant’s testimony about the reason
    he sent the emails at issue. See Perez v. State, 
    495 S.W.3d 374
    , 383 (Tex. App.—
    Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, no pet.).
    8
    The jury could instead infer from the evidence admitted during trial that
    appellant’s actual intent was to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or
    offend the complainant. See Brown v. State, 
    122 S.W.3d 794
    , 800 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2003) (stating jury may infer intent to kill based on any facts in evidence); Ford v.
    State, 
    152 S.W.3d 752
    , 756 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, pet. ref’d)
    (“Juries may infer intent from the defendant’s conduct and surrounding
    circumstances.”). We hold that the evidence is legally sufficient to support the jury’s
    finding that appellant, with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
    embarrass, or offend the complainant, violated the harassment statute by sending
    repeated emails to the complainant in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy,
    alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend her. See 
    Wilson, 448 S.W.3d at 426
    (holding six telephone calls sufficient to violate the statute).
    D.     Appellant did not preserve his constitutional challenge.
    Finally, we turn to appellant’s contention, raised at the end of his fourth issue,
    that the harassment statute is facially unconstitutional because it impermissibly
    infringes his First Amendment rights.           Constitutional challenges to a statute,
    including facial challenges such as the one raised by appellant, must be preserved in
    the trial court. 
    Karenev, 281 S.W.3d at 434
    . They cannot be raised for the first time
    on appeal. 
    Id. Appellant does
    not point out where in the record he raised his
    constitutional complaint with the trial court, and our review of the record has not
    located any such objection. We conclude appellant has not preserved this complaint
    for appellate review. See 
    id. Having addressed
    each argument raised by appellant
    in his fourth issue, we overrule that issue.
    9
    II.   Appellant has not shown that the trial court violated his constitutional
    rights to confrontation or compulsory process when it quashed his
    subpoenas for three witnesses.
    Appellant complains in his first issue that the trial court improperly quashed
    subpoenas he had issued for three witnesses to testify during his trial. According to
    appellant, this action violated both his constitutional right to confront the witnesses
    against him as well as his right to compulsory process. The State initially responds
    that appellant has not shown where in the record the trial court denied him the
    opportunity to confront any of the witnesses against him.          As to appellant’s
    compulsory process complaint, the State contends it is not preserved because
    appellant did not meet his burden to present evidence that the prospective witnesses’
    testimony would be both material and favorable to his defense. We agree with the
    State on both of appellant’s complaints in his first issue.
    The Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right to confront
    the witnesses against him. U.S. Const. amend. VI; Pointer v. Tex., 
    380 U.S. 400
    ,
    406 (1965). The constitutional right of confrontation necessarily includes the right
    to cross-examine witnesses to attack their general credibility or to show their
    possible bias, self-interest, or motives in testifying. Hammer v. State, 
    296 S.W.3d 555
    , 561 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009); Carroll v. State, 
    916 S.W.2d 494
    , 497 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 1996).     A trial court violates a defendant’s right of confrontation if it
    improperly limits appropriate cross-examination. 
    Carroll, 916 S.W.2d at 497
    .
    Appellant argues on appeal that the trial court violated his confrontation rights
    when it quashed the subpoenas he had issued for Devon Anderson, Scott Durfee, and
    Dick Zansitis. None of these three people testified as witnesses against appellant at
    his trial. Appellant has not explained how this action by the trial court denied him
    the right to confront the witnesses against him. See 
    id. (“In short,
    confrontation is
    the check and balance that ensures fairness in our adversary system of justice, and
    10
    cross-examination is the essential means by which opponents test evidence proffered
    against them.”); Rohr v. State, No. 08-12-00219-CR, 
    2014 WL 4438828
    , at *3 (Tex.
    App.—El Paso Sept. 10, 2014, no pet.) (not designated for publication) (“The right
    of an accused to cross-examine a testifying state’s witness includes the right to
    impeach the witness with relevant evidence that might reflect bias, interest,
    prejudice, inconsistent statements, traits of character affecting credibility, or
    evidence that might go to any impairment or disability affecting the witness’s
    credibility.”). Because appellant has not shown that he was denied the right to cross-
    examine any state’s witness against him as a result of the trial court’s quashing of
    his three subpoenas, we conclude he has not demonstrated a violation of his Sixth
    Amendment confrontation rights.
    Appellant also argues that the trial court’s quashing of his three subpoenas
    violated his Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process. We review appellant’s
    “complaints concerning limitations on the right to compulsory process under an
    abuse-of-discretion standard.” Lawal v. State, 
    368 S.W.3d 876
    , 886 (Tex. App.—
    Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (citing Drew v. State, 
    743 S.W.2d 207
    , 225 n. 11
    (Tex. Crim. App.1987)).
    Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to compulsory process for
    obtaining witnesses in their favor. See U.S. Const. amend. VI. Compulsory process
    “is in plain terms the right to present a defense, the right to present the defendant’s
    version of the facts as well as the prosecution’s to the jury so it may decide where
    the truth lies.” Washington v. Texas, 
    388 U.S. 14
    , 19 (1967).            The right to
    compulsory process is not absolute, however.            Defendants are guaranteed
    compulsory process for obtaining witnesses whose testimony would be both material
    and favorable to the defense. Coleman v. State, 
    966 S.W.2d 525
    , 527–28 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 1998). To exercise this right, a defendant must make a plausible showing to
    11
    the trial court, by sworn evidence or agreed facts, that the witness’s testimony would
    be both material and favorable to the defense. 
    Id. at 528.
    Appellant has not shown us where in the record he brought this issue to the
    attention of the trial court and made the required “plausible showing” that each of
    the three persons would provide testimony both material and favorable to appellant.
    We therefore hold appellant did not preserve this complaint for appellate review.
    See 
    id. We overrule
    appellant’s first issue.
    III.   Appellant has not shown that the trial court abused its discretion on any
    evidentiary matters raised in his second and third issues.
    In his second issue, appellant asserts that the trial court abused its discretion
    when it allowed “prior [criminal] acts to be admitted and used to show conformity
    and to show the mens rea of the crime.” Appellant has not, however, provided a
    citation to where in the record the State offered appellant’s prior criminal acts into
    evidence, where appellant objected, or where the trial court overruled his objection
    and admitted the prior acts into evidence. Our own review of the record does not
    reveal where evidence of prior criminal acts was admitted. Accordingly, appellant
    has not presented anything for our review. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(i) (“The brief
    must contain a clear and concise argument for the contentions made, with
    appropriate citations to the authorities and to the record.”); see Thomas v. State, 
    336 S.W.3d 703
    , 716 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (“If an argument
    is not adequately briefed, there is nothing for the appellate court to review.”). We
    overrule appellant’s second issue.
    Appellant argues in his third issue that the trial court abused its discretion
    when it admitted into evidence copies, rather than originals, of the emails appellant
    sent to the complainant. According to appellant, the trial court should not have
    admitted copies of the emails when “the original documents were available either
    12
    through appellant himself or [the complainant].” Appellant contends the copies are
    not the best evidence of the content of the emails because the complainant had been
    copied on emails sent directly to other people, while other emails that were admitted
    into evidence appeared to have been forwarded by the complainant to the police,
    who printed them.
    We review a trial court’s decision on the admissibility of evidence under an
    abuse-of-discretion standard and will affirm if the decision is within the zone of
    reasonable disagreement. Tillman v. State, 
    354 S.W.3d 425
    , 435 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2011). Under Rule 1003 of the Texas Rules of Evidence, a duplicate is admissible
    to the same extent as the original unless a question is raised about the original’s
    authenticity or the circumstances make it unfair to admit the duplicate.
    Appellant did not dispute that the complainant received each email that was
    admitted into evidence. Also, the complainant testified that she received the emails
    at her email address and that the email exhibits were substantially similar to when
    she last saw them. We conclude that the State authenticated the emails as required
    by Rule 901. See Tex. R. Evid. 901(a) (“To satisfy the requirement of authenticating
    or identifying an item of evidence, the proponent must produce evidence sufficient
    to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims it is.”); Hunter v.
    State, 
    513 S.W.3d 638
    , 640 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, no pet.) (“The
    trial court need not be persuaded beyond all doubt that the proffered evidence is
    authentic; rather, the key question for admissibility is whether the proponent has
    supplied facts sufficient to support a reasonable jury determination that the evidence
    is authentic.”). Because the State established the authenticity of the emails, and
    appellant did not show any other reason why it would be unfair to admit copies of
    the emails, we hold the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted them
    into evidence pursuant to Rule 1003.
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    IV.   Venue for appellant’s trial was proper in Harris County.
    Appellant argues in his fifth issue that Harris County was not the proper venue
    because he sent the emails from his home in Fort Bend County. Venue for a
    harassment case is proper in either a county from which the messages were sent or
    a county in which the messages were received. See Salisbury v. State, 
    867 S.W.2d 894
    , 898 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no pet.) (holding in case involving
    telephone section of harassment statute that “venue may lie in any county where the
    communication was initiated as well as any county where the communication was
    received”). We overrule appellant’s fifth issue.
    V.    Appellant has not established that the trial judge was biased against him.
    In his final issue, appellant asserts that the trial judge was biased against him.
    Appellant contends the trial judge exhibited bias through “intemperate remarks”
    directed at him. Appellant cites only one statement by the trial court, which occurred
    during the punishment phase of appellant’s trial:
    I’m going to order, based on [appellant’s] history of how he likes doing
    things, having no contact with [the complainant], [the prosecutors],
    myself. So if you are going to sue me, you can’t talk to me directly
    about it and my court staff or any juror involved in this case. I’m also
    doing 15 days in the Harris County Jail as a condition.
    Appellant argues that this statement demonstrated the trial judge’s bias and he was
    harmed by it because he received an unfair punishment. Appellant did not object to
    this alleged display of bias, nor did he object at trial to his sentence.
    As a general rule, in order to preserve a complaint for appellate review, the
    claimed error must have been presented in the trial court, thereby providing the court
    an opportunity to correct any error during the trial. See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a); Luu
    v. State, 
    440 S.W.3d 123
    , 128 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.).
    Absent an objection, a defendant waives error unless the alleged error is
    14
    fundamental—that is, it creates egregious harm. 
    Luu, 440 S.W.3d at 128
    (citing
    Powell v. State, 
    252 S.W.3d 742
    , 744 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no
    pet.)). Harm is egregious if it deprives the defendant of a fair and impartial trial.
    
    Powell, 252 S.W.2d at 744
    . The Supreme Court of the United States has determined
    that the right to an impartial judge is one of the fundamental constitutional rights
    that require no objection at trial. Arizona v. Fulminante, 
    499 U.S. 279
    , 309–10
    (1991).
    We need not decide whether appellant was required to object to the trial
    court’s statement made during the punishment phase of trial. Even had appellant
    objected, the trial court would not have abused its discretion in overruling the
    objection because the record contains no clear showing of bias or partiality by the
    trial court. 
    Luu, 440 S.W.3d at 128
    (citing Brumit v. State, 
    206 S.W.3d 639
    , 645
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2006)).
    A defendant has a fundamental constitutional right to an impartial judge. 
    Id. A judge
    should not act as an advocate or adversary for any party. 
    Id. To reverse
    a
    judgment on the ground of improper judicial conduct, we must find (1) judicial
    impropriety was actually committed, and (2) probable prejudice to the complaining
    party. 
    Id. Absent a
    clear showing of bias, a trial court’s actions will be presumed
    correct. 
    Brumit, 206 S.W.3d at 645
    . The scope of our review is the entire record.
    
    Luu, 440 S.W.3d at 129
    .
    Appellant bases his argument that the trial court was biased against him
    entirely on the one statement quoted above. According to appellant, a “jury of lay
    people cannot be expected to afford the Defendant with a presumption of innocence
    and right to a fair and impartial trial if the trial judge’s statements taint them.”
    Judicial rulings, however, almost never constitute a valid basis for a bias or partiality
    challenge. Liteky v. United States, 
    510 U.S. 540
    , 555 (1994). These rulings “can
    15
    only in the rarest circumstances evidence the degree of favoritism or antagonism
    required” to make a fair trial impossible. 
    Id. Here, the
    jury had already found appellant guilty when the challenged
    statement was made, so the trial judge’s statement could not have impacted the jury’s
    decision on appellant’s guilt or innocence. Additionally, the statement was made
    during the trial court’s pronouncement of appellant’s punishment and was a judicial
    statement of one of the conditions of appellant’s community supervision. We hold
    appellant has not made a clear showing that the trial court was biased against him.
    See 
    Brumit, 206 S.W.3d at 645
    . Appellant was therefore required to object in the
    trial court to preserve error for appellate review. 
    Powell, 252 S.W.2d at 746
    .
    Because he did not, he has waived any complaint he may have had to the sentence
    imposed on him. 
    Id. We overrule
    appellant’s sixth issue.
    CONCLUSION
    Having overruled appellant’s issues raised in this appeal, we affirm the trial
    court’s judgment.
    /s/       J. Brett Busby
    Justice
    Panel consists of Justices Jamison, Busby, and Donovan.
    Do Not Publish — TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
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