Monica Galvan v. State ( 2015 )

ACCEPTED
13-14-00059-CR
THIRTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
10/28/2015 2:02:54 AM
Dorian E. Ramirez
CLERK
No. 13-14-00059-CR
MONICA GALVAN, Appellant, FILED IN
13th COURT OF APPEALS
v. CORPUS CHRISTI/EDINBURG, TEXAS
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appelle.
10/28/2015 2:02:54 AM
DORIAN E. RAMIREZ
******************************* Clerk
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
STATE’S POST SUBMISSION BRIEF
TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:
The State of Texas submits the following brief with additional
authorities for the Court’s consideration:
Points of Error Nos. 1-2:
In her first and second issues, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of
the evidence.
A. Conflicting evidence does not equal insufficient evidence:
While Appellant’s brief and supplemental brief rely heavily upon her
testimony, the existence of conflicting evidence does not equal insufficient
evidence. “The jury is the exclusive judge of the credibility of witnesses and
of the weight to be given testimony, and it is also the exclusive province of
the jury to reconcile conflicts in the evidence.” Wesbrook v. State, 29 S.W.3d
103, 111 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). As the exclusive judge of the credibility of
the witnesses, a jury may choose to believe some testimony and disbelieve
other testimony. Lancon v. State, 253 S.W.3d 699, 707 (Tex. Crim. App.
2008); see also Trepanier v. State, 940 S.W.2d 827, 829 (Tex. App.-Austin,
1997, pet. ref’d) (jury “may accept or reject any or all of the testimony of
any witness. They may look to all the evidence in the case, whether offered
by the State or the defendant”). Consequently, “[t]hat conflicting evidence
was introduced does not render evidence insufficient; indeed, the reviewing
court must assume that the factfinder resolved conflicts in the evidence in
favor of the verdict reached.” Matchett v. State, 941 S.W.2d 922, 936 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1996); see also Whatley v. State, 445 S.W.3d 159, 166 (Tex.
Crim. App. 2014) (when faced with a record of historical facts that support
conflicting inferences, the reviewing court must presume that the trier of fact
resolved any such conflict in favor of the prosecution, and must defer to that
resolution).
B. To the extent that it conflicts with the evidence supporting the
verdict, the testimony of Appellant, Manka, Salinas, and Wimbish is now
irrelevant:
An appellate court conducting a review of the sufficiency of the
evidence must consider all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the
verdict. Whatley, 445 S.W.3d at 166. In other words, “[a] reviewing court will
ultimately disregard any evidence that does not support the verdict.” Clewis
2
v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126, 132 n.10 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996), overruled on
other grounds by Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010).
Thus, to the extent that it conflicts with the evidence supporting the verdict,
Appellant’s trial testimony is now irrelevant. The same is true for the
testimony of Manka, Salinas and Wimbish.
C. The evidence is sufficient to support the conviction:
Aggravated assault as alleged in the indictment is a result-oriented
crime. Landrian v. State, 268 S.W.3d 532, 537 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). “In
other words, the culpable mental state relates not to the nature of or
circumstances surrounding the charged conduct, but to the result of the
conduct.” Cleburn v. State, 138 S.W.3d 542, 545 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th
Dist.] 2004, pet. ref’d); see also Williams v. State, 235 S.W.3d 742, 750 (Tex.
Crim. App. 2007). A person acts recklessly, or is reckless, with respect to
the result of his conduct when he is aware of but consciously disregards a
substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur. Tex. Penal Code §
6.03. However, a defendant does not have to be aware of the specific risk.
Trepanier, 940 S.W.2d at 829.1
1
While Appellant’s supplemental brief notes that Trepanier was decided a
decade before the opinion in Williams, several courts have cited Trepanier
for this particular proposition since Williams was decided. See, e.g., Adams
v. State, No. 06-13-00016-CR, 2013 WL 4858774, at *5 (Tex. App.-
Texarkana Dec. 18, 2013, pet. ref’d) (mem. op., not designated for
3
In her post submission brief, Appellant contends that the State “failed
to bring any evidence that [she] actually did foresee the risk and consciously
decid[ed] to ignore it.” Appellant’s Post Submission Brief at 2. Appellant’s
assertion ignores the law and the evidence.
Direct evidence of the requisite mental state is not required. Hart v.
State, 89 S.W.3d 61, 64 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002). “Mental culpability is of such
a nature that it generally must be inferred from the circumstances under which
the prohibited act occurred.” Griffith, 315 S.W.3d at 651. “A culpable mental
state may be inferred by the trier of fact from the acts, words, and conduct of
the accused.” Id. In some cases, a defendant’s inactions may constitute
recklessness. Williams, 235 S.W.3d at 752. And evidence that indicates a
consciousness of guilt also supports an inference that a defendant was
consciously aware of the risks and disregarded them. Adams, 2013 WL
4858774, at *5 (“The inconsistent statements indicate a consciousness of guilt,
which also supports an inference that Adams was consciously aware of the
risks and disregarded them”).
A review of the evidence and the applicable law:
publication); Moya v. State, 426 S.W.3d 259, 266 (Tex. App.-Texarkana
2013, no pet.); Leblanc v. State, Nos. 01-10-00251-CR & 01-10-00252-CR,
2011 WL 3556952, at *5 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 11, 2011, no
pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication); Griffith v. State, 315 S.W.3d
648, 652 (Tex. App.-Eastland 2010, pet. ref’d).
4
Martina Cepeda, the only unbiased witness to the collision, initially
observed Appellant’s vehicle swerving a little bit. 5 R.R. at 7. She then
described what she observed as follows:
After it swerved a little bit and I had backed off,
then all of a sudden it started fishtailing. Really it
was going from side to side really drastically and
then all of a sudden it ended up in a position where
it was across the lane rather than the way we were
headed. Suddenly they accelerated and ran into the
tractor on the side.
5 R.R. at 7-8. See Tex. Transp. Code §§ 545.401 (prohibiting reckless
driving), 545.051 (generally requiring driving on the right side of the
roadway), 545.060(a)(1) (requiring an operator to drive as nearly as practical
entirely within a single lane); Trepanier, 940 S.W.2d at 829 (noting that the
failure to maintain a single marked lane may itself constitute reckless
conduct).
When she was asked to explain what she meant when she said
Appellant’s car was fishtailing, Cepeda replied, “The back part of the car
started going drastically from one side to the other.” 5 R.R. at 12. Considering
Cepeda’s description of Appellant’s erratic driving just before the collision,
the jury could have reasonably inferred that the physical altercation Appellant
was having with Manka was not “playful and inconsequential.” Appellant’s
Brief at 16.
5
Though Appellant swerved all over the roadway and then one thousand
feet off the roadway, Cepeda never saw Appellant’s brake lights. 5 R.R. at 13.
The jury was also informed that the data recorder in Appellant’s vehicle
indicated that, for the eight seconds prior to the crash, her brakes were not
depressed. 4 R.R. at 114.
Though Appellant told Officer Ramirez that she drove off the roadway
because another vehicle veered out in front of her, 3 R.R. at 23, Cepeda
testified that there was no other vehicle. 5 R.R. at 12. Though Appellant
testified that she threw the beer bottles away because they were underneath
Manka’s legs, 5 R.R. at 52-53, Cepeda testified that Appellant removed the
beer from the rear of her vehicle. 5 R.R. at 10. See Adams, 2013 WL 4858774,
at *5 (evidence indicating a consciousness of guilt supports an inference that a
defendant was consciously aware of the risks and disregarded them).
Despite the jury’s verdict on the intoxication assault charge, the jury
could also consider the evidence of Appellant’s intoxication admitted during
the trial when considering whether Appellant’s conduct was reckless. Adams,
2013 WL 4858774, at *3 (holding that an acquittal for intoxication
manslaughter did not preclude the jury from considering alcohol use along
with other conduct in concluding the defendant’s conduct was reckless); see
also Elliott v. State, No. 13-13-00220-CR, 2015 WL 1869472, at *3 (Tex.
6
App.-Corpus Christi Apr. 23, 2015, no pet. h.) (mem. op., not designated for
publication) (noting that driving under the influence of alcohol may constitute
reckless conduct).
Even in the context of truly inconsistent verdicts from an indictment
containing multiple counts, the Supreme Court has cautioned against
attempting to interpret the verdicts because a jury may render an acquittal
through mistake, compromise, or lenity. United States v. Powell, 469 U.S.
57, 65 (1984). Instead, an appellate court should regard each count as if it
was a separate indictment. Id. at 62.
More than eighty years ago, the United States Supreme Court held
that “a criminal defendant convicted by a jury on one count could not attack
that conviction because it was inconsistent with the jury’s verdict of
acquittal on another count.” Id. at 58 (citing Dunn v. United States, 284 U.S.
390 (1932)). In Powell, the Court also cautioned against confusing a review
of the sufficiency of the evidence “with the problems caused by inconsistent
verdicts.” Id. at 67. Thus, a review of the sufficiency of the evidence “should
be independent of the jury’s determination that evidence on another count
was insufficient.” Id.; see also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 n.13
(1979) (“The question whether the evidence is constitutionally sufficient is
of course wholly unrelated to the question of how rationally the verdict was
7
actually reached. Just as the standard announced today does not permit a
court to make its own subjective determination of guilt or innocence, it does
not require scrutiny of the reasoning process actually used by the factfinder-
if known.”); Robinson v. State, 46 S.W.3d 166, 172 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015)
(“the appellate standard for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is
based on a hypothetical rational fact finder, rather than on the actual fact
finder’s particular thought process”); Ruiz v. State, 641 S.W.2d 364, 366
(Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 1982, no pet.) (“Where a multi-count verdict
appears inconsistent, the appellate inquiry is limited to a determination of
whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support the counts on which a
conviction is returned. What the jury did with the remaining counts is
immaterial.”).
In Adams, the defendant was charged in a two-count indictment with
the offenses of intoxication manslaughter and manslaughter.2 The jury found
him not guilty of intoxication manslaughter but convicted him of
manslaughter. 2013 WL 4858774, at *1. Citing Zuniga v. State, 144 S.W.3d
477, 487 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004), overruled on other grounds by Watson v.
State, 204 S.W.3d 404, 415-17 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006), the Court noted that
2
The indictment alleged that Adams committed manslaughter “by driving at
a speed greater than that which was reasonable and prudent for the
circumstances when passing a vehicle and by having a measurable amount
of alcohol and hydrocodone in his system.”
8
the Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected the argument that an acquittal for
intoxication manslaughter prevents a jury from considering alcohol use
along with other conduct in concluding the defendant’s conduct was
reckless. Id, at *3. The Court then said:
The jury apparently determined that the presence
of alcohol and hydrocodone in Adam’s system did
not impair his ability to control the car; even so,
the jury was still free to take into account that the
presence of these substances could have had the
effect of reducing the inhibitions against traveling
at too high a rate of speed – a reckless situation.
Id. Considering the precedent of the Supreme Court, it appears that the Court
erred in assuming the jury found the evidence insufficient to support the
charge of intoxication manslaughter. However, the Court correctly held that
the jury could consider Appellant’s use of alcohol and hydrocodone.
While Appellant attempts to distinguish this case from Elliott by
emphasizing that she made no concession in this case, Appellant’s Reply
Brief at 13, a concession is not necessary to establish reckless conduct.
Trepanier, 940 S.W.2d at 830. And this Court has held that the uncorroborated
testimony of a police officer alone is sufficient to establish intoxication.
Hartman v. State, 198 S.W.3d 829, 835 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 2006, pet.
struck); Little v. State, 853 S.W.2d 179, 183 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 1993,
9
no pet.). Officer Ramirez testified that Appellant was intoxicated. 3 R.R. at
26-27.
Appellant also states that “[t]here is no evidence that she was driving
over the speed limit or disregarding traffic laws.” Appellant’s Post
Submission Brief at 2. This assertion completely ignores Cepeda’s testimony
and the applicable sections of the Transportation Code. It also ignores all of
the evidence indicating that Appellant was intoxicated. Besides, the State was
not required to prove that Appellant violated traffic laws. Adams, 2013 WL
4858774, at *4. The State was merely obligated to prove there were actions or
inactions by Appellant which, under the circumstances that existed that night,
created a substantial and unjustifiable risk. Id. Whether the facts create an
unjustifiable risk is judged by the circumstances of each case, not by
comparisons to other cases. Id.
The fact that Appellant, a self-professed conscientious driver, did not
require Manka or Salinas to wear their seatbelts was one of the circumstances
that existed that night. See Tex. Transp. Code § 545.413(a)(1) (requiring a
person who is at least 15 years of age to be secured by a safety belt).3
3
The data recorder indicated that Appellant had her seatbelt buckled and
Manka did not. 4 R.R. at 11. The data recorder did not contain any
information regarding Salinas because he was in the rear seat. However,
Appellant was the only person who did not suffer serious bodily injury as a
result of the collision.
10
Looking at the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict,
Appellant is essentially saying that she did not realize that driving while
intoxicated and engaging in a physical altercation while traveling at least 60
or 65 miles per hour4 at night created a substantial and unjustifiable risk to
anyone, including her unbuckled passengers. She also apparently did not
realize that making no attempt to stop her vehicle before or after she went off
the roadway while traveling at least 60 or 65 miles per hour created a
substantial and unjustifiable risk to anyone, including her unbuckled
passengers. And she apparently did not realize that, despite traveling 1000 feet
before the collision, failing to make any attempt to avoid colliding with a
stationary bulldozer created a substantial and unjustifiable risk to anyone,
including her unbuckled passengers.
The Court must determine whether the evidence and any reasonable
inferences that could be drawn from it would permit a rational jury to find
beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant “consciously disregarded” a
substantial and unjustifiable risk created by her conduct. Griffith, 315 S.W.3d
at 652; Trepanier, 940 S.W.2d at 829. In reaching their verdict in this case, the
jury was also entitled to consider Appellant’s conduct after the collision,
4
Cepeda testified that Appellant actually accelerated before she drove off the
roadway. 5 R.R. at 7-8. State law prohibits driving at a speed “greater than is
reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing.” Tex. Transp.
Code § 545.351(a).
11
including lying to the police about the cause of the collision and attempting to
conceal evidence. Adams, 2013 WL 4858774, at *5.
The indictment in this case alleged that Appellant did then and there
recklessly, to wit: (1) by failing to control the vehicle operated by her, and (2)
by failing to keep a proper lookout for another vehicle, and (3) by failing to
keep the vehicle operated by her on the roadway, and (4) by operating a motor
vehicle while impaired, cause serious bodily injury to Manka and Salinas by
driving a motor vehicle that was occupied by Manka and Salinas into and
against a bulldozer .C.R. at 4.
“When a charge to a jury contains several disjunctive means of
recklessness, the jury’s verdict will not be reversed for insufficiency of the
evidence if the evidence is sufficient to establish at least one of the
alternative means.” Leblanc, 2011 WL 3556952, at *5. Looking at the
evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence in this case
is sufficient to establish more than one of the alternative means. As in
Adams, a rational jury could have concluded that Appellant’s actions,
inactions and condition, collectively, created a “substantial and
unjustifiable” risk of the type of harm that occurred. And a rational jury
could have concluded that disregarding the risks constituted a gross
deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have
12
exercised in the same situation. See Buie v. State, No. 03-02-00280-CR,
2003 WL 21189757, at *2 (Tex. App.-Austin May 22, 2003, no pet.) (mem.
op., not designated for publication) (“The fact that one may legally drive
after consuming intoxicating substances does not prevent the State from
alleging that the driver was reckless in doing so; illegality is not a
prerequisite of recklessness. A jury can determine whether a person’s
driving after consuming alcohol and marijuana shows the requisite disregard
for risk without considering whether his consumption of those substances
deprived him of the normal use of his physical and mental faculties. This is
particularly true where, as here, driving after consumption is listed
conjunctively with other acts charged to demonstrate recklessness such as
driving too fast and failure to keep a proper lookout.”).
Points of Error Nos. 3-4:
In her third and fourth issues, Appellant contends that a variance
exists between the manner and means alleged in the indictment and the proof
at trial.5
5
Both counts of the indictment alleged that Appellant caused serious bodily
injury to the victims by driving a motor vehicle that was occupied by the
victims into and against a bulldozer. C.R. at 3.
13
In its brief, the State cited Johnson v. State, 364 S.W.3d 292 (Tex.
Crim. App. 2012). In Wortham v. State, 412 S.W.3d 552 (Tex. Crim. App.
2013), Presiding Judge Keller explained the Court’s opinion in Johnson:
In Johnson v. State, we addressed a variance in
pleading and proof for the offense of aggravated
assault. The indictment in that case alleged that the
defendant caused serious bodily injury to the
victim “by hitting her with his hand or by twisting
her arm with his hand,” but the proof at trial
showed that the defendant threw the victim against
a wall. Because aggravated assault is a result-of-
conduct offense, we held that a variance with
respect to the act that caused the injury cannot be
material, so the evidence was sufficient to support
the conviction. It was the injury that mattered, not
the act that may have produced it.
Id. at 559 (Keller, P.J., concurring) (footnotes omitted).
Point of Error No. 5:
In her final issue, Appellant contends that the trial court allowed a
non-unanimous verdict by submitting disjunctively the various means of
recklessness in the jury charge.
This contention is without merit. See Rubio v. State, 203 S.W.3d 448,
451-452 (Tex. App.-El Paso 2006, pet. ref’d); Pease v. State, No. 03-06-
00369-CR, 2007 WL 2274879, at ** 2-3 (Tex. App.-Austin Aug. 9, 2007,
no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication)
14
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Adolfo Aguilo, Jr.
Adolfo Aguilo, Jr.
State Bar No. 00936750
Assistant District Attorney
105th Judicial District
901 Leopard St., Rm. 206
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
361-888-0410
361-888-0399 (fax)
adolfo.aguilo@co.nueces.tx.us
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
This is to certify that this brief was emailed to Appellant’s counsel,
Dante E. Dominguez (ddominguez.law@gmail .com), on October 28, 2015.
/s/ Adolfo Aguilo, Jr.
Adolfo Aguilo, Jr.
15