Timothy S. Barbian v. State ( 2010 )

NO. 07-10-0086-CR
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
AT AMARILLO
PANEL D
DECEMBER 13, 2010
TIMOTHY S. BARBIAN,
Appellant
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee
_____________________________
FROM THE 137TH DISTRICT COURT OF LUBBOCK COUNTY;
NO. 2010-426,409; HONORABLE CECIL G. PURYEAR, PRESIDING
Memorandum Opinion
Before QUINN, C.J., and CAMPBELL and PIRTLE, JJ.
Timothy S. Barbian challenges his conviction for aggravated assault with a
deadly weapon by contending the evidence is not factually sufficient to sustain it.
According to appellant, the victim had insufficient credibility to be believed. Thus, the
verdict was improper. We affirm the judgment.
Appellant’s notice of appeal and brief were filed before the Court of Criminal
Appeals issued its decision in Brooks v. State, No. PD-0210-09, 2010 Tex. Crim. App.
LEXIS 1240 (Tex. Crim. App. October 6, 2010). There, it did away with factual sufficency
review and instead simply required that we consider the evidence only to determine
whether a rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a
reasonable doubt. Id. at *57. Appellant was afforded the opportunity to rebrief in light of
Brooks and, upon doing so, argues that we should refuse to apply Brooks at all, that the
decision has no precedential value because it is unpublished, and that we should refuse
to apply it retroactively.
Initially, we note that the opinion has been designated for publication. Id. at *59.
Moreover, the Court noted that there is no meaningful distinction between a factual
sufficiency and legal sufficiency review, and thus a separate factual sufficiency
challenge should not be addressed. Id. at *57-58. Because this opinion does serve as
precedent and since appellant concedes that he has not raised a legal sufficiency
challenge, there is nothing for us to consider.
However, we note parenthetically that the credibility issues that appellant raises
with respect to the victim were placed before the jury. We cannot substitute our opinion
of her believability for that of the jury; nor could we do so before Brooks. See Lancon v.
State, 253 S.W.3d 699, 707 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (holding that the jury is the sole
judge of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony and
may choose to believe all, some, or none of the evidence presented). Moreover, there
was evidence that corroborated portions of the victim’s testimony, including some found
in appellant’s bedroom and vehicle. So, even if Brooks was inapplicable, the evidence
supporting his conviction would nonetheless be factually sufficient.
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Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.
Brian Quinn
Chief Justice
Do not publish.
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