CREDIT DUB FOR BRRONBOUS RELEASE: mOMPSON KCOCKRELL, No. 00-40820,08/23/01.<strong>The</strong> defendant in this case was erroneously elea eased from prlsonand placed on mandatory supervision, which was subsequentlyrevoked. Ill this 8 3254 writ, he asserts he was not giwn credit for fietime during which he was erroneously released, which was 166 days.Cour~hoIds tl~atunder Texaslawuphen a defendant is released tlunughno fault of his owl, he is entitled to credit for that time. By failing togive Thompsor~ credit for that time, the state lengtl~ened his cou6nement,which impliates the due-procm clause. <strong>The</strong> court holds U I ~decision to deny credit for Ulat time was arbitmy, and incons~stcntwith the requirements of due-process. Thompson also alleged a dueprocessviolation based on the revocation of llis good time credits.Hmerer, courfs holds that was tl~e result of his own conduct, and wasproper.S~ICIENCY-FELONY IN POSSESSION: mmK 1WilD3, No. 00-40393 07/13/01.<strong>The</strong> defeudaut was chaged wit11 and comicted of possession of afireavn~ folio\\tng a conviction for a domestic violence offense. 'Rvoconvictions were alleged, oue of wl~icl~ was recklm conduct and tl~eotlm terro~istic threat. fie reckless couduct charge was based on anallegation that the defendant placed tile victim in irmniuent danger ofserious botllly iaju~y by pointing a firearm at IIM: To constilute a c ~keof dou~esticviolence, the offe~~se ~mst have as an elenlent the attempteduse of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadlyCourt holds that ueither offense nlects that dehitioa Dmdly conductdoes uot require that the defendmt acch~dy use l~lqsical force, nordocs it require that tltcre be any attempted use of pl~ysicd force. Courtdso holds that pou~tmg aweapoo at sonleone is not thesameas illreateniugto use tl~e weapon. <strong>The</strong> offense ofterroristic tl1re3t also docs notinvolve the zctual use of pl~ysial force. <strong>The</strong>refore, tltere wa no evidenceto convict the defe~idant of the offense since laeither of the tvoconviclio~ls prol~ibited him froo~ possessiug a weapoi). An interrstingaspcctoffl~ls decision, is that this point was raised iua Ilia1 brief. Courtholds that siace the issue isupl~ether the facts support a conviction, theerror C ~ be I mised in spite of any wherSENTBNCING--DOUBLE COUNTIXG HELD PROPER: UNITEDSTATBS K CILLEWU), No. 00-30331,08/09/01.<strong>The</strong> defend;u~t was inihidy stopped for following too closely behinda tmctor t~ailer truck. When t11c driver of the nr exited, the defa~dmtgot in, ;old sped awav Bhigh speed chase ensued, in which the dcfendmtstruck another vehicle, drove outo a median caosulg workers tojump out of the way for their safety, a d drove in of 120 ~uilesper 11our. He also passed ~IIIG~S on the right sfionlde~ and almoststruck a police vehicle. <strong>The</strong> court enhanced his senteuce based onreckless endangerment dming fight, md also for aggtrwated ass;aultagainailst a iw enforcement officer. He xgued tltat IS in~perndssiblesince the conduct occ~~crcd 111 the same cbase. Court holds the focus ison the teruporal and spacial relationship behVeen the acts. 11 they areseparated in time ;u~d space, tl~enha~~ceu~euts for both call be wed.Ifere, there was a sepantion behveen the acts, aud therefore there wasno aror in messlug eenhaceementshr both the thrmt to civilim, mdeedau~gering a police officer.DUB PROCESS VIOLATED IN DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS:BROUSSARD J! JOHNSON, No. 00-20432,06125101.<strong>The</strong> defendant \vas an imate in TDCJ. Infonuation was receivedham a confidential infornmt that the defendant was planning anescape, and that bolt cutters had been hidden in the kitcl~en area, Anofiicer was dispatched to investigate, and the bolt cutten were found.<strong>The</strong> defendant W;LS subsequently charged in a disciph~a~y hearing. Atthe hearing the iuvestigating officer testified regarding the informationprovided by the ioforrnant. He had not intewiewed the iafom~ant, anddid uot know his identit): or anytlliog else about the tip. Court coecludesthe fdure to support the reliability of the infonuant \>iolated thedefendants right to due-process. Tl~ere wns noting to assess the credibilityof the informant, since the ody witness did not know an)?i~ingabout the tip or wlio it came fr0111EVIDENCE HELD INSUFFICIENT FOR FELON IN POSSES-SION: UNITED STATP? J! OSBORNE, No. 0-10R62,08121101.<strong>The</strong> defendant was charged with beiug a felon in possession ofammunition, <strong>The</strong> prior conviction was out of Illinois. At oolle time,lllinois restored civil rights to conricted defendants after 5 years. <strong>The</strong>rlefendant's rights wcre so restored and 11e received notice of that.Subsequentl): Illinois changed the statute lo bar felons from ever possessinglireanas. Construing the laaguage of the statue, court holds thatthe subsequent action of the lllinois kgislahlre did not affect tile defendant.His rights had clearly been restored, even tl~ough it TKIS 5 yearsafter his release. <strong>The</strong>refore, he did not co~nmit a crin~e, and his conlictionis set aside.HEMSAY- NO TRUSTWORTHIhTSS IN ORAL TESTING OFBUSINESS RECORDS: UNITED STATES I! SCOn, No. 00-10134,OR/I6/01.Ucfcndant \\.as charged with several otl~e~s with conspiracy to distributecocaine base, end distribution of cocaine lxw. <strong>The</strong> strongesttestimony against her wm boa a cooperating \\'ilness, who testifiedthat he and his partner routinelykept ledgers regarding drugs they soldto others. Tl~ose ledgers wcre roulinely destroyed and he had no personalknowledge of the defendant's involve~nent. However, 11e recalledsome mention in the records of dmgs sold to the defendant, and alsorecalled a conversatio~~ with anotl~er person concerning w11;1t they hadsold the defendant. <strong>The</strong> other person did not testif$ Courts l~olds tlwewas no indicia of trustworthi~~ess to allow tile adn~ission of testinm~yco~~cerning the records, since they were made years earlier, and draftedby sonleone else. Court also l~olds that ad~nission of the lestimo~~y11x1 a subsraotial inlpact on the verdict, ;u~d reversed the con\'iction.SENTENCING ENHAYCEivlENT HELD ERRONEOUS: OiVITEDSTATES J! VILIARREAL, No. 99-41-095,06111101.Defendant was charged among other tllings with finud in conoectionwith an irlentific;~tion docnmeut. <strong>The</strong> indictn~ent alleged that ll~edocun~enl ~ras a birth registr;dion form from the City of El Paso, andalleged it \\.as a persond ide~~tification rlocument. <strong>The</strong> IIILY~III~III selltmceis 3 yem, unless the docun~ent is a personal identificatio~~ card,11irtl1 cer~ificate, driver's licence, or identification document issued by30 VOICE FOR THE D€I%NSE WWW.TCDU.COM OCTOBER 2003
or under the authorily of the United States. <strong>The</strong> ju~y was only asked todeternline wl~ethcr the defendant mu iwoloed with an identificationdocument. Court llolrls that without suc11 a finding, a sentence overll~ree years was errox Reviewing the test of piail error, court finds theincre:lse UI sentence affected the fairness, integrity or public reputationof the judicial proceedings, and rcve~sed the sentence.EXCEPTION FOR 2241 PETITIONS: flPPeRY K CHAh"LER,No.99-41-4161,6/0WOI.SlGNlRCLLNe DECISIONS REPOReHEARSAY-EXCITBD LiTlERANCE EXCEPTION: Reyes v.Strrte, No. 02-00-283-CR, 6/14/01.Police officer arri\res at scene of mault 5 minutes afier receiling a911 cd. He described the complainaut as upset. \Vhen he aked herul~at happened, she said "He [the defendant] hit me." COA 11okIs thissatisfies TRE 803(2), the excited utterance rule. COA also r~lles thatstatements by the two clddren of the con~plainanl in respollse to theofficer's q~~estions were also excited utterances.IThis opinion is subslihlted for the palel opinion eillered onNovember 27, 2000. <strong>The</strong> petitioner fled a petition under 28 USC S2241, alleging a claim bnsed on the holdu~g of Richcirdso~~ 11. UnitedSt&s 526 US 13 (1999), wl~ich required ~III). unanin~ily in CCEcases. He filed a 2241 petition, alleging the remedy under 2255 \\'ainadeq~lale and ineffective. Court holds that limitations on second orsuccessive pctitio~~s do not nuke the remedy under 2255 inadequateor ioeffective. Inste;~d, the pelitiot~er nmst establish his claim is baedon a relroacli\~ely applicable Supreme Court decision mluch estblishedtllat tl~c petitio~~er inmay have been co~irictetl of a nonesislentoffense, and the chim imust Iuve been foreclosed by circuit llav at ll~etime wl~en the claim sl~ould have been i:~ised. Court holds thatRichrdso~r is ~'etroaclively applic:~ble. However; because the decisiondoes not establish that petitioner was innocent, or convicted of a nonedstcntoffense, relief TVIS denied.COMMENTS ON SILENCE POI,I,OX'ING ARREST HELDIMPROPER: UA'ITED E RODRIGUEZ, No. 99-10-982,07/30/01.<strong>The</strong> dcfe~~danl mas convicted of misappropriating postal funds.Postal investig;!tors obscwed llin~ mke hvo hags of money and placetl~em in a lockel: <strong>The</strong>y confronted 11iu1 and placed him under arrest,illen questioned him about what llad occurred. Ile refused to answerquestions, in\zoking his right to remain silent and requesting a Iauyl:At trial 11e testiGetl that what he did urns to expose Uaws in postal secorityProsecutor questioned him about the failnre to make Illat claimwhen initidly questioned. He dso arg~~ed hat the stoiy was not crediblebecause it was not made at the first opportunity to do so. Courtl~oltls tlte prosecutor improperly used the defend;u~Us post-arrestsileace. Since the comments were tied tiirectly to the defendant's credibilityand the plamibility of his testimon): reversal was requiretl.COURT OF APPEALSHEARSAY-MEDICAL KECORDS EXCEFI'IOIOIY: Sfl~rdorirll 11.Sfnte, No. 01-00-00956-CR, 6/7/01.<strong>The</strong> medical records exception to the l~earsay rule, TRE 803(4), isnot linlited to shtements made by the patient to he doctor. A statementmade by the parent of an injured child to the doctor is also atlmissibleunder the rule. This is a case of first impression, ;~ccording lo the COA,becauseof the hvo prior Texas cues ti~at discuss the issue, one did not baseits decision on the rule and the other did not discuss it. COA relies onfedenl cases.[Case is noteworthy for the dissent, wl~ich exl~aostively analy~ss therule to urge its strict limitation.]ARRBST: Rodrigrrez u. Sfnte, No. 04-00-00710-CR, 6/13/01COA holds that a defendant is under arrest. and hence able to challeiigestatus for lack of probable cause if: (1) the suspect is p11)vicdydepri\d of his freedom in any significant way; (2) wl~en a law eeforcenlentoffice~s tells a suspect he may not leave; or (3) wllen a lawenforcen~ent officer creates a situation that woould leave a reasonablepelson to believe tl~at his freedom of moven~ent 11% l~een significantlyrestricted and d ~en there is probable cause to arrest and u41en theofficer has not told the suspect he is free to leave.HEARSAY- REQUIREMENT: Ledhetter' v.Stnte, No. 07-99-0417-CR, 6IlY01.Case constmes the una\~ailability requirement of TRB 804(b)(l)uhere the decla~mt nmst be unavdable for the hea~x~y exception toapply Here, tile witilness testified at fils1 trial, and \\as cross enaoined.Before the second trial, he was s e ~ witl~ d a subpoena 3 weeks beforehid. No writ ofattachment was issued to con~pel attendance where prosecutionknew witoess wo111d not attend trid before it conn~~enced. COA l~oldsthat w11ile merely issuing a subpoenawoould not be sufficient to establisl~una\~dabilit): sening it is. A writ of attacl~ment is not necessaq toaUow hearsaySI'IPULATION OF DWI PRIORS: Ororla a St&, No. 08-00-196-CR, 617101).Case construes limits of Tmez u. Stote wl~ere CG\ held that adefendant could force state to stipulate to prior DWs, in a felony D\Vlcae, and avoid use of those prio~s at guilt innocence stage of tdd. COAhere holds that Tmez does 1101 olean the prion can never be oelltioned.<strong>The</strong>z merely limits the srate to reading only hvo allegationsto the ju~y anti limiting the evidence to the stipula' ' lolls.NOTICE OF APPEtU: ,llnr611t u. Stflte, No. 10-01-090-CR,6/13/01.Alost courts have held t11at TMI' 25.2(b) - the notice of appdrequirement following a negotiated guilty plea - is satisfied even witha general notice of appeal if the record reflects a satisfxtion of therule's other requirements: apretrial motio~~ or tile coort's permissionto appcal. COA holds that those cats were incorrectly decided andrefoses to follow them. <strong>The</strong> rule of substantial compliwce does notapply here.OClOBER 2001 WWW.TCDLA.COM VOICE FOR THE DEFENSE 31