Daniel Ray Garcia v. the State of Texas
Date Filed2022-12-08
Docket11-21-00200-CR
Cited0 times
StatusPublished
Full Opinion (html_with_citations)
Opinion filed December 8, 2022
In The
Eleventh Court of Appeals
__________
No. 11-21-00200-CR
__________
DANIEL RAY GARCIA, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 106th District Court
Gaines County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 16-4669
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Daniel Ray Garcia, originally pleaded guilty to the second-degree
felony offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. See TEX. PENAL CODE
ANN. § 22.02(a)(2) (West Supp. 2022). Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement,
the trial court assessed Appellantâs punishment at confinement for a term of ten years
in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine
of $3,000. However, the trial court suspended the imposition of the confinement
portion of Appellantâs sentence and placed him on community supervision for ten
years. The State subsequently filed an application, later amended, to revoke
Appellantâs community supervision based on allegations that he violated certain
terms of his community supervision. After a hearing, the trial court revoked
Appellantâs community supervision and imposed the original sentence of
imprisonment for ten years and $3,000 fine. This appeal followed.
Background Facts
On June 1, 2017, Appellant pleaded guilty to the offense of aggravated assault
with a deadly weapon for threatening the victim of the offense with imminent bodily
injury by use of a knife, a deadly weapon. See PENAL § 22.02(a)(2). In exchange
for his guilty plea, Appellant received a ten year probated sentence. In December
2018, the State filed an application to revoke Appellantâs community supervision,
alleging that Appellant committed a theft offense, failed to report for numerous
consecutive months, failed to pay court-ordered fines and fees, failed to participate
in community service, and failed to obey curfew requirements. The State requested
an arrest warrant to issue based on the application to revoke and the allegations
contained therein. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 42A.751(b) (West Supp.
2022).
On April 29, 2019, Appellant shot Seagraves Police Officer Matthew
Zalewski seven times during a traffic stop. The State filed an amended application
to revoke Appellantâs community supervision alleging this new offense of
Attempted Capital Murder of a Peace Officer or Fireman along with several
additional criminal offenses and community supervision violations. In June 2021,
Appellant proceeded to a jury trial on the offense involving Officer Zalewski; the
jury found Appellant guilty and Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment in
that cause.
2
On July 15, 2021, the trial court held a hearing on the Stateâs amended motion
to revoke Appellantâs community supervision. At the hearing, the State presented
two witnesses, Officer Zalewski and a community supervision officer from the 106th
Judicial District Community Supervision Department. The State additionally
presented Officer Zalewskiâs in-car camera footage from the shooting incident.
Appellant, appearing pro se and with standby counsel, argued pretrial motions,
cross-examined both witnesses, and was given a full opportunity to rebut and present
evidence and argument at the hearing.
Following the hearing, the trial court found that, with the exception of one
allegation regarding a curfew violation, Appellant committed all the violations
alleged in the Stateâs amended application, revoked Appellantâs community
supervision, and sentenced Appellant to imprisonment for ten years. The trial court
then granted the Stateâs motion to cumulate sentences and ordered that Appellantâs
ten-year sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (Cause No. 16-4669)
run consecutively to the life sentence Appellant received for shooting Officer
Zalewski (Cause No. 19-5086). See CRIM. PROC. art. 42.08(a) (West 2018).
Proceeding pro se, as Appellant did in the trial court, Appellant raises seven
loosely structured âgroundsâ which we organize into six issues on appeal:
(1) the trial court violated Appellantâs Sixth Amendment right to counsel at
the revocation hearing because the State âforced [an] Attorney on Appellant
at [the] hearingâ;
(2) the arrest warrant on the Stateâs application for revocation was invalid
based on the timing of its execution and filing;
(3) the trial court violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment by ânever hear[ing] [and] never sen[ding]â a subsequent writ of
habeas corpus filed by Appellant pursuant to Article 11.072 of the Texas Code
of Criminal Procedure;
3
(4) the timing of the revocation hearing violated Appellantâs due process
rights under the United States and Texas constitutions;
(5) the trial courtâs cumulation order was invalid based on its form and the
date the written order was signed; and
(6) the trial courtâs judgments and sentences in both the original community
supervision case and the revocation case are âvoid.â
Appellant comingles his âgroundsâ of appeal, especially those relating to the âvoidâ
judgments/sentences and the cumulation order. Each âgroundâ includes Appellantâs
scattered repetitions of lack of âdue process,â âvoidâ rulings, and his claims that the
trial courtâs rulings and judgment should be âvacated and remanded.â Many of these
protestations are complaints but are not understandable legal points of appeal and do
not comply with Rule 38.1(f) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Further,
they are made while providing argument but lacking in any evidentiary or legal
support given. We, however, have diligently considered Appellantâs pro-se briefing,
and in an effort to enhance readability, we synthesize the legal âgroundsâ raised and
address them in the order that they are listed above (1â6). We modify and affirm
the trial courtâs judgment.
Analysis
As an initial matter, the State urges that we reject Appellantâs brief because it
does not meet the requirements of Rule 38.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate
Procedure. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1. Appellant filed an initial brief and, with leave
from this court, a document titled âSecond Part of Brief.â We agree that these filings
do not strictly comply with Rule 38.1. We do, however, allow Appellant some
latitude in the form of his brief because he is proceeding pro se. Although we
construe Appellantâs filings liberally, we note that a pro se appellant is not exempt
from the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Indeed, a pro se appellant is not
âgranted any special consideration solely because he asserted his pro se rights.â
4
Johnson v. State, 760 S.W.2d 277, 279 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988). With these
principles in mind, we address each issue raised by Appellant in turn.
Appellantâs Right to Self-Representation
An accused person that may potentially lose his liberty is constitutionally
guaranteed the right to assistance of counsel. See U.S. CONST. amend. VI, XIV; TEX.
CONST. art. I, § 10 (West 2007); see also Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 818â 19 (1975). The United States Constitution and the Texas constitution also â[g]uarantee that any such defendant may dispense with counsel and make his own defense.â Collier v. State,959 S.W.2d 621, 625
(Tex. Crim. App. 1997); see also TEX. CONST. art. I, § 10 (accused has constitutional right to assistance of counsel and constitutional right to proceed pro se); Faretta, 422 U.S. at 818â19 (same). A decision to proceed pro se âmust be made (1) competently, (2) knowingly and intelligently, and (3) voluntarily.â Collier,959 S.W.2d at 625
.
Appellant does not contend that the trial court erred in allowing him to
represent himself, nor does Appellant contend that he unknowingly or involuntarily
made such a decision. Instead, Appellant claims that the trial court violated his Sixth
Amendment right to represent himself because the State âforcedâ an attorney on him
at the revocation hearing. The State responds that, while the trial court did appoint
an âadvisory attorney,â Appellant represented himself in the revocation case.
In the underlying guilty-plea proceeding, Appellant was represented by a
court-appointed attorney. In the revocation proceeding, Appellant was represented
by an attorney briefly in June 2019; however, Appellant filed a letter-motion to
dismiss counsel in January 2020. Shortly thereafter, Appellant signed an
âExplanation of Rights to Defendants Without an Attorneyâ in which he waived his
right to counsel and further memorialized his wishes to represent himself in the
proceeding. At the revocation hearing, the attorney that represented Appellant
during the underlying plea proceeding acted as standby counsel (hereinafter
5
âstandby counselâ). Prior to the evidentiary portion of the revocation hearing, the
following exchange occurred:
[COURT]: Does the defendant have [a copy of the motion]?
[STATE]: We gave one to [standby counsel]. And, Your Honor, for
purposes of the record, I want to make sure --
[APPELLANT]: Objection, Your Honor. [Standby counsel] is not my
counsel . . . and you should not . . . give him nothing . . . in my case.
[COURT]: Okay. That is not a legal objection. Okay. [The State]
didnât say [standby counsel] was your lawyer. [The State] said he gave
[a copy] to [standby counsel].
[STATE]: -- for purposes of the record, I want to make sure that itâs
clear because we show that on the record he is still represented by
[standby counsel] and not been admonished to be pro se on this
particular proceeding. I want to make sure that weâre clear on the
record, and thatâs why we did give it to [standby counsel] because what
we show in the system is that [standby counsel] is still his attorney on
the revocation . . . even though he was taken off and made standby
counsel [in Cause Number 19-5086].
[COURT]: All right. Itâs been very clear from all the hearings that
weâve had before -- at least to the Court itâs very clear -- that Mr. Daniel
Ray Garcia wishes to represent himself in 16-4669 as well as the -- the
other case.
[STATE]: Okay.
[COURT]: Heâs been allowed to file hearings -- Iâm sorry -- motions
on his own behalf, which if he had an attorney, he would not be allowed
to do so. So as far as Iâm concerned, itâs merely clerical that he hasnât
been removed . . . as the attorney of record. So -- but thatâs on the
record now. Itâs cleared up. He does represent himself. Heâs already
been given the admonishments previously, and so therefore, he is pro
se in this matter as well.
6
Appellant himself states that âas soon a[s] Appellant received notice the court
gave him a[n] Attorney without his consent, he sent a motion of waiver [of] counsel.â
Based on this record, it is clear that Appellant wished to represent himself, and the
record reflects that he did, in fact, represent himself during the revocation hearing.
Nothing in Appellantâs brief identifies what he claims that standby counsel did
wrong, and he forwards no argument of any resulting harm from the standby
attorneyâs acts or omissions. While Appellant writes that âAppellant was forced to
take a plea,â that complaint is a non sequitur in that the record demonstrates that the
original plea on the original charge was made years before standby counsel was ever
appointed and Appellant may not attack his original plea or conviction here. 1 The
attorney in the courtroom was provided only as standby counsel to Appellant during
the revocation proceeding. Appointment of standby counsel does not violate a
personâs right to self-representation. See Borne v. State, 593 S.W.3d 404, 414 (Tex.
App.âBeaumont 2020, no pet.). We overrule Appellantâs first issue.
Arrest Warrant on Application to Revoke Community Supervision
In Appellantâs second issue, he asserts that the arrest warrant on the Stateâs
application for revocation was invalid based on the timing of its execution and filing.
In part, Appellant complains of a warrant form obviously pre-generated with 2018
dates, but he ignores the handwritten 201â9â correction on the Sheriffâs return of
service. He also makes an argument that the return predated the issuance of the
warrant and therefore such warrant was âinvalidâ and a violation of his rights under
the United States and Texas constitutions. While Appellant contends that a personâs
1
Appellant is generally limited to challenging the grounds for revocation. Araujo v. State, No. 11-
20-00242-CR, 2022 WL 3092669, at *1 (Tex. App.âEastland Aug. 4, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (citing Wright v. State,506 S.W.3d 478, 481
(Tex. Crim. App. 2016) (âThe general rule is that an attack on the original conviction in an appeal from revocation proceedings is a collateral attack and is not allowed.â)); see also Riles v. State,452 S.W.3d 333, 338
(Tex. Crim. App. 2015); Wiley v. State,410 S.W.3d 313, 319
(Tex. Crim. App. 2013). No exception is argued nor supported by Appellant under Nix v. State,65 S.W.3d 664, 667
(Tex. Crim. App. 2001).
7
constitutional liberty cannot be restrained by an invalid warrant, Appellant
disregards the written detail of the warrant that is apparent on the face thereof and
he cites no authority for the proposition that under these circumstances the timing of
the arrest warrant rendered it invalid. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1(i) (brief must contain
âclear and conciseâ arguments with âappropriate citations to authoritiesâ);
Gonzalez v. State, 616 S.W.3d 585, 587 (Tex. Crim. App. 2020) (arguments
inadequately briefed where appellant merely cited the Sixth and Eighth Amendments
and âvarious Texas constitutional provisionsâ).
Moreover, Appellant did not preserve this issue for our review because he did
not object to the timing of the arrest warrant before the trial court. Generally, to
preserve a complaint for appellate review, a party must make a contemporaneous
request, objection, or motion in the trial court. TEX. R. APP. P. 33.1(a)(1); see Burg v.
State, 592 S.W.3d 444, 448â49 (Tex. Crim. App. 2020) (citing TEX. R. APP. P. 33.1(a)(1)). As noted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, there are two general policies for requiring timely requests and objections. âFirst, a specific objection is required to inform the trial judge of the basis of the objection and afford him the opportunity to rule on it. Second, a specific objection is required to afford opposing counsel an opportunity to remove the objection or supply other testimony.â Zillender v. State,557 S.W.2d 515, 517
(Tex. Crim. App. 1977). â[O]bjections promote the prevention and correction of errors. When valid objections are timely made and sustained, the parties may have a lawful trial. They, and the judicial system, are not burdened by appeal and retrial. When a party is excused from the requirement of objecting, the results are the opposite.â Saldano v. State,70 S.W.3d 873, 887
(Tex. Crim. App. 2002). Appellant did not object to the timing or execution
of the arrest warrant in the trial court and therefore did not preserve this issue for our
review. We overrule Appellantâs second issue.
8
Writ of Habeas Corpus
Appellant contends that we should dismiss the instant case with prejudice
because a writ of habeas corpus that he filed was ânever heard [and] never sentâ
within 180 days of Appellant filing the writ. See CRIM. PROC. arts. 11.60 (refusing
to execute writ by officer), 11.61 (refusal to obey writ when person is in officerâs
custody). We construe the writ of habeas corpus at issue as one pursuant to
Article 11.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. CRIM. PROC. art. 11.072
(Procedure in Community Supervision Case). Appellant filed the writ at issue on
January 26, 2021, after having an initial application for a writ of habeas corpus
denied by the trial court. At the revocation hearing, the trial court addressed pretrial
matters raised by both parties, including the writ at issue. The trial court denied the
application for a writ, stating that Appellant had not offered any new evidence in his
subsequent application for writ of habeas corpus. See CRIM. PROC. art. 11.072,
§ 9(a).
We review the trial courtâs ruling on a habeas application under an abuse of
discretion standard. Kniatt v. State, 206 S.W.3d 657, 664(Tex. Crim. App. 2006); see also Ex parte Wheeler,203 S.W.3d 317, 324
(Tex. Crim. App. 2006). An applicant seeking postconviction habeas corpus relief bears the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the facts entitle him to relief. Ex parte Richardson,70 S.W.3d 865, 870
(Tex. Crim. App. 2002). Cognizable habeas corpus claims are limited to claims of âjurisdictional or fundamental defects and constitutional claims.â Ex parte Tuley,109 S.W.3d 388
, 393â94 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002) (quoting Ex parte Graves,70 S.W.3d 103, 109
(Tex. Crim. App. 2002)). We view the evidence presented in the light most favorable to the trial courtâs ruling. Wheeler,203 S.W.3d at 324
; Kniatt,206 S.W.3d at 664
. The trial court is the sole
finder of the facts, and the appellate court must afford almost total deference to a
trial courtâs findings of fact when those findings are supported by the record. State v.
9
Guerrero, 400 S.W.3d 576, 583(Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (applying the standard from Guzman v. State,955 S.W.2d 85, 89
(Tex. Crim. App. 1997)); Ex parte Garcia,353 S.W.3d 785, 788
(Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (same). Furthermore, a court of appeals specifically has âless leeway in an article 11.072 context to disregard the findings of a trial court.â Garcia,353 S.W.3d at 788
.
Here, Appellant did not present any new evidence in his subsequent
application for a writ of habeas corpus. Consequently, the trial court was prohibited
from considering the merits of, or granting relief on, the subsequent application. See
CRIM. PROC. art. 11.072, § 9(a). Pursuant to Article 11.072, a trial court cannot grant
relief on subsequent applications for a writ of habeas corpus âunless the application
contain[ed] sufficient specific facts establishing that the current claims and issues
have not been and could not have been presented previously in an original
application or in a previously considered application filed under [Article 11.072]
because the factual or legal basis for the claim was unavailable on the date the
applicant filed the previous application.â Id. Appellant did not provide the trial
court with âsufficient specific factsâ proving that the claims and issues raised in his
subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus had not and could not have been
raised in his original application. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in denying Appellantâs subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus.
We overrule Appellantâs third issue.
Timing of Revocation Hearing
In his fourth issue, Appellant asserts that the timing of the revocation hearing
violated his due process rights under the United States and Texas constitutions,
thereby resulting in a void sentence.
Upon request from a defendant, the trial court is required to bring the
defendant before it for a hearing on the alleged violations of community supervision
within twenty days of the request. CRIM. PROC. art. 42A.751(d); Aguilar v. State,
10
621 S.W.2d 781, 784(Tex. Crim. App. 1981). Without such a request, the trial court is not required to hold a hearing on the alleged violations within the twenty-day timeframe. See CRIM. PROC. art. 42A.751(d). A violation of the statutory twenty- day requirement âmerely amounts to unlawful prehearing confinementâ and therefore does not require reversal of the trial courtâs judgment revoking community supervision. Aguilar,621 S.W.2d at 786
.
Appellant did not request a hearing from the trial court. Instead, Appellant
filed two motions requesting the trial court to terminate or modify his community
supervision by ârun[ning] this probation concurrently with cause 19-5086.â After
Appellant went to trial on Cause Number 19-5086, Appellant filed a âMotion to
Discharge Case 16-4669â in which he requested that the trial court discharge the
instant case based on the life sentence he received in Cause Number 19-5086. In the
motion, Appellant stated that he (1) âha[d]â an invalid warrant, (2) had been in jail,
and (3) has ânever had a hearing on this case.â Appellantâs âMotion to Discharge
Case 16-4669â does not constitute a request for the trial court to hold a hearing on
the revocation, because the motion does not request that Appellant be brought before
the trial court to have such a hearingâit merely requests the trial court to dispose of
the case. Even so, the trial court held the revocation hearing within the twenty-day
timeframe following Appellantâs motion. We overrule Appellantâs fourth issue.
Cumulation Order
In his fifth issue, Appellant contends that the trial courtâs cumulation order is
invalid for two reasons. First, Appellant states that the cumulation order is invalid
and should be set aside because the oral pronouncement did not include all five
âgroundsâ recommended by an overruled case. See Ex parte Ashe, 641 S.W.2d 243,
244(Tex. Crim. App. 1982), overruled by Ex parte San Miguel,973 S.W.2d 310, 311
(Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Second, Appellant asserts that the trial court
improperly signed the cumulation order the day after the revocation hearing. The
11
State responds that the cumulation order complied with Article 42.08 of the Texas
Code of Criminal Procedure. See CRIM. PROC. art. 42.08(a).
Under Article 42.08 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the trial court
has the discretion to order the sentences for two or more convictions to run
consecutively. See id.We review a trial courtâs decision to cumulate or to run sentences consecutively for an abuse of discretion. See id.; Beedy v. State,194 S.W.3d 595, 597
(Tex. App.âHouston [1st Dist.] 2006), affâd,250 S.W.3d 107, 115
(Tex. Crim. App. 2008); Nicholas v. State,56 S.W.3d 760, 765
(Tex. App.â Houston [14th Dist.] 2001, pet. refâd). An abuse of discretion will generally be found only if (1) the trial court imposes consecutive sentences when the law requires concurrent sentences, (2) the trial court imposes concurrent sentences when the law requires consecutive ones, or (3) the trial court otherwise fails to observe the statutory requirements pertaining to sentencing. Nicholas,56 S.W.3d at 765
.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has held that âthe decision whether to
cumulate does not turn on any discrete or particular findings of fact on the judgeâs
part.â Barrow v. State, 207 S.W.3d 377, 380(Tex. Crim. App. 2006). âInstead, cumulating is purely a normative decision.âId.
As a normative process, the decision to cumulate is not intrinsically fact bound, but rather it is a question of policy. See Mendiola v. State,21 S.W.3d 282, 285
(Tex. Crim. App. 2000) (quoting MillerâEl v. State,782 S.W.2d 892
, 895â96 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990)). Accordingly, âa punishment that falls within the legislatively prescribed range, and that is based upon the [trial courtâs] informed normative judgment, is unassailable on appeal.â Barrow,207 S.W.3d at 381
.
Appellantâs argument regarding the form of the cumulation order is without
merit. Appellant cites to Ex parte Ashe for the proposition that a trial court is
required to provide certain details in its order to cumulate sentences, such as the
cause number of the prior conviction and the nature of the prior conviction. See Ex
12
parte Ashe, 641 S.W.2d at 244(cumulation order void because the order only listed cause number and county). Apart from the fact that Appellantâs desired details were clear on the record in this case, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals expressly overruled Ex parte Ashe on this issue. See Ex parte San Miguel,973 S.W.2d 310, 311
(Tex. Crim. App. 1998) (overruling Ex parte Ashe and holding that applicant
must show that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is not properly cumulating
sentences for such order to be found void).
We also find Appellantâs argument regarding the timing of the trial courtâs
signature on its order granting the Stateâs motion to cumulate sentences to be without
merit. As an initial matter, there is nothing in the statutory text that requires a trial
court to sign an order granting the Stateâs motion within a certain timeframe after it
orally pronounces such an order on the record, as long as the trial court signs the
order within the period of the trial courtâs plenary power. See CRIM. PROC.
art. 42.08(a). Furthermore, the trial court memorialized its oral pronouncement to
cumulate the sentences within the judgment it signed the same day. See CRIM. PROC.
art. 42.01, § 1 (West Supp. 2022) (judgment is âwritten declarationâ of trial courtâs
oral pronouncements); Ex parte Madding, 70 S.W.3d 131, 135(Tex. Crim. App. 2002) (same). The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it granted the Stateâs motion to cumulate and ordered Appellantâs sentences to run consecutively. See Barrow,207 S.W.3d at 381
; Nicholas,56 S.W.3d at 765
. We overrule Appellantâs
fifth issue.
The Trial Courtâs Judgments
In his last issue, Appellant asserts that both the revocation judgment and the
original judgment imposing community supervision are âvoid.â First, Appellant
contends that the original judgment and sentence, and by extension the revocation
judgment and sentence, are âvoidâ because Appellant was ineligible to receive
community supervision at the time of his guilty plea in the underlying case. Second,
13
Appellant asserts that the sentence for the underlying case was âvoidâ because the
trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to self-representation by appointing
counsel to represent him. As for the former, Appellant asks that we reverse the
original judgment with instructions that the trial court withdraw his original plea and
allow Appellant to âreplead.â For the latter, Appellant requests that we vacate and
remand the original case.
Because the instant proceeding is a direct appeal from the revocation
proceeding and not from Appellantâs original plea proceeding, we lack jurisdiction
to consider Appellantâs claims regarding the underlying case. See Schibi v. State,
635 S.W.3d 461, 464â66 (Tex. App.âEastland 2021, no pet.). Unless the original order is void, â[t]he general rule is that an attack on the original conviction in an appeal from revocation proceedings is a collateral attack and is not allowed.â See Wright,506 S.W.3d at 481
. In Nix, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals listed four situations in which a judgment of conviction in a criminal case is void and therefore meets the exception to the general rule.Id.
(citing Nix,65 S.W.3d at 668
). Those four situations are: (1) the document purporting to be a charging instrument does not satisfy the constitutional requisites of a charging instrument, (2) the trial court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over the offense charged, (3) the record reflects that there is no evidence (not merely insufficient evidence) to support the conviction, and (4) an indigent defendant is required to face criminal trial proceedings without appointed counsel, when such has not been waived in violation of the right to counsel for indigent defendants.Id.
at 482 & n.26 (citing Nix,65 S.W.3d at 668
& nn.12â 15); Garcia v. State,549 S.W.3d 335, 341
(Tex. App.âEastland 2018, pet. refâd). Appellant has failed to establish that the void judgment exception applies. As such, we lack jurisdiction to consider Appellantâs collateral attack on the trial courtâs original judgment imposing community supervision. See Wright,506 S.W.3d at 14
481; see also TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2) (describing when a criminal defendant may
appeal); CRIM. PROC. art. 44.02 (same).
Appellant additionally contends that the trial courtâs revocation judgment is
void because, although the judgment correctly states that the degree of offense is a
second-degree felony and the sentence is accurate, it lists âcausing seriously bodily
injury family violenceâ after Appellantâs original offense of âaggravated assault with
a deadly weaponâ and includes an incorrect Penal Code citation. In essence, the
revocation judgment contains internal inconsistencies regarding the underlying
offense of conviction.
Neither of the errors in the judgment change the offense for which Appellant
was convicted, the degree of the offense for which Appellant is serving the
imprisonment term, or the punishment ordered by the trial court, all of which are
reflected in the judgment and on the record. The law on this point is very clear. We
have the power and an obligation to modify the judgment of the court below to make
the record speak the truth if the matter comes to our attention in any manner and if
we have the necessary information to do so. See Asberry v. State, 813 S.W.2d 526,
529(Tex. App.âDallas 1991, pet. refâd) (en banc); see also TEX. R. APP. P. 43.2(b); French v. State,830 S.W.2d 607, 609
(Tex. Crim. App. 1992) (adopting the reasoning from Asberry). The authority of an appellate court to reform incorrect judgments is not dependent upon the request of any party, nor does it turn on the question of whether a party has or has not objected in the trial court. See French,830 S.W.2d at 609
; Asberry, 813 S.W.2d at 529â30; see also TEX. R. APP. P. 43.2(b); Carmona v. State,610 S.W.3d 611
, 618 (Tex. App.âHouston [14th Dist.] 2020, no
pet.).
Accordingly, we modify the trial courtâs revocation judgment in the following
respects: (1) to delete the âcausing seriously bodily injury, family violenceâ
language under âOffense for which Defendant convictedâ; (2) to amend the Penal
15
Code reference under âStatute for Offenseâ to reflect the correct section under which
Appellant was convictedââ22.02(a)(2)â instead of 22.02(b)(1); and (3) to delete the
number â27â from the list of conditions that the trial court found Appellant violated,
because, although not raised by Appellant on appeal, the trial court did not find the
allegation relating to condition 27 to be âtrueâ at the revocation hearing. See TEX. R.
APP. P. 43.2.
This Courtâs Ruling
We modify the trial courtâs judgment to delete âcausing seriously bodily
injury, family violenceâ and condition number â27â and to correct the Penal Code
reference to â22.02(a)(2).â As modified, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
W. BRUCE WILLIAMS
JUSTICE
December 8, 2022
Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J.,
Trotter, J., and Williams, J.
16