## IN THE COU RT O F CR IM IN AL AP PE ALS OF TE XAS
N O S. P D - 0969- 09 & P D - 0811- 09

J U L IA N M A R S M C K IT H A N & R A L P H F R A N K L IN W E L S H , A p p ell a n ts
v . THE S TA TE OF TE X AS ON APP ELLANTS ’ PET I TI ON S FOR DI S CRETI ON ARY REVI EW FROM THE FI RST AND S ECON D CO URTS OF AP PEALS

HA RRI S AND TARRA NT CO UNTI ES C OCHRAN , J. , f

i l e d a c onc ur r i ng o pi ni on i n w hi c h H OL C OM B , J ., j oi ne d.

OP I NI ON I j oi n t he maj or i t yopi ni on. I t hi nk t hat thes e cas es m i ght be more eas i l yaddr es s ed if w e re p h rase d the a p p ell an ts’ g rou n d s fo r rev iew as f o ll o w s: D o es p roo f o f a b o d il y -i n jury

assau l t byki cki ng ( or t he us e of “ phy s i cal for ce a nd vi ol ence ” i n an aggr avat ed s exual

assau lt ) nece s s ar i l yr equi r e pr oof t hatt he def endanti nt ent i onal l ycaus ed phy s i cal cont act

w ith th e v ictim th a t th e d e f e n d a n t k n e w o r re a so n a b lysh o u ld h a v e k n o w n th a t th e v ictim

w oul d r egar d as offe ns i ve orpr ovocat i ve? O f cour s e not
. Phy s i cal har m and phy s i cal for ceMcKithan &Welsh ConcurringOpinion Page2

Th e wo rd

“ of fe ns ive ” is c omm on ly

de fi ne d a s “ c a

us ingof fe ns e , s pe c if

ic a lly 1 provocation; irritating; . . . disgusting; g iving pa in or unpleasa nt sensations; disagr eea

ble.” C o mm o ns y

n o ny m s ar e “ d i s p l ea s i n g, d i s agr ee ab l e, d i s t as t ef u l , o b n o x i o u s , ab h o rr en t , d i s gu s t i n g, impertinent, rude, sa

ucy , opprobrious, insulting, insolent, abusive, sc urrilous.” W EB S TER ’ S N EW T WE NTI ETH C EN TUR Y D I C TI ONAR Y U NABRI DGED 12 42 (1 97 9) . T hewo rd “ pr ov oc ativ e ” is commonly

define d as “provoking or tendingto provoke”and common sy nony ms for the ve rb provoke a re “ arouse , stir up, rouse, aw ake, c ause, e x cite, move, induce , incite, stimulate, inflame, offe nd, irritate, a

ng er, c hafe , exasperate , incense , enra g e.” Id . at 1450. Thus , o newh o “ kic ks ” his wi femay we ll i nte nd

bo th t o ma

kehe r h ur t phy sic a lly

and to 2 causeher psychic pa in– to make her fee l displeasure, distastef ulness, or ang er. B ut another person who kic ks his wife may not car e at a ll that she finds his conduct offe nsive or provocative–he simply

wants to beat her up. a r e e n t i r e l y d i f

f e r e n t c o n c e p t s f

r o m m e n t a l o r m o r a l o f

f e n s i v e n e s s . O n e d a m a g e s t h e b o d y,

1
t he ot herdamages t he mi nd, emot i ons , or s ens e of w el l

- bei ng. O ne i s t he i nt entt o caus e a p h y sic a l in

ju ry , th e o th e r is th e in ten t to c a u se a p sy c h ic in ju ry . O n e is “ o u c h ,” th e o th e r is “yuck. ” Fr equent l y , one w h o inte nds t o caus e bodi l yi nj ur yal s o i nt ends t o caus e ment al di s t r es s , anger , or di s gus t , but t hes e ar e tw o sep arat e off ens es w i t h t w o di ffe r enti nt ended

r es ul t s . O ne i s a l es s s er i ous offe ns e t han t he ot her beca us e t he Legi s l atur e has det er m i ned

2
t hat t he i nt ent t o caus e pur el ym ent al i nj ur i es of di s gus t or i r r i t at i on i s l es s cul pabl e t han t he i ntentt o cau se p hy si cal i njur i es o r pain. It cou l d hav e m ade bo t h off enses equ al l yser i ou s, b u t it h a s c h o s e n n o t to
. I t her efor e agr ee t hatoffe ns i ve- cont actas s aul t i s not a l es s er - i ncl uded off ens e of a bodi l y - i nj ur yas sau lt all egi ng t hatt he def endant“ki cked” t he vi ct i m . T he St at e w i l l not
nece s s ar i l ypr ove t hatt he defe ndant i nt ended t o phy s i cal l y cont act t he vi ct i m i n an off ens i ve
m anner as i t pr oves t hathe i nt ended t o caus e herbodi l yi nj ur y . A nd t he s ame i s t r ue foranMcKithan &Welsh ConcurringOpinion Page3

Obviously , most victim s of ag gravated sexual assault will feel disgusted, insulted, 3 abused, a nd enra g ed by

the attac ker’ s unwanted physical conta ct, but the offe nsive-conta ct a ssa ult statut e fo c us e s o n th e de fe nd ant’ s inte nt a nd kn ow le dg e (o r what hesh ou ld r e a so na bly have be lieved), not on the vic tim’s reac tion to the defenda nt’s conduct. T EX . P EN A L C ODE § 22.01(a) (3) ( a per son commits an assault if he “ cause s phy sical conta ct with another when the person knows or

should reasona

bly believe that the other will reg ard thecontac t as offe nsive or provocative”). aggr avat ed s exual as s aul t i ndi ct m entt hatal le ges t hatt he def endantcompel l ed t he compl ai n a n t t o s u b mi t a n d p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s e x u a l a c t “ b y t h e u s e o f p h y s i c a l f o r c e and vi ol ence . ” A defe ndantm ay w el l i nt end t hathi s r ape vi ct i m fee l di s gus t ed and e nr aged by hi s unw ant ed ph y s i cal act s , but t hati nt enti s s epar at e and a par t fr om hi s us e of phy s i cal 3 force and viol ence to accom pli sh his obj ect i ve. A gain, usi ng ph y si cal force i s en tirely d iffe ren t from inten d ing to tou ch so m eo n e in a ru d e , d ispleasin g , o r ob n o x iou s m an n er. O ffe ns i ve- cont actas s aul t i s t her efor e nota l es s er - i ncl uded off ens e of a n aggr avat ed s exual

as s aul t offe ns e t hatexpl i ci t l yr equi r es “t he us e of phy s i cal for ce a nd vi ol ence . ”
Fi l ed: N ovember 10, 2010 P ub l i sh