1 ... See Te x. R. App . P. 47. 4. 

## COURT OFAPPEALS SECOND DISTRICTOF TEXAS FORT WORTH NO . 2- 08- 361- CR
F R ANC K S T E P HE N G R I P P ON AP P E L L ANT V . TH E STA TE O F TEXA S STA TE

----- ----- -- FR O M THE 415TH DI STRI CT CO URT O F PARKERCO UN TY

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### MEMORANDU M OPI NI ON 1

----- ----- -- I . I nt r oduc t i on In o n e p o i n t, A p p e l l a n t F ra n c kS te p h e n G ri p p o n a s s e rtsth a t th etri a l c o u rt
a b u s e d i tsd is c r e t io n b ys e n te n c i n g G ri p p o n to te n y e a rs ’ c o n fi n e m e n t. W e a ffir m .2 ... Al t ho ug h t hej ud gm e ntr e c i t e st e r m s of a pl ea b a r ga i n a s“ TE N ( 10)

yea r s I ns t i t ut i ona l D i vi si on, TD C J, w i t h c r edi t as r ef l ec t ed on J udgm ent , ” t he w r i tt en pl ea ad m oni sh m ent s do no tr ef l ec tt hatt her e w asa pl ea ba r gai n, nor does t he t r i al court ’ s cert i f i cat i on of G r i ppo n’ s r i ght t o appeal , w hi ch st at es t hat t he case “i s nota p l ea- bar gai n case, an d t he def endan th as t he r i ght t o appeal asto puni

shm ent .” [ E m p h a s is a d d e d .] T h etr i a l j u d g ew rote i n “a s to pu ni sh m ent . ” N ei t herpa rt y’ s br i efal l ege s a p l ea ba r gai n. To t he con t r ary, G ri p p o n sta tes i n h i s bri e f th a t h ep l e a d e d n o t gu i l ty. T h eS tate i n d i c a tes i n i ts b ri e f th a t G ri p p o n p l e a d e d g u i l ty a n d th a t th e re w a s n o p l e a b a rga i n ag ree m e n t. 2 II . F a c tu a la n d P ro c e d u ra lH i s to ry G r i ppon w asi ndi ct ed f ort he f el ony of f ens e o fag gr av at ed as sa ul tan d
su bs equ ent l y pl ea ded gui l t y. 2 D u ri n g G ri p p o n ’sp u n i s h m e n t tri a l , th e S ta te i n tro d u c e d th eo ffe n s ere p o rt and r ecor ded i nt ervi ew G r i ppo n gave t o t he pol i ce descr i bi ng t he ci r cum st ances su r r oundi ng t he of f ens e. I n t he r ec or ded st at em ent , G r i ppon des cr i bed how he and hi s co- def end antbeatand ki ck ed t he vi ct i m unt i l hew asunc ons ci ous . Not lo n g a ft e rt h e a s s a u lt , t h e v ic t im w a lk e d b yG r ip p o n ’s h o u s e ; G r ip p o n s a w h im , r an at hi m , t ackl ed hi m , and pr oceeded t o beatt he vi ct i m unt i l he w as r ender ed
unco nsci ous a second t i m e . G ri p pon acknow l edged t hatt he vi ct i m never att em pt ed t o f i ght bac k dur i ng t hes e as sa ul t s. The part i es st i pul at ed t hat , due t o t he se ver e br ai n i nj ur i es ca us ed by t he bea t i ng a dm i ni st er ed by Gr i ppon and hi s co- def end ant , t he vi ct i m w asphy si ca l l y a nd m ent al l y i nca pab l e o ft es t i f yi ng3 ... G ri p p o n ’sm o th e r te s ti fi e d th a t h eu s e d m a rij u a n a u p u n ti l rig h t b e fo re

t he PSI i n t hi s ca sean d a l so t hatheus ed m et ham phe t am i ne, co ca i ne, an d al coho l on a r egul arbasi s. 3 att r i alan d w oul d bei n a nur si ng ho m e f aci l i t y f or thef or es ee abl e f ut ur e d ue t o hi s i nabi l i t y t o pr ovi de hi m sel fw i t h hi s m ostbasi c needs. G r i ppo n i nt r odu ced sever al r ecor ds pert ai ni ng t o hi s physi cal and m ent al h e a lt h a sa n a d d e n d u m t o t h e p r e s e n t e n c ein v e s t ig a t io n re p o rt(“ P S I” ) o n f ile
w it h t h e c o u rt , a n d h e c a lle d h ism o t h e rt o t e s t if ya b o u th i sf in a n c ia l,
em ot i ona l , m ent al , and phys i ca l w el f ar e and st at us . She t es t i f i ed t hathe rs on
w as t ryi ng t o qual i f y f orS S I d i sabi l i t y f ora hi p pr obl em , h ad a h i st or y ofbi pol ar di s or de r a nd l e a r ni ng di s a bi l i t i e s , w a si n t r e a t m e ntt hr ou gh Pe c a n Val l e y M HM R,
w as t aki ng Li t hi um f ort r eat m entofhi s bi pol ardi sor der , and w as doi ng bett er atget t i ng al ong w i t h ot her s si nce he s tarted taki ng m edi cat i on. O n cr oss exam i nat i on she f urt hert est i f i ed t hatG r i ppo n w as a dr ug add i ct 3and thathe had had anger contr ol pr obl em s hi s w hol e l i f e. G r i ppo n’ s young erbr ot heral so t e s t if ie d t h a tG r ip p o n h a d n o tre c e iv e d t r e a t m e n t f o rb ip o la rd is o r d e ru n t il w it h in th e l a s t y e a r. A ft erh ea r i ng t he evi den cepr es ent ed, t he t r i alco urts ent enc ed G r i ppon t o t en year s’ conf i nem ent . The t r i al courtdeni ed G r i ppo n’ s m o t i on f ornew tri a l , a n d th i sa p p e a l fo l l o w e d .4 ... I n hi s m ot i on f orne w t r i alan d i n a r r esto fj ud gm ent , G r i ppon

com pl ai ned t hatj udgm ents houl d be ar r es t ed ort hathes houl d begr ant ed a new t r i al because t he sent ence w as excessi ve and t he j udg m entand sent ence w er e c ont r ary t o l aw an d t he evi den ce . A l t hough t he St at e ar gue s t hatG r i ppon f ai l ed t o pr es erve hi s poi ntf orap pea l be ca us e h e n eve rr ai se d t hes e o bj ec t i ons in t h e t r ia l c o u rt , t h e S t a t e d o e sn o ta d d r e s sG r ip p o n ’s m o t io n f o rn e w t r ia l, w h i c h w a sb o th t i m e l yf i l e d a n d ru l e d u p o n b yth etri a l c o u rt. SeeTex. R. A pp. P . 3 3 .1 (a ); c f. K

i m v. S tate , 28 3 S. W . 3d 47 3, 47 5 ( Tex . A pp. — Fort W o rt h 20 09 , pet . f i l ed) ( hol di ng t hatappel l antf or f ei t ed hi s di spr opo rt i onate sent ence com pl ai ntw hen hef ai l ed t o r ai sei tatt he t i m e t he sent enc e w asi m pos ed or i n a m oti on f or new t r i al ); Jus ti c ev. S tate , No. 02- 08- 00146

- CR, 2009 W L 160 917 , at*1 ( Tex. A pp. — FortW ort h Ja n. 22, 200 9, no p et . ) ( m em . op. , not desi gnated f orpubl i cat i on) ( hol di ng t hatappel l antf or f ei t ed com pl ai ntt hatt r i al cou rtab us ed i t s di sc r et i on bys ent enc i ng hi m to si x year s’ co nf i nem entf or agg r av at ed r obbe ry i ns t ea d ofgi vi ng hi m co m m uni t y s upe rvi si on w hen no obj ec t i on t o t he se nt enc e w asm adeatt he t i m e t he se nt enc e w asi m pos ed and , f ol l o w i n g s e n t e n c i n g , a p p e l l a n td i d n o tf i l ea n ym o t i o n o ro t h e ro bj e c t i on re g a rd i n g h i ss e n te n c e ). 4 I I I . Puni sh m ent G r i ppon ar gue s t hatt he t r i alco urtab us ed i t s di sc r et i on by as se ss i ng a se n ten c e o f t e n y e a rs, co m p l a i n in g “[i ]tap p e a rs the tr i a l co u rtab u se d i ts di scr et i on byf ai l i ng t o t ake i nt o accoun t[ hi s] m ent al heal t h pr obl em s w hen
a s s e s s i n g p u n i s h m e n t.” 4 W e re v ie w a t r ia l ju d g e ’s d e t e r m in a t io n o ft h ea p p r o p r ia t ep u n is h m e n tin
a g i v e n c a s e fo r a n a b u s e o f d i s c re ti o n . Ja ckso nv. S tate , 680 S. W . 2d 809, 8 1 4(T e x . C ri m . A p p . 1 9 8 4 ). A n a b u s e o f d i s c re ti o n o c c u rs w h e n a tri a l c o u rt’s d e c is io n iss o c le a r lyw r o n g a st o lie o u t s id et h a tz o n ew it h in w h ic h re a s o n a b le5

p e rs o n sm i g h t d i s a g re e . Mo n tg o m ery v. S tate , 810 S . W . 2d 372, 391 ( Tex. C ri m . A p p . 1 9 9 1 ) (o p . o n re h ’g ). A lt h o u g h G r ip p o n c o n c e d e st h a tt h ec o u rto fc r im in a l a p p e a lsh a sh e ld t hat“t he al l ow abl e di scr et i on of t he t r i al j udg e i n assess i ng a t er m ofyear s w as l i m i t ed onl y by t he m axi m um pr ovi ded by l aw , ” ci t i ng T am m i n env. S tate , 653 S .W .2 d 7 9 9 , 8 0 3 ( T e x . C ri m . A p p . 1 9 8 3 ), h en o n e th e l e ss p o i n ts u s to Jacks on , w h e re i n th e c o u rt a l s o s ta te d : I n o u r r e v i e w o f a trial j u d g e ’s d e term i n a ti o n o f t h eap p rop ri a te pun i shm enti n any gi ven case a gr eatdeal of di scr et i on i s al l ow ed t he sent enci ng j udg e. . . . I t i s al so t he gener al r ul e t hatas l ong as a s ent enc e i s w i t hi n t he pr ope rr ang e ofpuni sh m enti tw i l l notbe d i stu rbe d o n ap p e a l . H o w e v e r, i n allo f t h eca se s d e a l i n g w i th rev i e w i n this are a the re w a s a t l e a st so m eev i d e n c eo r f a c ts avai l abl e t o t he courtand upo n w hi ch t he courtcoul d have r el i ed i n as se ss i n g p u n i sh m e n t. 6 8 0 S .W .2 d at 8 1 4( i n tern a l cit a ti o n s o m i tted ). H eas se rt s th a t Jacks on “i nt i m at es t hata t r i al courtj udg e m ay abuse i t s di scr et i on i n sent enci ng even i fhi s pu ni shm entd et er m i nat i on f al l s w i t hi n t he r ange of pun i shm entpr escr i bed f ora part i cul arof f ense, ” and t hatt hi s occur r ed her e. The St at e r es pondsby poi nt i ng t o t he cou rt ’ s m or e- r ec enthol di ng i n Ex parte Chavez , [ W ] e h avedescri bed t he se nt enc er ’ s di sc r et i on t o i m pos e a ny p u n is h m e n tw it h in t h ep r e s c r ib e d ra n g et o b ee s s e n t i a lly
“ u n fe tte re d .”S u bj e c t o n l yto a v e ryl i m i te d , “e x c e e d in g l yra re ,” and som e w hat am or pho us Ei ghth A m endm ent gr oss-6

di sp r oport i ona l i t y r ev i ew , a puni sh m entt hatf al l s w i t hi n t he l egi s l a t i v e l yp r e s c r i b e d r a n g e , a n d t h a ti sb a s e d u p o n t he se nt enc er ’ s i nf or m ed nor m at i ve j udgm ent , i s una ss ai l abl e o n a p p e a l. 2 1 3 S .W .3 d 3 2 0 , 3 2 3

– 2 4(T e x . C ri m . A p p . 2 0 0 6 ); se ealso D a rdenv. S tate , 4 3 0 S .W .2 d 4 9 4 , 4 9 6 (T e x . C r im . A p p . 1 9 6 8 ) ( “ Ift h ep u n is h m e n tisw it h in t hatpr escr i bed byt he st at ut e, i ti s b e y o nd t he pr ovi nce oft hi s C ourtt o pass
u p o n th e q u e s ti o n o f e x c e s s i v e p u n i s h m e n t.” ). G r i ppon w asco nvi cted o fag gr ava t ed as sa ul t , a se con d de gr eef el ony,
w hi ch hasa puni sh m entr ang e o ft w o t o t w ent y year s and m ay i ncl udea f i ne
n o t to e x c e e d $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 . SeeT e x . P e n a l C o d eA n n . § 1 2 .3 3 (V e rn o n 2 0 0 3 ), § 22. 02( a) ( 1) , ( b) ( V er non Supp. 2 008 ) . H e d oesnotdi r ec tt hi s cou rtt o a ny evi dence or addi t i onal r easoni ng t o suppo rthi s cl ai m t hatt he t r i al courtf ai l ed t o t a k e in t o a c c o u n te v id e n c eo fh isa lle g e d m e n t a l h e a lt h p r o b le m sin
se nt enc i ng hi m t o t en ye ars’ conf i nem entan d no f i ne. I nde ed, w hi l e h i s codef endan tw as sent enced t o ei ght year s i n conn ect i on w i t h t he or i gi nal att ack on t he vi ct i m , G r i ppon’ s se con d a tt ac k o n t he vi ct i m r es ul t ed i n a n a ddi t i on of
o n l ytw o y e a rs b e y o n d w h a t his co -de fen d a n t r e c e i v e d . A n d ev e n i f Jacks on can be r ead t o yi el d G ri ppo n’ s i nt er pr et at i on, i tcannot be sai d t hatt he t r i al
c o u rta b u s e d it sd is c r e t io n h e r ew h e n s e n t e n c in g h im w it h in t h ep e r m is s ib le7

sen t en ci ng r an ge , gi ve n thi s ca se’s brut al f ac t s an d c i r cu m stan c e s . W e over r ul e G r i ppo n’ s sol e i ssue. I V . Concl us i on H a v i n g o v e r r u le d G ri p p o n ’ss o l ei s s u e , w ea ffir m th etri a l c o u rt’s j u d g m e n t. P E RCU R I AM PA N EL: M C C O Y, D A U PH I N O T, an d GA RD N ER, JJ. DO NO T P UBLI SH Tex. R. A pp. P. 47. 2( b) DEL I VERE D: Aug us t6, 2009