No oral argument requested 

 CASE NO. 12-15-00224-CR

 

 IN THE 

 TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS

 TYLER, TEXAS

 _______________________________ 

 

 FREDRICK HARRIS STRALOW, Appellant 

 vs. 

 THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee 

 _______________________________ 

 On Appeal from the 

 County Court at Law No. 2 

 Henderson County, Texas 

 

 (Trial Court Case Number: 2014-0626CL2) 

 Honorable Nancy Adams Perryman, Judge Presiding 

 AMENDED BRIEF OF APPELLANT 

 Linda A. Altier 

 Altier Law Offices 

 1527 E. Fifth St. 

 Tyler, Texas 75701 

 Tel: 903-595-4232 

 Fax: 903-595-0031 

 e-mail: altierlaw@gmail.com

 State Bar of Texas No.: 00783541 

 

 Attorney for Appellant, Fredrick Harris Stralow 

ACCEPTED

12-15-00224-CR

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS

TYLER, TEXAS

11/2/2015 12:00:00 AM

Pam Estes

CLERK

 RECEIVED IN 12th COURT OF APPEALS TYLER, TEXAS 10/31/2015 3:33:19 PM PAM ESTES Clerk
IDENTITIES OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL

State of Texas, Appellee

Prosecutor in Trial Court

 

Mr. Fredrick Harris Stralow, Appellant

Defendant in Trial Court

TRIAL COURT COUNSEL

Mr. Bill C. Stephens, Attorney for Defendant

433 North Gun Barrel Lane

Gun Barrel, Texas 75156-3731

Mr. Barry Lee Spencer, Jr., Attorney for State

100 E. Tyler St., Room 100

Athens, Texas 75751

Mr. Daniel Barnes, Attorney for State

100 E. Tyler St., Room 100

Athens, Texas 75751

APPELLATE COUNSEL

Ms. Linda Altier, Attorney for Appellant

1527 E. Fifth St.

Tyler, Texas 75701

Mr. Barry Lee Spencer, Attorney for State 

100 E. Tyler St., Room 100

Athens, Texas 75751

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Identity of Parties and Counsel ............................................................i

Index of Authorities ........................................................................iii

Statement of the Case .......................................................................2

Statement of the Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 2

Issues Presented ..............................................................................3

POINT OF ERROR:

THE EVIDENCE IS LEGALLY AND FACTUALLY INSUFFICIENT TO 

REJECT APPELLANT’S SELF-DEFENSE PLEA AND SUPPORT THE JURY’S 

FINDING OF GUILT.

Statement of Facts ...........................................................................3

Point of Error Restated..... .................................................................3

Summary of the Argument ..................................................................3

Argument and Authority .....................................................................4

Certificate of Service.........................................................................6

Certificate of Compliance....................................................................7

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INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

CASES: Page

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307; 99 S.Ct. 2781. . ....................................5

Smith v. State, 355 S.W.3d 138(Tex.App-Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, pet.ref’d) . . . .5

Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589 (Tex.Crim.App.2003)............................... .4

STATUTES AND RULES:

Texas Penal Code Ann. §9.31 (a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................. . . . 4

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 CASE NO. 12-15-00224-CR

 IN THE

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS

 TYLER, TEXAS

_______________________________

 FREDRICK HARRIS STRALOW, Appellant

 vs.

 THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

_______________________________

On Appeal from the

 County Court at Law No. 2

 Henderson County, Texas

 

(Trial Court Case Number: 2014-0626CL2)

Honorable Nancy Adams Perryman, Judge Presiding

AMENDED BRIEF OF APPELLANT

TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS:

COMES NOW FREDRICK HARRIS STRALOW, hereinafter

sometimes referred to as Appellant, and submits this his Amended Brief on Appeal 

in the above entitled and numbered Cause, pursuant to the provisions of the Texas 

Rules of Appellate Procedure. Appellant hereby waives oral argument.

1
STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On October 1, 2014, Mr. Fredrick Harris Stralow, hereinafter sometimes 

referred to as Appellant, was charged by Complaint and Information with Assault 

Causing Bodily Injury to a Family Member (CR 1:1-2). On May 11, 2015, a jury 

found Appellant guilty as charged in the Information (CR 1:38). On July 22, 2015 

the Court sentenced Appellant to three hundred sixty five (365) days confinement 

in the Henderson County Justice Center probated for twenty four (24) months 

community supervision, with special conditions of twenty (20) days in jail to be 

completed on weekends (CR 1:44-48). Appellant filed his Notice of Appeal on 

August 27, 2015 (CR 1:68).

STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

Therefore, the Twelfth Court of Appeals holds jurisdiction. 

Note: For purposes of this Appeal Brief, all references to the Clerk’s Record 

will be noted as “CR,” followed by the volume number and page number. 

References to the Reporter’s Record will be noted as “RR,” followed by the 

volume number, page number and line as necessary. Any emphasis added by this 

writer will be noted as same immediately following the word or phrase emphasized 

by italics. Where two or more points of error involve the same facts, they will be 

combined and argued together as permitted by the Texas Rules of Appellate 

Procedure.

2
ISSUES PRESENTED

POINT OF ERROR:

THE EVIDENCE IS LEGALLY AND FACTUALLY INSUFFICIENT TO 

REJECT APPELLANT’S SELF-DEFENSE PLEA AND SUPPORT THE JURY’S 

FINDING OF GUILT.

 STATEMENT OF FACTS

 Fredrick Harris Stralow was convicted of Assault Causing Bodily 

Injury to a Family Member in a trial by jury involving an altercation with his 24 

year old sister, Stephanie Nicole Duggan. Appellant, Mr. Stralow, plead 

self-defense against Ms. Duggan’s aggression against him. Ms. Duggan testified 

she yelled and cursed at Mr. Stralow for bringing to her attention the mess her 

eleven month old child had caused. She further testified that her actions escalated 

the situation when she pushed Mr. Stralow with her hands around his neck. Mr. 

Stralow testified the choke was hard enough to make him stop breathing and at this 

point he struck her in self-defense. The State did not provide the jury with any 

evidence to disprove Appellant’s self-defense plea.

POINT OF ERROR (Restated):

THE EVIDENCE IS LEGALLY AND FACTUALLY INSUFFICIENT TO 

REJECT APPELLANT’S SELF-DEFENSE PLEA AND SUPPORT THE JURY’S 

FINDING OF GUILT.

SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

The evidence presented at trial was factually and legally insufficient for a 

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jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant was guilty. Appellant

contends that the evidence the State presented at trial was insufficient to support 

the jury’s rejection of his self-defense claim.

 ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITY

Appellant argues that the evidence at trial showed that he was justified in 

defending himself when Ms. Stephanie Duggan choked him on October 1, 2014. 

Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 9.31 (a) states in part, “A person is justified in using force 

against another when and to the degree the actor reasonable believes the force is 

immediately necessary to protect the actor against the other’s use or attempted use 

of unlawful force.” Appellant met his burden to produce evidence in support of

his claim of self-defense by the following testimony: Ms. Stephanie Duggan 

testified that she escalated the argument when she yelled and cursed at Appellant 

(RR 2:66) and put her hands on his throat and pushed him (RR 2:83). Appellant 

testified that Ms. Duggan choked him so hard that it hurt and it was hard enough to 

make him stop breathing (RR 2:125). Appellant admitted that when Ms. Duggan 

grabbed him by the throat with both hands, he at that time reached over and hit her 

one time (RR 2:116). The State failed to provide the jury with controverting 

evidence to dispute Appellant’s self-defense. In Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589 

(Tex.Crim.App.2003), Defendant Zuliani was convicted of a misdemeanor assault

4
causing bodily injury and Zuliani plead self-defense. The facts are identical 

to Appellant’s, i.e. an argument escalated into a physical confrontation. The Court 

of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court’s finding of guilt. However, the Court of 

Criminal Appeals reversed and remanded the case for review based on the lack of 

the State’s evidence to support the jury’s rejection of Appellant’s self-defense plea. 

Smith v. State, 355 S.W.3d 138 (Tex.App-Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, pet.ref’d) holds 

that the State carries the burden of persuasion to disprove self-defense beyond a 

reasonable doubt and the review of challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence 

supporting a jury’s rejection of a claim of self-defense should only be under the 

Jackson standard. 

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307; 99 S.Ct. 2781, is the holding case and the 

final test for establishing the legal sufficiency of the evidence and the burden is on 

the State to prove each element of the criminal offense. Appellant argues that the 

evidence is legally insufficient to disprove his plea of self-defense. The only 

evidence that the State presented to the jury for consideration in Appellant’s 

self-defense plea was in the State’s final argument: “Y’all saw the injuries. Y’all 

saw Stephanie. No red marks on him. Oh, she choked me so hard I couldn’t 

breathe. Bull.” (RR 2:151;L 16-18)

Accordingly, this case should be remanded.

5
PRAYER

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellant respectfully prays 

this Honorable Court hold that the evidence was insufficient for the jury to find 

Appellant guilty and reject his self-defense plea. Appellant prays that this case be 

remanded to the Henderson County Court at Law #2.

 Respectfully Submitted,

ALTIER LAW OFFICES

1527 E. Fifth St.

Tyler, Texas 75701

Tel: 903-595-4232

Fax: 903-595-0031

altierlaw@gmail.com

By: /s/ Linda A. Altier

TSBN: 00783541

Attorney for Appellant

Fredrick Harris Stralow

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the 

foregoing Amended Appellant’s Brief has been served on Barry L. Spencer,

Attorney for the State, Henderson County Assistant County Attorney, 100 E. Tyler 

St., Room 100, Athens, Texas, by e-mail to barryspencer@co.henderson.tx.us , on 

October 31, 2015.

/s/ Linda A. Altier 

6
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

In compliance with TRAP 9.4(i), the undersigned hereby certifies that 

the number of words contained in the above Amended Brief of Appellant are 694; 

excluding caption, identity of parties and counsel, statement regarding oral 

argument, table of contents, index of authorities, statement of the case, statement 

of issues presented, statement of jurisdiction, signature, proof of service, 

certification, and certificate of compliance.

/s/ Linda A. Altier

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