C O U R T O F A P P E A LS EI GHTH D I STRI CT OF TEX AS ELPASO, TEXAS
WI L L I AM CURTI S GRI FF I N, J R., Ap pe lla nt,
v. TH E ST AT E O F TE XA S, Appellee
. § § § § § § No . 0 8- 08 -0 00 17 -C R

Appea l from 292nd District Court of Da llas County , Texas (TC # F- 06-34410-V)
O P I N I O N Wil liam Curtis Griffin, J r., appe als his conviction of driving while i ntox icated, third of fense
. Appellant wa ived his rig ht to a jury trial and entered an open plea of guilty
. The trial c ourt found Appellant g uilty

and assessed punishment at e ight y ear s’ imprisonment in the Institut ional Division of the Te x as De partment of Criminal Just ice. We af firm. F ACTUAL AND P ROCEDURAL BACK GR OUND B e c a us e our d isp os iti on

is p re dic a te d u

po n a pr oc e dura l de fa

ult , o ur rec itatio n o f t

he fa c ts wi ll b e bri ef. On

Oc tob e r 2 6, 20 07 , App e lla nt p le d guil ty

to t he c ha rg e d o ff e ns e of dr ivi ngwh ile intox icated ( “DWI ”), third offense
. I n addition to the para g raphs a lleg ing A ppellant had two pr ior DWI convictions, the indictment alleg ed that Appe llant had pre viously bee n co n v icted of unauthorized use of a

motor vehicle w hich enha nced the punishmen t ra n ge from a third de g ree felony to a second- deg ree felony
. Appellant judicially confe ssed to the cha rg ed off ense, inc luding the jur isd ic tio na l a lle g a tio ns , an d ple d tru e to the e nh anc e me nt para g ra ph . The tr ia l c ourt

c or re c tly admonished Appe llant th at t he punishment rang e for the offe nse is a fine up to $10,000 and imprisonment from two to twenty y ear s. Appellant testified that he understood that by pleadingtrueto the enhanc ement par ag raph, his punishment would rang e fr om t wo t o t we n t y y ear s in the penitentiary
. See T EX .P EN .C ODE ANN . §§ 12.33(a) & 12.42(a)( 3)(Ve rnon 2003 and V ernon Supp. 2008). The trial court found Appellant g uilty and asse ssed punishment at eig ht y ear s’ imprisonment in the I nstitut ional Division of the Texas De p ar t m en t o f Criminal J ustice. Appe llant timely filed
no tic e of a pp e a l. CRUEL AND UN USUAL P UNISHMENT I n three related points of err or, Appe llant contends that the trial c ourt abused its discre tion in sentencinghim to eight y ear s’ imprisonment. Appellant complains that his sentenc e constitutes
crue l and unusual punishment under the Eig hth and Four t eenth Ame ndments of the United States Constit ution and Article O ne, Section 19 of the Texas Consti tution. To prese rve a complaint for appellate revie w, the rec ord must show that the complaint was
m ad e t o the trial cour

t by timely and spec ific re quest, objection, or motion. See T EX .R.A PP .P. 33 .1 (a ); Re

y na v . S tat e , 1 68 S.W. 3d

17 3, 17 7 ( Te x.Cr im. Ap p. 20 05 ). Ev e n c on sti tut ion a l r ig hts , su c h a s th e ri g ht t o b e fr e e fr om c ru e l and unus ua l punis hme nt, may be wa ive d by fa ilure to o bje c t. Se e Cur ry v . S tat e , 9 10 S.W. 2d

49 0, 49 7 (T e x.Cr im. Ap p. 19 95 )( fi nd ing that the de fe nd ant fa ile d to prese rve e rror

that his sentence violated co n s tituti onal prohibition ag ainst crue l and unusual punishments under the Eig hth and Four teenth Amendme nts beca use he n ever objecte d at trial). Appellant did not object or ra i s e any of the c omplaints presented on a ppeal whe n the trial cour t pronounce d sent ence nor did he ra ise them in a motion for newtrial. Consequently , he has f ailed to prese rve the asser

ted er ror. Cas te ne da v . S

tat e , 135 S.W .3d 719, 723 (Tex.App.--Da llas 2003, no pet .). Ev en if

Ap pe lla nt h a d p re se rv e d th e se c on te nti on s f or our r e vie w, the y

are wi tho ut m e ri t. Pun ish me nt a sse sse d w ith in t he statut or

y ra ng e is n ot u

nc on sti tut ion a lly

c ru e l and

unus ua l. Casteneda , 135 S.W .3d at 72 3
. We overrule Points of Err or One throug h Three and af firm thejud g me nt o f t he tr ia l c ourt . Aug ust 26, 2009 ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, J ustice B e f o r e C h e w , C
. J. , M c C l u r e , a n d C ar r , JJ. Carr, J., not participating (Do Not Publish)