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CAUSES 13-15-00374-CR

IN THE THIRTEENTH SUPREME JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT 

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS

VINCENT ORISBEL BARRERA, APPELLANT

VS.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

APPELLANT’S BRIEF

Trial Cause 14-9-9313

Jackson Co. District Court

Submitted by

W. A. (BILL) WHITE

Attorney for Appellant

POB 7422, Victoria, TX 77903

(361) 575-1774 voice & fax

TBN 00788659

ORAL ARGUMENT NOT REQUESTED

13-15-00374-CR

ACCEPTED

13-15-00374-CR

THIRTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS

9/15/2015 4:33:27 PM

Dorian E. Ramirez

CLERK

 FILED IN 13th COURT OF APPEALS CORPUS CHRISTI/EDINBURG, TEXAS 9/15/2015 4:33:27 PM DORIAN E. RAMIREZ Clerk
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IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL

Appellant was represented at trial by Brenna Crane, 

Attorney at Law, 302 West Forrest St., Victoria, TX 

77901. Appellant is represented on appeal by W. A. 

(Bill) White, Attorney at Law, POB 7422, Victoria, TX 

77903-7422.

During trial, appellant was a resident of Jackson 

County, Texas. Appellant is currently incarcerated in 

IDTDCJ.

The State was represented at trial by Robert E. 

Bell, D.A., of the Jackson County District Attorney’s 

Office, 115 W. Main Street, Room 205, Edna, TX 77957. 

Appellant anticipates that Jim Vollers, Attorney at 

Law, 2201 Westover Road, Austin, TX 78703, will handle 

the State’s reply brief in this cause.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Index of Authorities 4

Appellant’s Brief 5

Statement of Case and Statement of Facts 5

Issue Presented 6

Summary of Argument 6

Argument 6

Sole Issue 6

Prayer 8

Certificate of Service 9

Certificate of Compliance 9
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INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

Cases Page

Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977) 8

Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277 (1983) 8

Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958) 8

Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349 (1910) 7

Constitutional Provisions

U.S. Const. amend VIII 8
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CAUSE 13-15-00374-CR

Trial Cause 14-9-9313

VINCENT ORISBEL BARRERA IN THE THIRTEENTH

VS. COURT OF APPEALS AT

THE STATE OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS

APPELLANT’S BRIEF

TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF SAID COURT:

COMES NOW APPELLANT, VINCENT ORISBEL BARERA, 

through counsel, W. A. (BILL) WHITE, Attorney at Law, 

showing:

STATEMENT OF CASE AND STATEMENT OF FACTS

Appellant was indicted in September 2014 for 

tampering with physical evidence, a third degree 

felony. The indictment alleged four prior felony 

convictions in enhancement paragraphs, making the 

offense that of habitual felon (25 to 99 years or life 

in IDTDCJ). The indicted crime was alleged to have 

occurred on or about 7/24/14 in Jackson County, Texas.

Appellant, with counsel, pled “not guilty” to his

indictment without plea agreement on 7/15/15 in open 
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court, and “true” to the four enhancement paragraphs.

(RR Vol. 2, pp. 9-12). All issues of guilt/innocence 

and punishment were tried before the bench on 7/15/15

and 7/16/15, without a jury. At the conclusion of 

evidence and argument, the trial court found appellant 

guilty of the indicted offense and assessed punishment 

at 40 years in IDTDCJ. (RR Vol. 3, pp. 10-11)

ISSUE PRESENTED

APPELLANT’S SENTENCE OF 40 YEARS IN PRISON FOR THIS 

CRIME CONSTITUTES CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

Appellant should have received a prison sentence 

shorter than 40 years for this theft-related crime 

under evolving standards of decency echoed in the 

eighth amendment.

ARGUMENT

SOLE ISSUE

Appellant visited a convenience store in Jackson 

County on 7/24/14 in the daytime during an hour when 
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the store had no patrons, only owners and employees. A 

child of the owners had left her cell phone sitting on 

the edge of a beer tray inside the store and walked 

off. Appellant took the phone and later, according to 

the State, removed and erased its “sim” card, scrubbing 

the phone of all ownership indicia (photos, screensaver 

art, contacts, text messages, etc.). According to the 

State, this “scrubbing” of the sim card amounted to 

tampering with physical evidence.

An objection on grounds of cruel and unusual 

punishment grounds was raised by trial counsel when 

appellant was sentenced to 40 years in prison. This 

objection was overruled by the trial court. (RR Vol. 3, 

p. 11). A 40-year sentence is disproportionate to 

appellant’s offense in this cause.

The constitutional principal of proportionality has 

been recognized explicitly in the U.S. Supreme Court 

for over a hundred years. See generally Weems v. United 

States, 217 U.S. 349 (1910). A criminal sentence must 

be proportionate to the crime for which the defendant 
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has been convicted. Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 291 

(1983). A court must consider the severity of the 

penalty in deciding whether it is disproportionate. 

See, e.g., Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584, 598 (1977).

The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment is 

contained within the eighth amendment to our federal 

constitution. See U.S. Const. amend VIII.

Applying evolving standards of decency that mark 

the progress of a maturing society [see generally Trop 

v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958)], appellant’s prison 

sentence in this cause should be vacated and rendered 

for far less than 40 years.

Appellant, although he has an extensive criminal 

history, committed a completely nonviolent property 

crime in this cause. A 40-year sentence is simply too 

high for such an offense.

PRAYER

Appellant prays that his sentence be vacated in 

this cause and rendered for less than 40 years.
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Respectfully submitted,

/s/ W. A. White

W. A. (BILL) WHITE

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

POB 7422, Vict., TX 77903

(361) 575-1774 voice/fax

TBN 00788659

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a true and correct copy or duplicate 

original of the foregoing has been provided to Robert 

E. Bell, D.A., Jackson Co. District Attorney’s Office, 

115 W. Main Street, Room 205, Edna, TX 77957 via U.S. 

mail, fax, electronic delivery, or hand-delivery on 

this the 15th day of September 2015.

/s/ W. A. White

W. A. White

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

I certify that this brief contains 919 words.

/s/ W. A. White

W. A. White