Case Name: Michael F. ROSALES, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1999-10-13
Citations: 4 S.W.3d 228
Docket Number: No. 73163
Parties: Michael F. ROSALES, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas.
Judges: in which MANSFIELD, KELLER, HOLLAND, WOMACK and KEASLER, JJ., joined.
Reporter: South Western Reporter Third Series
Volume: 4
Pages: 228–240

Head Matter:
Michael F. ROSALES, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas.
No. 73163.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, En Banc.
Oct. 13, 1999.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 24, 1999.
David T. Duncan, Jr., Lubbock, for appellant.
Wade Jackson, Asst. Dist. Atty., Lubbock, Matthew Paul, State’s Atty., Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
OPINION
McCORMICK, P.J.,
delivered the opinion of the Court
in which MANSFIELD, KELLER, HOLLAND, WOMACK and KEASLER, JJ., joined.
The offense is capital murder and the sentence is death. Appellant raises seven points of error. We affirm.
Appellant voluntarily confessed to murdering the elderly victim in the course of a burglary of her apartment. Appellant's confession came after the police confronted him with photographs of his bloody clothing. Shortly after the murder appellant went to bed in another apartment in the apartment complex. Appellant acted suspiciously during the police crime-scene investigation. He later led police to the murder weapons — a bloody knife with a four-and-a-half-inch blade that was bent upward, a two-pronged kitchen fork with the tongs bent backward, and a bloody pair of needle-nose pliers. A forensic pathologist testified the victim died of multiple stab wounds to the head. The pathologist testified the victim suffered twenty-one stab wounds, twenty-eight incised or cut wounds, thirty-four cutaneous blunt force injury wounds, and thirty-one puncture wounds. The blood on appellant's clothing was consistent with the victim's blood. Other evidence showed appellant's shoes made two bloody shoe prints at the crime scene.
In his first point of error, appellant claims the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction. The evidence outlined above is sufficient to support the substantive elements of the offense. See Malik v. State, 953 S.W.2d 284, 236-40 (Tex.Cr.App.1997) (evidentiary sufficiency measured against "the elements of the offense").
Appellant nevertheless claims he is entitled to an appellate acquittal because the indictment alleged he killed the victim "by stabbing [her] with a knife and by striking [her] with a hard object-the exact nature of which is unknown to the grand jury," and the prosecution failed to prove the grand jury used due diligence "in determining the exact nature of an alleged 'hard object.' " See generally Hicks v. State, 860 S.W.2d 419, 424 (Tex.Cr.App.1998):
"[W]hen an indictment alleges that the manner and means of inflicting the injury is unknown and the evidence at trial does not establish the type of weapon used, a prima facie showing is made that the weapon was unknown to the grand jury. (Citation Omitted). However, if the evidence at trial shows what object was used to inflict the injury, then the State must prove that the grand jury used due diligence in attempting to ascertain the weapon used. (Citation Omitted)."
The prosecution satisfied the "due diligence" requirement when it proved through one of the grand jurors that the grand jury was unable to find out what object caused the various injuries. In addition, the jury was charged in the disjunctive and the evidence is sufficient to support a finding that appellant killed the victim with a knife. See Kitchens v. State, 823 S.W.2d 256, 258-59 (Tex.Cr.App.1991), cert.denied, 504 U.S. 958, 112 S.Ct. 2309, 119 L.Ed.2d 230 (1992) (when jury returns general guilty verdict on an indictment charging alternative theories of committing the same offense, the verdict stands if evidence supports any of the theories alleged). In addition the rule in cases like Hicks is no longer viable in light of our decision in Malik. See Malik, 953 S.W.2d at 239-40.
Appellant also argues the trial court erred in charging the jury in the disjunctive. We disagree. See White v. State, 890 S.W.2d 69, 72 (Tex.Cr.App.1994) (although indictment may allege manner and means of committing offense in the conjunctive, jury may be charged in the disjunctive and a conviction on any method alleged will be upheld if the evidence supports it). Point of error one is overruled.
In his second point of error, appellant claims he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because: 1) his counsel wasted a peremptory strike on a venire-member he should have challenged for cause, and 2) he failed to object to the trial court's charge which authorized the jury to convict appellant if he stabbed or struck the victim, whereas the indictment alleged he was guilty only if the State proved appellant stabbed and struck the victim. In light of our disposition of point of error one, the latter claim is without merit.
The standard for reviewing an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is set out in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Under Strickland, a defendant must show deficient attorney performance and prejudice. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. This requires a defendant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that trial counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms (deficient attorney performance) and that this deficient performance rendered the result of the proceeding unreliable (prejudice). Id.; see also Lockhart v. Fretwell, 506 U.S. 364, 113 S.Ct. 838, 842-43, 122 L.Ed.2d 180 (1993) (prejudice requires showing that counsel's deficient performance deprived the defendant of "a fair trial, a trial whose result is rehable"). Federal constitutional law requires appellate courts to assess prejudice from counsel's deficient performance in light of the Sixth Amendment's underlying purpose of making a reliable determination of the truth because the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel is not recognized "for its own sake" but for the sake of making this rehable determination of the truth. Id.
With regard to the "wasted peremptory" ineffective assistance of counsel claim, appellant asserts that veniremember Michael Carley should have been challenged for cause because he "clearly indicated that he would improperly consider [ajppellant's failure to testify or put on evidence." A review of the record reveals that after the parties finished questioning Carley, the State commented that the veniremember was acceptable. Defense counsel then said that they had no legal challenge for cause and exercised a peremptory challenge. After a ten minute break, during which time defense counsel apparently realized that he had meant to challenge Carley for cause, the trial judge called the parties together and allowed counsel to make his challenge. The judge thereafter denied the challenge. Because counsel did challenge the venireperson for cause, appellant's assertion that he was ineffective on this basis must fail. Point of error two is overruled.
In his third point of error, appellant claims he was denied due process of law under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the right to the assistance of counsel under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments when the trial judge denied his motion to view the crime scene with his counsel. Appellant argues the denial of his motion denied him a basic tool of his defense which would have been available were he not indigent.
The record reflects appellant filed a motion "requesting that he be allowed to accompany his attorney to the alleged crime scene to assist his attorney in the taking of measurements, photographs and otherwise assisting his attorney's investigation of the scene." Appellant and his lawyer had access to all photographs, videotapes, audio tapes, drawings, charts and diagrams made by the prosecution and the police in regard to the crime scene except for work product. The trial judge ordered the prosecution to turn over its work product to appellant if his lawyer was not allowed access to the crime scene. The prosecution also had an "open file" policy. The record is silent on who, if anyone, was living in the victim's former apartment when appellant asked to go there with his lawyer to take measurements and photographs.
Appellant primarily relies on Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 76, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), to support his claim. However, Alee does not apply here because it deals with when a trial court is constitutionally required to appoint psychiatric experts to assist the defense. See also, Rey v. State, 897 S.W.2d 333 (Tex.Cr.App.1995). Moreover, on this record we fail to perceive how the trial court's denial of appellant's motion to accompany his lawyer to the crime scene prejudiced or harmed appellant. Point of error three is overruled.
In points of error four through seven, appellant complains the trial court erred in denying his challenges for cause to four different venirepersons. To preserve error on this issue, an appellant must demonstrate on the record that he asserted a clear and specific challenge for cause, that he used a peremptory challenge on the complained-of venireperson, that all his peremptory challenges were exhausted, that his request for additional strikes was denied, and that an objectionable juror sat on the jury. Green v. State, 934 S.W.2d 92, 105 (Tex.Cr.App.1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1200, 117 S.Ct. 1561, 137 L.Ed.2d 707 (1997).
The record in the instant case shows that, after the parties accepted the eleventh juror, appellant exhausted his fifteenth peremptory challenge. Appellant then requested and received two additional challenges. After using those challenges, appellant again requested additional challenges, but the request was denied. The twelfth juror was seated shortly thereafter over appellant's objection.
When the trial judge errs in overruling a challenge for cause against a venireperson, the defendant is harmed only if he uses a peremptory strike to remove the venireperson and thereafter suffers a detriment from the loss of the strike. Demouchette v. State, 731 S.W.2d 75, 83 (Tex.Cr.App.1986), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 920, 107 S.Ct. 3197, 96 L.Ed.2d 685 (1987). Because the record reflects that appellant received two extra strikes in addition to the fifteen he is granted by statute, he did not suffer the loss of two strikes. Hence, for appellant to demonstrate harm and, thus, reversible error, he must show that challenges for cause on at least three different veniremembers were erroneously denied. Penny v. State, 903 S.W.2d 715, 732 (Tex.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 977, 116 S.Ct. 480, 133 L.Ed.2d 408 (1995); Martinez v. State, 763 S.W.2d 413, 425 (Tex.Cr.App.1988), cert. denied, 512 U.S. 1246, 114 S.Ct. 2765, 129 L.Ed.2d 879 (1994).
In his fourth point of error, appellant asserts his challenge for cause against prospective juror Manuel Mojica should have been granted because Mojica stated that he could not consider certain types of evidence to be mitigating. This Court has held on numerous occasions that an appellant is not entitled to voir dire prospective jurors on whether they could consider particular types of mitigating evidence during the capital sentencing phase. See, e.g., Raby v. State, 970 S.W.2d 1, 3 (Tex.Cr.App.1998), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 119 S.Ct. 515, 142 L.Ed.2d 427 (1998). Furthermore, if a judge does allow such questions and a prospective juror states that he would not consider a particular type of evidence as mitigating, that prospective juror cannot be removed for cause on that basis. Id. Hence, the trial court properly overruled appellant's challenge to Mojica on this issue.
Appellant also asserts that Mo-jica was challengeable because he could not consider the full range of punishment of lesser offenses. In a criminal trial, both the defendant and the State have the right to have jurors who believe in the full range of punishment. Johnson v. State, 982 S.W.2d 403, 405-406 (Tex.Cr.App.1998).
"Prospective jurors 'must be able, in a sense, to conceive both of a situation in which the minimum penalty would be appropriate and of a situation in which the maximum punishment would be appropriate.' (Citation Omitted). What we meant in (citation omitted) was that prospective jurors must be able to accept that, for the offense in question, the minimum legal punishment will be appropriate in some circumstances and the maximum legal punishment will be appropriate in some circumstances. In other words, prospective jurors must be able to keep an open mind with respect to punishment until they hear the evidence in the case being tried." Id.
The record shows that during questioning of this venireperson by defense counsel, counsel asked Mojica if he "would have problems sitting on a jury where you're asked to consider the lesser murder, which carries a bottom [sentence] of only five years?" Mojica responded that he would not have a problem with that scenario. Shortly thereafter, defense counsel asked Mojica if he could consider giving a five-year sentence for the offense of felony murder and Mojica responded, "No, probably not." Upon questioning by the court, Mojica confirmed that he could consider the full range of punishment. Given the veniremember's answers, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying appellant's challenge for cause on this issue. Johnson, 982 S.W.2d at 405-406. Point of error four is overruled.
In his fifth point, appellant submits prospective juror Jo Ann Womack was chal-lengeable because she would not be able to consider certain types of evidence to be mitigating. Because appellant was not entitled to ask these types of questions, the trial court did not err in overruling appellant's challenge for cause on this basis. See, e.g., Raby, 970 S.W.2d at 3. Point of error five is overruled.
Because we hold the trial court did not abuse its discretion regarding two of the four eomplained-of challenges, appellant cannot show harm on appeal. Penry, supra. Therefore, we need not address points of error six and seven pertaining to prospective jurors Hallenbeck and Farmer. Id.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
MEYERS, J., filed concurring opinion; WOMACK, J., filed concurring opinion in which MANSFIELD and KELLER, JJ., joined; JOHNSON, J., filed concurring opinion; PRICE, J., concurs in the result.
. The State claims Carley equivocated on this issue, and the record supports this assertion.