Court Opinion

ID: 9645727
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:33:39.89051+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:28.829308
License: Public Domain

HILL, Justice (Assigned),
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent because counsel’s action in allowing the State to offer the only testimony about Tapia being the shooter through hearsay statements of individuals who, if called to testify, would not have testified in that way, constituted deficient performance that prejudiced Tapia’s defense.
The majority mentions other evidence of Tapia’s guilt, including that he was the only occupant of the vehicle who ran when the police stopped the car, that he gave a false name and lowered his age, and that he was a member of the gang that apparently did the shooting. I believe that there is a question as to whether this evidence would have been sufficient to support a conviction. However, even if this evidence were sufficient to support a conviction, it pales when compared to the testimony that every other occupant of the car indicated that Tapia was the shooter.
The majority states that it cannot say that “no reasonable counsel” would not have objected to this testimony. It fails to say what conceivable trial strategy could have been at work in failing to make an objection to keep out the only testimony directly establishing Tapia’s guilt. As the majority acknowledges, the record need not reflect trial counsel’s strategy when the record clearly confirms that no reasonable trial counsel could have made such trial decisions, referring to the Court of Criminal Appeals decision in Vasquez v. State, 830 S.W.2d 948, 950-51 (Tex.Crim.App.1992) (per curiam). I conclude that the record clearly confirms that no reasonable trial counsel could have made a decision not to exclude the most damning evidence that the State had. I would therefore find that trial counsel was ineffective.
I would hold that there was a reasonable probability that the outcome would have been different but for the error of counsel in failing to object to the only evidence directly implicating Tapia as the shooter. I would sustain point of error number two, reverse this conviction, and remand for trial.