Court Opinion

ID: 9748137
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 15:53:04.86309+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:32.027691
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion by
Justice CARTER.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Johnson held that the failure of the defendant to sign a written waiver of jury trial is not harmful error when the record shows the defendant was aware of such right and waived it. Johnson v. State, 72 S.W.3d 346, 349 (Tex.Crim.App.2002). The effect of the Johnson opinion is that a written document is not the exclusive way to evidence waiver of a jury trial. In this case, the record shows that Smith knew of his jury trial rights because he signed a form in which it appears he waived such right as to the guilt/innocence trial. However, the fact that he knew of the right does not supply evidence that he waived that right. In fact, the record shows that he specifically refused to waive his jury trial right as to punishment by affirmatively marking out that part of the printed form. Further, the fact that he signed a written waiver of jury trial as to both guilt and punishment in another case weighs against a finding of waiver in this case. If anything, it shows that he intended to waive a jury trial in both guilt and punishment stages of the first trial, but here he specifically preserved his right to a jury trial for punishment.
In Johnson, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals noted that the judgment recited a waiver of jury trial and declared that such a recitation was binding in the absence of direct proof to the contrary. Id. Here, such a recitation is in the judgment, but direct contrary proof is in the record — the waiver of jury trial as to punishment has been marked out. We simply do not have evidence that Smith waived his statutory right to a jury trial on punishment. The error cannot be considered harmless. I would reverse the case for a new punishment trial.
I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion.