Court Opinion

ID: 9660145
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:06:19.015456+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:15.966045
License: Public Domain

MANSFIELD, Judge,
concurring.
I join the opinion of the Court. However, for the reasons expressed herein, I write *589separately with respect to points of error numbers one, two, three and four. These points of error concern the relevancy of evidence of purported gang membership of the appellant during the guilt-innocence phase of appellant’s trial.
Evidence presented at trial established appellant and three other individuals met at an apartment to plan a robbery of the victim’s house. They subsequently walked to the residence of a fifth individual and then drove to a convenience store to get some beer. During the drive, the five talked about the planned robbery and about “Crips and Bloods and stuff.” On the way to the victim’s house they stopped at a store, where they saw a man pumping gas. They talked about which Crip “had the heart” to knock out and rob the man. However, no attempt was made to assault or rob the man, though there was testimony that two of the five did get out of the car and walked toward the man. Other testimony at trial showed the five made statements about gangs before and after commission of the offense and performed “Crip handshakes.” Deon Williams testified he had no personal knowledge about whether appellant was a member of the Crips or any other gang. Williams earlier had testified he had “heard on the street” appellant was in a gang.
Appellant, prior to trial, filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence and testimony about gang membership. Appellant’s objections to Williams’ testimony concerning appellant’s alleged gang activities were overruled; the trial court granted appellant a running objection.
“Relevant evidence” is evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Tex. R.Crim.Evid. 401. Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 403. Character evidence is generally admissible at the punishment phase of trial pursuant to Texas Rule of Criminal Evidence 404(c); use of character evidence at the guilt-innocence phase of trial is restricted by the provisions of Texas Rule of Criminal Evidence 404(a).
In Anderson v. State, 901 S.W.2d 946 (Tex.Crim.App.1995), and in Beasley v. State, 902 S.W.2d 452 (Tex.Crim.App.1995), this Court found evidence of gang membership to be admissible at the punishment phase of the defendant’s trial as relevant character evidence. We acknowledged that testimony as to gang membership and as to the criminal activities of the gang may have been prejudicial. However, the testimony was not unfairly prejudicial because the jury was only required to determine the defendant’s character based on his gang membership and they were not required to determine whether the defendant was guilty of the misconduct or bad acts of the gang. Anderson, supra, at 950.1 Therefore, we held evidence of gang membership was admissible as character evidence at punishment under Texas Rule of Criminal Evidence 404(c) and Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 37.07, Section 3(a). Anderson, supra, at 952 (Mansfield, J., concurring). We did not address, in Anderson and Beasley, whether evidence of gang membership of an accused is admissible at the guilt-innocence phase of his trial.
In the present case, however, the only testimony that appellant belonged to a gang was the testimony of Williams, who admitted he had no first-hand knowledge appellant was a gang member. There was some testimony appellant and his accomplices talked about gangs and even performed a gang handshake, but none of this testimony was *590evidence of actual gang membership.2 Indeed, this testimony is best characterized as “bragging,” rather than as probative or reliable. Even assuming, arguendo, that evidence of gang membership is admissible as relevant under Rule 401 at the guilt-innocence phase of trial, it is my opinion that this evidence was erroneously admitted and should have been excluded under Rule 403, given its lack of reliability and given its highly prejudicial nature.
However, applying the harmless error analysis set forth in Bishop v. State, 869 S.W.2d 342, 346-347 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), it is my opinion the error in admitting the gang-related testimony in the present case was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Tex. Rule App. Proc. 81(b)(2). First, we note appellant was observed shooting the victim in the head by Williams, who so testified at trial.3 Second, Michael Kendricks, a fellow inmate of appellant, testified appellant told him he shot the victim. Third, appellant was arrested while driving the victim’s car. Fourth, several witnesses linked appellant to the weapon used to shoot the victim. This evidence, taken together, is overwhelming evidence of appellant’s guilt.
While overwhelming evidence of guilt is a factor to be taken into account, we have held that if the error was of a magnitude that it disrupted the juror’s orderly evaluation of the evidence, then the conviction is tainted and reversal is required, no matter how overwhelming the evidence of guilt might have been. Harris v. State, 790 S.W.2d 568, 588 (Tex.Crim.App.1989). In my opinion, the gang-related testimony did not disrupt the jury’s orderly evaluation of the evidence. The testimony itself consisted solely of “gang-talk” among appellant and his “ho-mies,” plus Williams’ testimony as to his second-hand knowledge of appellant’s gang membership. Additionally, the State did not introduce any evidence as to violent or illegal activities engaged in by gangs such as the Crips, which would have made the testimony of appellant’s alleged gang membership more prejudicial. Finally, the testimony was introduced primarily to place the instant offense in context, i.e., the possible motivation behind its commission. Perhaps most significantly, the State did not mention gangs or appellant’s alleged gang membership during its closing argument; given this record it is apparent the State was not attempting to taint the trial process by emphasizing the gang related testimony at one of the most critical stages of the trial — closing argument.4
Because, in my opinion, the erroneous admission of gang-related testimony did not contribute to appellant’s conviction or punishment as it did not impermissibly taint appellant’s trial for the reasons given above, I conclude beyond a reasonable doubt the error was harmless.
With these comments, I join the opinion of the Court.

. In Anderson, Ferguson, a Fort Worth police officer, testified as to his personal knowledge of defendant’s membership in a gang called the Canine Posse. Officer Ferguson testified he observed the defendant on several occasions wearing a Canine Posse tee shirt. He further testified he saw the defendant "hanging out” with other Canine Posse members. Finally, Officer Ferguson testified as to his personal knowledge that the Canine Posse was involved in the distribution of illegal drugs in and around the Caville Apartments.

. Compare to Anderson, where a police officer witness testified as to his first-hand knowledge that the defendant belonged to a gang.

. Appellant contends that he shot the victim in the jaw and that this was not a fatal wound. (Another individual shot the victim in the brain.) The medical examiner testified the wound to the victim’s jaw could have been mortal.

.In Harris, supra, at 587, this Court held, in conducting a harmless error analysis, the reviewing court must determine whether declaring a particular error harmless would encourage the State to repeat it with impunity. I do not see, logically, how such a determination can be made and urge that we reexamine this aspect of Harris.