Court Opinion

ID: 9683483
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:29:38.023471+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:48.196976
License: Public Domain

BROOKSHIRE, Justice,
dissenting.
This dissent is respectfully filed. The Court’s opinion reverses the judgment on the appellant’s first point of error. The first point of error is set out in the majority opinion. The other opinion points out that the appellant makes no complaint of the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions. As well, the Court has decided that the challenged evidence is definitely relevant. Even though this evidence is cogently relevant, the Court reverses the judgment because of its admission.
The resulting reversal of the judgment is based upon a minute part of the evidence and testimony of the appellant’s ex-wife, Ms. S. The ex-wife was recalled to the stand by the defense and testified during the appellant’s case-in-chief.
The objected-to testimony is comprised of three questions and three answers. Simply summarized, the questions to the ex-spouse were: did the appellant like to engage from time to time in anal intercourse; did the appellant require her to perform sexual acts such as fondling on herself; was the appellant capable of performing sexually for an extended period of time without ejaculating. The answer to all three questions was “yes”. The time taken was about a minute or less. Similar sexual activities and performances were testified to at length by the victim. She swore that her assailant acted and performed in a very similar manner.
The evidence of the similar acts was not admitted until after the defendant had raised the defensive issues of alibi and that a third person committed the brutal acts. These matters came before the jury near the very end of the first phase of the trial. Because of the defensive stratagems, this testimony became more than ordinarily relevant and needful to the prosecution. At the time this evidence came before the jury, its relevancy and its probativeness far outweighed any unfair prejudicial effect.
The appellant claimed no surprise concerning her testimony. Appellant failed to request any limiting instruction. See Plante v. State, 692 S.W.2d 487 (Tex.Crim.App.1985). Importantly, there was other evidence that placed the appellant at the scene of the indicted offense. The record reflects that black walking shorts belonging to the appellant and a certain card, being a “Declaration of Love”, belonging to the appellant was left at the scene. Appellant’s point of error avers that the trial court erred in admitting evidence pursuant to Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 404(b) and that the said Rule 404(b) was violated. The parties conceded that a paramount issue in the trial was the identity of the perpetrator of the very brutal acts committed against the victim. The challenged testimony was directly relevant to identity and was clearly admissible as rebuttal to appellant’s defenses.
Evidence of “other crimes, wrongs, or acts” may be admissible if this same evidence has relevance apart from its tendency to prove the character of a person in order to show that he or she acted in conformity therewith. The record reflects that the State had a right to introduce such evidence where it logically served, as here, to make more probable, rather than less probable, an elemental fact. The elemental fact here being the issue and fact of identity. Evidence of evidentiary facts that inferentially leads to an elemental fact may be admissible. Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 401, 404(b). The Court of Criminal Appeals significantly held in Montgomery v. State, 810 *438S.W.2d 372 (Tex.Crim.App.1990) (Opinion on Rehearing on Court’s own Motion) that illustrative of the permissible purposes for which evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts may be put before the jury are proofs of such matters as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or the absence of mistake or accident.
Thus, extraneous offenses and acts, and the evidence thereof, may logically serve any of the above listed purposes. Such evidence is relevant beyond its tendency to prove the character of an accused. Therefore, the testimony of Ms. S. is clearly admissible subject only to the trial court’s discretion to exclude the same if, but only if, its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. All evidence introduced against an accused if material to an issue of the case (and here identity was an important issue in the case) tends to prove guilt and is prejudicial. The operative prejudice must be clearly unfair. Evidence is unfairly prejudicial when it tends to have some adverse effect upon an accused beyond tending to prove a relevant fact or issue. Hence, no operative, unfair prejudice exists.
The unfair prejudicial effect may be created by the tendency of the evidence to prove some adverse fact that is simply not in issue. That is not the situation in the case before us. Or, the prejudicial effect may arise from evidence that unfairly excites emotions against the defendant. But these are questions to be decided by the trial court in the use of discretion. Simply put, a prejudicial effect does not constitute the showing of unfair prejudice. Basically, unfair prejudice means an undue tendency to suggest a decision of guilt on an improper, unlawful basis.
Intermediate appellate courts should afford trial courts reasonably efficacious discretion to admit or to exclude evidence from the jury’s consideration. If the trial court determines that the other crime, wrong, or act has relevancy apart from character conformity and that it tends to establish some elemental fact such as identity or intent, the same is admissible. If this evidence rebuts a defensive theory, the same is admissible before the fact-finders.
It is significant that in Montgomery, supra, the Court pointed out in its opinion on the motion for rehearing that upon a timely request the trial judge should instruct the jury that the evidence is limited in purpose. No limiting instruction was requested. See Plante, supra.
The ultimate determination to be made by the trial court is whether the danger of undue, unfair prejudice substantially outweighs the probative value of the evidence in view of the availability of other means of proof. In the case before us the assailant wore a face mask and the trial court correctly decided that other means of proof under this unique record were not realistically available. A factor to consider is the strength of the proponent’s evidence to show that the accused, in fact, committed the extraneous conduct. Here the State clearly showed that through the testimony of the ex-wife of the appellant. The challenged evidence does not divert the attention of the fact-finders from the indicted offense. Finally, an important consideration is how great is the proponent's need for the extraneous transaction evidence.
In view of the masking of the assailant and in view of the defense that a third person may have committed these brutal acts, the proponent’s need is clearly demonstrated. The three final inquiries are: (1) does a proponent have other available evidence to establish the fact of consequence such as identity; (2) if so, how strong is the other evidence; and (3) is the fact of consequence related to an issue in the dispute. The answers to these three inquiries are in favor of the proponent because of the masking of the assailant and the fact that the prosecution’s case is admittedly circumstantial according to the opinion of the majority. Montgomery, supra, at 390.
And under this record the trial court must be granted a reasonable amount of leeway to decide whether such evidence does, in fact, serve a legitimate purpose other than character evidence. The concept of character evidence and the issue of identity are meaningfully different. Con*439sidering the various factors and the circumstances of this particular case, the trial court should and must be given latitude to either exclude or, on the other hand, particularly in view of the presumption of admissibility of all relevant testimony, not to exclude misconduct evidence as the trial judge sees fit. It has been established that so long as the trial court thus operates within the boundaries of its discretion, then an intermediate appellate court should not disturb its decision, whatever that decision may be. See Templin v. State, 711 S.W.2d 30 (Tex.Crim.App.1986). The trial bench did not abuse its discretion.
Justice Clinton, writing the opinion on the motion for rehearing in Montgomery, supra, stated: “We also measure the trial court’s ruling whether to exclude evidence of ‘other crimes, wrongs, or acts’ under Rule 403 by an abuse of discretion standard.”
The prosecutor announced to the court out of the hearing of the jury that he intended to cover certain matters. He took the position that these matters were now clearly admissible since the defendant had brought up the theory and defense in the case that some individual other than the defendant had committed these brutal acts.
The State and trial court properly analyzed the challenged evidence as being admissible because of the accused’s preference and demands for anal intercourse, his preference and requirement that his sex partner fondle herself in front of him, the practice of withholding ejaculation either forever or for a period of time from one hour to one hour and a half’s duration establishes the relevancy and the admissibility. The similarity test was met. Those acts, demands, and practices were inflicted on the victim herein. Hence, those similar acts and demands with the prior wife are admissible.
It is interesting to note that the concept of mirror image crimes or signature crimes are not referred to in the ten factors discussed in 22 Charles A. Wright & Kenneth W. Graham, Jr, Federal Practice and Procedure (.Evidence) § 5250 (1978 and Supp. 1992). More importantly, the fourth factor (section 5250 n. 39 at 547-548) reads that the prosecution would be wise to preserve evidence of other crimes for use on rebuttal when the judge can more accurately consider the degree of relevance and potential abuse. See and compare United States v. Jones, 476 F.2d 533, 537 (D.C.Cir.1973). This is exactly what occurred.
The authors Wright and Graham have pointed out ten factors which the trial court should consider in exercising its discretion to either include or exclude evidence of other acts. These factors are crucial to the balancing function. Under this record each factor is satisfied in favor of the admissibility of the extraneous or other crimes, wrongs, or acts. The ten factors are: (1) probative worth, (2) need to prove the issue, (3) sufficiency of other evidence, (4) availability of other proof, (5) strength of the proof of the other crime, (6) prejudice, (7), time required to prove other crime, (8) nature of the proof of the other crime, (9) motivation of the offeror, and (10) other factors appropriate under Rule 403. Again, each factor was compellingly satisfied by the evidence and the developments at trial at the time the trial judge finally (and after careful consideration) admitted the objected-to evidence before the jury. With respect and deference, I reach a different conclusion from that of the majority after considering the chronology of the developments at trial.
In my view, the long periods of rape amounting up to an hour and a half, the anal intercourse, and fondling and demands for self masturbation on the part of and against the female, when taken together, show an attitude of the degradation of women.
The record reflects that the trial judge did perform the balancing test or the balancing process. Note also that the Court of Criminal Appeals wrote in Montgomery, supra, at 387 that in substance, how compellingly the evidence of the extraneous misconduct or extraneous acts served to make more or less probable a fact of consequence, that is, its inherent probativeness is clearly a factor. And this factor may be characterized as a function of the similarity *440of the extraneous acts to the indicted offense. But again, this factor, although often a consideration, is by no means invariably a consideration. See and compare Robinson v. State, 701 S.W.2d 895, 898 (Tex.Crim.App.1985). The key word or concept is similarity. That is, similarity between the prior extraneous acts and the offense charged. This has been considered to be an important measure of probative value. Id. at 898. The probative value of similar prior acts has been said to be based on the doctrine of chances. The doctrine of chances is an instinctive recognition of that logical process by multiplying instances of the same or similar actions. An absolute accurate test has not been formulated. Id.
Judge Campbell, in Robinson, quoted from 2 Wigmore, Evidence, § 302 (Chad-bourn rev. ed. 1979), in part, as follows:
“ ‘Without formulating any accurate test, and without attempting by numerous instances to secure absolute certainty of inference, the mind applies this rough and instinctive process of reasoning, namely, that an unusual and abnormal element might perhaps be present in one instance, but that the oftener similar instances occur with similar results, the less likely is the abnormal element likely to be the true explanation of them.’ ”
Under Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 404(b) the threshold inquiry is whether the evidence is probative of a material issue other than character. The evidence of similar acts is admissible if the jury can reasonably conclude that the prior similar acts occurred and that the accused was the actor. These tests are clearly established in this record. Relevancy exists when there is a reasonable relation between an item of evidence and a matter or an issue, such as identity, being properly provable in the case. Prior similar acts and the evidence and testimony thereof should be admitted before the fact-finders if there is sufficient evidence to support a finding by the jury that the accused committed the prior similar acts. Our record is glaringly clear on this point. And the objector should move to strike the challenged evidence at the close of the trial if the offeror has failed to satisfy such tests. The prosecution has not paraded a litany or a series of episodes of unfair prejudicial similar acts. Prior similar acts coming from the unequivocal and unim-peached testimony of the ex-wife are fully substantiated. See Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 108 S.Ct. 1496, 99 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988).
Due to the timing of the admission of the extraneous acts being late in the trial and being after the appellant had raised his strategic defenses and due to the then-need of the prosecution to rebut the raised defenses of the appellant and in view of a lack of a request from appellant for a limiting jury instruction and in view of the extremely brief nature of the challenged testimony and in view of several startling, dramatic and extraordinary similarities between and among the extraneous offenses and acts clearly proved by the ex-wife and the repeated sexual assaults of very like nature committed against the complainant-victim and since the probativeness and relevancy of the prior acts clearly outweighed any unfair prejudice and in view of the fact that the trial court properly balanced the probativeness as against any undue, unfair prejudice at the correct time for the balancing test and in view of the lack of any unfair prejudice inasmuch as the extrinsic acts were relevant and were not tendered to prove some fact not pertinent to the indicted offense and inasmuch as the ten factors of Wright & Graham were amply met, I would vote to affirm the judgment and sentence below.