Dean v. State
Decision Date | 22 October 2014 |
Docket Number | No. 12–12–00410–CR.,12–12–00410–CR. |
Parties | Dusty DEAN, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
James W. Volberding, Tyler, for Appellant.
Trevor Rose, Rusk, for the State.
Panel consisted of WORTHEN, C.J., GRIFFITH, J., and HOYLE, J.
Dusty Dean appeals her conviction for making a false entry in a governmental record. After a jury found her guilty, the trial court sentenced her to 180 days in jail, suspended for six months, and a $1,000.00 fine, $750.00 of which was also suspended. Because the evidence is legally insufficient to support the conviction, we reverse and render a judgment of acquittal.
Appellant filed a motion to dismiss and a motion for a directed verdict arguing that a federal income tax return is not included in the governmental records protected by Penal Code Section 37.10. The motion was denied and the case was tried before a jury, which found Appellant guilty. The day before the sentencing hearing, Appellant filed a motion for judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the verdict asserting, among other arguments, that Texas law does not permit prosecution of an individual for filing a fraudulent federal tax return. The trial court denied the motion. After a hearing, the trial court sentenced Appellant to 180 days in jail, suspended for six months, a $1,000.00 fine, $750.00 of which was suspended, and one hundred hours of community service, of which seventy-five hours were suspended. Appellant then filed a motion for new trial reiterating her previous arguments. The motion was overruled by operation of law.
In her first issue, Appellant asserts, in part, that Texas Penal Code Section 37.10(a)(1), the statute under which Appellant was charged, does not permit prosecution of an individual for filing a fraudulent federal tax return. We will treat this issue as a complaint that the trial court erred in denying Appellant's motion for acquittal, which is reviewed in the same manner as a legal sufficiency challenge. See Cuddy v. State, 107 S.W.3d 92, 94 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2003, no pet.).
In assessing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, the reviewing court considers all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Threadgill v. State, 146 S.W.3d 654, 663 (Tex.Crim.App.2004). Whether the evidence satisfies the legal sufficiency test is a question of law. Cuddy, 107 S.W.3d at 95. A determination that the evidence is legally insufficient means that the case should never have been submitted to the jury, and the cause must be reversed and an acquittal ordered. Id.
Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 37.01(2) (West Supp. 2014). The word “government,” as used in the Texas Penal Code, means the state; a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 1.07(a)(24) (West Supp. 2014).
The document that Appellant allegedly made the false entry in was a federal tax return. It was not a document promulgated by the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state, or any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. Therefore, the document at issue does not fall...
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