Hernandez v. State

Decision Date07 January 1998
Docket NumberNo. 1214-97,1214-97
PartiesIgnacio HERNANDEZ, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
CourtTexas Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 851

957 S.W.2d 851
Ignacio HERNANDEZ, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 1214-97.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas,
En Banc.
Jan. 7, 1998.

Keith S. Hampton, Cynthia L. Hampton, Austin, for appellant.

Jonathan Stick, Asst. Dist. Atty., Matthew Paul, State's Atty., Austin, for State.

Before the court en banc.

OPINION ON APPELLANT'S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

PER CURIAM.

A jury convicted Appellant of capital murder. The State did not seek the death penalty, so Appellant was sentenced to confinement for life. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59 (Tex.App.--Austin 1997).

On appeal, Appellant alleged his oral and written confessions were involuntary. He asked the Court of Appeals to review the issue de novo, but the Court of Appeals declined and followed DuBose v. State, 915 S.W.2d 493 (Tex.Cr.App.1996).

The second ground of Appellant's petition for discretionary review asserts the Court of Appeals erred in failing to conduct a de novo review. This Court recently stated:

[A]ppellate courts, including this Court, should afford almost total deference to a trial court's determination of the historical facts that the records supports, especially when the trial court's fact findings are based on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor. The appellate courts, including this Court, should afford the same amount of deference to trial courts' rulings on "applications of law to fact questions," also known as "mixed questions of law and fact," if the resolution of those ultimate questions turns on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor. The appellate courts may review de novo "mixed questions of law and fact" not falling within this category.

Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85, 89 (Tex.Cr.App.1997).

When the Court of Appeals issued its opinion in the instant case, it did not have the benefit of our opinion in Guzman. We grant Appellant's petition for discretionary review on the second ground, vacate the Court of Appeals' judgment, and remand this case to that court for reconsideration in light of Guzman. Appellant's first ground for review is dismissed without prejudice.

McCORMICK, P.J., and MANSFIELD and KELLER, JJ., dissent.

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51 cases
  • Lopez v. State, 07-05-0243-CR.
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • February 14, 2006
    ...do not fall within this category, an appellate court may conduct a de novo review of the trial court's ruling. Hernandez v. State, 957 S.W.2d 851, 852 (Tex.Cr.App.1998) (citing Guzman, 955 S.W.2d at 89). In other words de novo review applies when the facts are undisputed. State v. Jennings,......
  • Preiss v. Moritz
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • October 11, 2001
    ...App.--Austin 1998, no pet.); Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59, 71 (Tex. App.--Austin 1997), vacated on other grounds by 957 S.W.2d 851 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Hernandez involved a case where a prospective juror was specifically asked during voir dire whether she had been convicted of theft......
  • Scaggs v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • May 4, 2000
    ...the defendant to a new trial. See Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59, 74 (Tex. App.-Austin 1997), remanded on other grounds, 957 S.W.2d 851 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). When a trial court does not conduct a hearing on a motion for new trial, an appellate court must determine whether the motion an......
  • Jimenez v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • January 24, 2002
    ...this category. Guzman, 955 S.W.2d at 89. Guzman applies to appellate review of a motion to suppress a confession. Hernandez v. State, 957 S.W.2d 851, 852 (Tex.Crim.App.1998); Gomes v. State, 9 S.W.3d 373, 376 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, pet. In the present case, the only evidence p......
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11 books & journal articles
  • Jury Selection and Voir Dire
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas Criminal Lawyer's Handbook. Volume 1 - 2020 Contents
    • August 16, 2020
    ...significant harm beyond the mere fact of conviction. Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59 (Tex.App.—Austin 1997), vacated on other grounds , 957 S.W.2d 851 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Where at the motion for new trial hearing the defendant made no attempt to show significant harm, he has failed to......
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    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas Criminal Lawyer's Handbook. Volume 1 - 2015 Contents
    • August 17, 2015
    ...harm beyond the mere fact of conviction. Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59 (Tex. App.—Austin 1997), vacated on other grounds , 957 S.W.2d 851 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Where at the motion for new trial hearing the defendant made no attempt to show significant harm, he has failed to meet his b......
  • Jury Selection and Voir Dire
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    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas Criminal Lawyer's Handbook. Volume 1 - 2021 Contents
    • August 16, 2021
    ...significant harm beyond the mere fact of conviction. Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59 (Tex.App.—Austin 1997), vacated on other grounds , 957 S.W.2d 851 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Where at the motion for new trial hearing the defendant made no attempt to show significant harm, he has failed to......
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    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas Criminal Lawyer's Handbook. Volume 1 - 2016 Contents
    • August 17, 2016
    ...significant harm beyond the mere fact of conviction. Hernandez v. State, 952 S.W.2d 59 (Tex. App.—Austin 1997), vacated on other grounds, 957 S.W.2d 851 (Tex. Crim. App. (1) the defendant raises the disqualification before the verdict is entered; or Where at the motion for new trial hearing......
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