Ojeda v. State

Decision Date08 May 1968
Docket NumberNo. 41246,41246
Citation428 S.W.2d 811
PartiesGeronimo OJEDA, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
CourtTexas Court of Criminal Appeals

Raul Villarreal, San Antonio, for appellant.

James E. Barlow, Dist. Atty., Charles T. Conway, Asst. Dist. Atty., San Antonio, and Leon B. Douglas, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

OPINION

MORRISON, Judge.

The offense is burglary; the punishment, 10 years.

Though the indictment alleged two prior felony convictions, the jury at the hearing on punishment found appellant guilty of the primary offense only and assessed his punishment at 10 years.

Appellant's first ground of error relates to an alleged error which he contends occurred while he was cross examining the identification expert witness McAda at the hearing on punishment. Appellant's counsel asked the witness to show the jury how he had compared the fingerprint cards which had been offered to show appellant's identity as being the same person who had been convicted in the prior convictions alleged. His contention seems to be that in giving answers the witness made the jurors witnesses. With this contention we do not agree and certainly to harm has been shown because the jury declined to find that appellant was in fact the same person who had been convicted in the earlier cases. Womack v. State, 160 Tex.Cr.R. 237, 268 S.W.2d 140; Moynahan v. State, 140 Tex.Cr.R. 540, 146 S.W.2d 376; Spinks v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 612, 252 S.W.2d 159; and Rodele v. State, 158 Tex.Cr.R. 167, 254 S.W.2d 122, relied upon by appellant could not possibly have application to the facts before us here. They deal with unsworn testimony of the prosecutor. Rodgers v. State, 137 Tex.Cr.R. 442, 131 S.W.2d 766, and Castleberry v. State, 155 Tex.Cr.R. 383, 235 S.W.2d 656, do, however, control in a case such as the one at bar. The holding in such last named cases was that proof of prior convictions which were not utilized by the jury for the purpose of enhancement did not constitute error.

Appellant's grounds of error two and three will be discussed together. They are based upon appellant's contention that the court committed error when he permitted the State to introduce evidence as to the prior convictions at the hearing on penalty. If we properly understand his brief, he contends that the court erred in permitting proof of a prior narcotic conviction when the primary offense was burglary, and because he alleges, but does not prove so far as w...

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4 cases
  • Bullard v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • February 16, 1977
    ...by jury. Ashworth v. State, 418 S.W.2d 668 (Tex.Cr.App.1967); Green v. State, 433 S.W.2d 435 (Tex.Cr.App.1968). See also Ojeda v. State, 428 S.W.2d 811 (Tex.Cr.App.1968). And since the enactment of Article 37.07, Vernon's Ann.C.C.P., this court has frequently held that the constitutional ri......
  • Sellers v. State, 45710
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • February 14, 1973
    ...Tex.Cr.App., 437 S.W.2d 849; Smith v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 437 S.W.2d 835; Wilson v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 434 S.W.2d 873; Ojeda v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 428 S.W.2d 811. Appellant's pro se briefs have been reviewed, and contentions raised therein which have not been discussed herein are without ......
  • Cohen v. State, 41332
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • June 5, 1968
  • Hill v. State, 44132
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • October 20, 1971
    ...the face of the formal sentence became a matter of proof for him to show. In absence of such proof, no error is presented. Ojeda v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 428 S.W.2d 811. The judgment is ...

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