Soto v. State, 622-82
| Court | Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas |
| Writing for the Court | McCORMICK |
| Citation | 671 S.W.2d 43 |
| Parties | James SOTO, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. 622-82,622-82 |
| Decision Date | 20 June 1984 |
Page 43
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
En Banc.
Page 44
Richard L. Manske, El Campo, for appellant.
David Roberts, Port Lavaca, Robert Huttash, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.
OPINION ON APPELLANT'S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
McCORMICK, Judge.
This is a petition for discretionary review brought by the appellant from the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals, 654 S.W.2d 1. At trial, appellant was convicted of assault and punishment was assessed at sixty days' confinement and a $500 fine, probated.
The sole question presented is whether Article 40.09, V.A.C.C.P., mandates that a certified court reporter take down and transcribe the testimony at trial or whether the trial court may employ other comparable alternative methods in insuring an appellate record is prepared, after the appellant has requested that a court reporter take down the proceedings.
The record in the instant case reflects that the trial court denied appellant's motion to have the court reporter take down the proceedings because the court reporter was not available. Instead, the trial judge ordered the county clerk to tape record the proceedings and then transcribe them. The record shows that the county clerk operated the tape recorder from the beginning of the trial until the beginning of the voir dire at which time she had to leave to attend to other business. At that time, a deputy county clerk, who had been sitting in the courtroom since the beginning of the trial, took over operation of the recorder. At the conclusion of the trial, the deputy county clerk delivered the tapes to the county clerk who deposited them in her safe. Later, the deputy county clerk transcribed the tapes. The deputy county clerk testified that at several points throughout her transcription when she was unable to decipher what was said on the tape she left three dots in a row to show that a portion of the proceedings were missing because it was unintelligible.
The Court of Appeals found that although the trial court's action may have been error it was harmless error because the specific defects in the record pointed out by appellant were corrected by the trial court. We disagree with this holding.
Article 40.09(4), V.A.C.C.P., in effect at the time of appellant's trial, provided the following:
"4. Effect of transcription of reporter's notes
"At the request of either party the court...
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Routier v. State, 72795.
...or inaccurate. Simmons used all the materials provided her to revise the record. The appellant also directs us to Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43, 44-46 (Tex.Crim. App.1984). In that case, we held that a record created from tapes of proceedings was unacceptable. The defendant had requested tha......
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Dunn v. State, 68948
...examinations and all subsequent proceedings. The trial court properly granted this request. See Article 40.09, § 4, supra; Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43, 45 (Tex.Cr.App.1984). The court reporter did, in fact, take notes of all the proceedings in this case, including all of those portions now......
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White Budd Van Ness Partnership v. Major-Gladys Drive Joint Venture, MAJOR-GLADYS
...unless waived by all the parties with the consent of the trial court. Rogers, supra, is not in point. The dissent cites Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). Soto, supra, was a criminal proceeding. The trial court denied Soto's motion to have the court reporter take down the pro......
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Skinner v. State, 2-90-266-CR
...before the court and that "any refusal to furnish a court reporter is per se prejudicial. Harm need not be shown," citing Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43, 45-46 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). Skinner contends that he made a specific pretrial motion that the court reporter be instructed to record all pro......
-
Routier v. State, 72795.
...or inaccurate. Simmons used all the materials provided her to revise the record. The appellant also directs us to Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43, 44-46 (Tex.Crim. App.1984). In that case, we held that a record created from tapes of proceedings was unacceptable. The defendant had requested tha......
-
Dunn v. State, 68948
...examinations and all subsequent proceedings. The trial court properly granted this request. See Article 40.09, § 4, supra; Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43, 45 (Tex.Cr.App.1984). The court reporter did, in fact, take notes of all the proceedings in this case, including all of those portions now......
-
White Budd Van Ness Partnership v. Major-Gladys Drive Joint Venture, MAJOR-GLADYS
...unless waived by all the parties with the consent of the trial court. Rogers, supra, is not in point. The dissent cites Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). Soto, supra, was a criminal proceeding. The trial court denied Soto's motion to have the court reporter take down the pro......
-
Skinner v. State, 2-90-266-CR
...before the court and that "any refusal to furnish a court reporter is per se prejudicial. Harm need not be shown," citing Soto v. State, 671 S.W.2d 43, 45-46 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). Skinner contends that he made a specific pretrial motion that the court reporter be instructed to record all pro......