Steadman v. State

• Court: Texas Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: Felipe Reyna
• Citation: Steadman v. State, 160 S.W.3d 582 (Tex. 2005)
• Decision Date: 26 January 2005
• Docket Number: No. 10-13-00168-CR.,10-13-00168-CR.
• Parties: Hubert Lee STEADMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

Page 582

160 S.W.3d 582

Hubert Lee STEADMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 10-13-00168-CR.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Waco.

January 26, 2005.

John M. Hurley, Waco, for appellant.

John W. Segrest, McLennan County Dist. Atty., Christy Barber, McLennan County Asst. Dist. Atty., Waco, for appellee.

Before Chief Justice GRAY, Justice VANCE, and Justice REYNA.

OPINION

FELIPE REYNA, Justice.

A jury convicted Hubert Lee Steadman of two counts of sexual assault. Steadman pleaded "true" to an allegation that he had been previously convicted of sexual assault, and the jury assessed his punishment at life imprisonment on both counts. Steadman contends in five issues that: (1) the enhancement allegation of the indictment did not give him adequate notice that the State would seek a mandatory life sentence; (2) the life sentences constitute cruel and unusual punishment; (3) the life sentences violate his right to equal protection; (4) the punishment verdict is invalid because the court failed to submit a separate verdict form for each count; and (5) the punishment verdict is void because the jury rather than the court found the enhancement allegation "true."

Because Steadman failed to preserve most of these complaints or is estopped to raise them, because the court's charge is not erroneous, and because Steadman suffered no egregious harm from the punishment charge that was submitted, we will affirm.

Steadman Failed To Preserve His Objection To The Indictment And The Court's Charge Is Not Erroneous

Steadman contends in his first issue that the enhancement allegation did not give him adequate notice that the State would seek mandatory life sentences under section 12.42(c)(2) of the Penal Code and that the court erroneously instructed the jury to sentence him to life imprisonment on both counts.

The caption of the indictment reads in part, "2nd Degree Felonies Enhanced."¹ The body of the indictment alleges two counts of sexual assault, both second degree felonies. The sole enhancement allegation asserts that Steadman was previously convicted of sexual assault. As Steadman notes, if the general enhancement provision of section 12.42(b) applies, then his punishment would be for a first degree felony (5 to 99 years or life and up to a $10,000 fine). See TEX. PEN.CODE ANN. § 12.32 (Vernon 2003), § 12.42(b) (Vernon Supp.2004-2005). Conversely however, because Steadman was convicted of sexual assault and has a prior conviction for the same offense, the mandatory life provision of section 12.42(c)(2) applies. Id. § 12.42(c)(2)(A)(i), (B)(ii) (Vernon Supp. 2004-2005).

Steadman contends that because the caption of the indictment states generally "2nd Degree Felonies Enhanced" and because the indictment does not specifically refer to section 12.42(c), he did not have adequate notice that the State would seek mandatory life sentences. Ordinarily, a complaint regarding the adequacy of an indictment must be raised before trial to preserve the issue for appellate review. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 1.14(b) (Vernon Supp.2004-2005); Sanchez v. State, 120 S.W.3d 359, 364 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003). In a similar context however, the Court of Criminal Appeals has held that the pretrial objection requirement of article 1.14(b) does not apply to certain punishment issues relative to the indictment. See Luken v. State, 780 S.W.2d 264, 268 (Tex.Crim.App.1989); Brooks v. State, 921 S.W.2d 875, 879 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1996), aff'd, 957 S.W.2d 30 (Tex. Crim.App.1997).

In Luken, the defendant complained that neither the indictment nor any special plea gave him notice that the State would seek a deadly weapon finding. See Luken v. State, 744 S.W.2d 274, 275-76 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1987), vacated, 780 S.W.2d 264 (Tex.Crim.App.1989). The State argued that the defendant failed to preserve the complaint because he did not raise a pretrial objection to the indictment under article 1.14(b). See Luken, 780 S.W.2d at 266.

The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected this contention.

Plainly put, an indictment sufficient to allege an offense, but containing no allegation of use or exhibition of a deadly weapon, suffers no "defect, error, or irregularity of form or substance" on that account. It would be unconscionable to require an accused to complain that the State has failed by its pleadings to present an issue on some fact beyond what is necessary to "charg[e] a person with the commission of an offense," Article V, § 12, supra,² which additional fact may further adversely impact his own liberty interest.

Id. at 268 (citation omitted) (footnote added).

The Court went further to discuss the interaction of article 1.14(b) and enhancement allegations in general.

Even after enactment of Article 1.14(b), supra, we would not hold that a trial court is authorized to find, or to submit the question to the jury whether an accused has been formerly convicted for purposes of enhancement of punishment under Chapter 12 of the Penal Code, on the theory that the accused failed to object that the indictment did not include enhancement allegations. Again, there is no "defect, error, or irregularity" in an indictment containing no enhancement paragraph. It simply fails to place the accused's status as a recidivist in issue. Surely in an accusatory system of criminal justice we cannot require, consonant with due course of law, that the accused complain he faces too lenient a range of punishment!

Id.

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals applied this latter observation in Brooks. There, the defendant contended that the court erred by submitting an issue to the jury regarding enhancement of punishment because indictment did not contain an enhancement allegation. Brooks, 921 S.W.2d at 877. The Court held that an objection under article 1.14(b) was unnecessary in this instance because the indictment was not defective. Id. at 879.

Here, Steadman's case is different than Luken and Brooks because Steadman argues that the enhancement allegation is defective (i.e., inadequate). Because of this distinction, we hold that Steadman failed to preserve his complaint regarding the adequacy of the enhancement allegation because he failed to raise it by pretrial objection. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 1.14(b); Shaw v. State, 794 S.W.2d 544, 544 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1990, no pet.); Chambless v. State, 776 S.W.2d 718, 719 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1989, no pet.); accord Sanchez, 120 S.W.3d at 364.

Nevertheless, Steadman also contends that the court erred by charging the jury that it must sentence him to life imprisonment on both counts under section 12.42(c)(2) rather than charging the jury under the general enhancement provision of section 12.42(b). Even though Steadman did not raise this objection at trial, he may raise this issue for the first time on appeal, but he can obtain a reversal only if the alleged error resulted in egregious harm. Bluitt v. State, 137 S.W.3d 51, 53 (Tex.Crim.App.2004) (citing Almanza v. State, 686 S.W.2d 157, 171 (Tex.Crim.App. 1985)); see also Kucha v. State, 686 S.W.2d 154, 155 (Tex.Crim.App.1985) (applying Almanza standard to punishment charge). To prevail in this instance, Steadman must establish that the charge is erroneous and that this error caused him egregious harm. See Mann v. State, 964 S.W.2d 639, 641 (Tex.Crim.App.1998); Phillips v. State, 72 S.W.3d 719, 721 (Tex. App.-Waco 2002, no pet.).

The indictment alleges that Steadman committed two sexual assaults and that he has a prior conviction for sexual assault.³ The court instructed the jury in the charge that, because the jury had convicted Steadman of two counts of sexual assault and because he pleaded "true" to the enhancement allegation, a mandatory life sentence was required by law for each count.

The court's charge comports with the enhancement allegation in the indictment, with the defendant's plea to the enhancement allegation, and with section 12.42(c)(2). Thus, no error is shown. Cf. Throneberry v. State, 109 S.W.3d 52, 60 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2003, no pet.) (punishment charge erroneous because it included enhancement instruction despite State's failure to give notice); Brooks, 921 S.W.2d at 879 (same).

Accordingly, we overrule Steadman's first issue.

Steadman Failed To Preserve His Constitutional Claims

Steadman contends in his second issue that his life sentences constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. He contends in his third issue that his sentences violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection guarantee. However, because he did not raise these contentions at trial, he has failed to preserve them for appellate review. See Schneider v. State, 645 S.W.2d 463, 466 (Tex.Crim.App.1983) (cruel-and unusual-punishment claim not preserved); Castaneda v. State, 135 S.W.3d 719, 723 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2003, no pet.) (same); Steadman v. State, 31 S.W.3d 738, 742 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, pet. ref'd) (equal-protection and cruel-and-unusual-punishment claims not preserved); accord Neal v. State, 150 S.W.3d 169, 178 (Tex.Crim.App., 2004) (due process claim not preserved). Accordingly, we overrule Steadman's second and third issues.

Steadman Did Not Suffer Egregious Harm Because Of The Court's Failure To Submit Separate Verdict Forms

Steadman contends in his fourth issue that the court erred by failing to submit a separate verdict form for each count under which he was convicted. Because Steadman did not object to the punishment charge, he can obtain reversal only if the alleged error caused him egregious harm. See Mann, 964 S.W.2d at 641; Phillips, 72 S.W.3d at 721.

Article 37.07, section 1(b) provides that "If the plea is not guilty, [the jurors] must find that the defendant is either guilty or not guilty, and, except as provided in Section 2, they shall assess the punishment in all cases where the same is not absolutely fixed by law to some particular penalty." TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art....