Stratman v. State
| Decision Date | 18 December 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 41664,41664 |
| Citation | 436 S.W.2d 144 |
| Parties | Stayton STRATMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
Will Gray, Houston, (On Appeal Only), for appellant.
Carol S. Vance, Dist. Atty., Phyllis Bell and Joe Maida, Asst. Dist. Attys., Houston, and Leon B. Douglas, State's Atty., of Austin, for the State.
The offense is passing as true a forged instrument in writing; the punishment, enhanced by two prior convictions for a felony less than capital, life. (Art. 63 Vernon's Ann.P.C.)
Trial by jury was waived in the manner authorized by Art. 1.13 Vernon's Ann.C.C.P., and a plea of not guilty was entered.
The court conducted a bifurcated trial such as is required by Art. 37.07 C.C.P., 1965, as amended in 1967 (Art. 37.07 V.A.C.C.P.) in certain cases tried before a jury an a plea of not guilty.
Appellant testified as a witness in his own behalf and on cross-examination was asked and answered:
After hearing argument of counsel the court announced that each side had the opportunity to reopen for the purpose of putting on testimony they desired to put on for the court's consideration on the punishment. Counsel for the state then read the portion of the indictment alleging a prior conviction for felony theft in Cause No. 83452 in Criminal District Court No. 2, Harris County, on the 18th day of April 1958, and a conviction for assault to murder, committed after the conviction for felony theft had become final, in Cause No. 107394 in Criminal District Court No. 5 of Harris County, Texas on November 22, 1963.
Appellant was then called by the state, over objection of his counsel:
Being interrogated by counsel for the state, appellant identified the record introduced in evidence as State's Exhibit 2 as the record of his first conviction, and identified the record introduced as State's Exhibit 3 as the record of his conviction for assault to murder, committed 'sometime in 1963.'
In his two grounds of error set forth in his brief appellant contends that he was not called for further cross-examination but as an adverse witness at another and separate hearing (on punishment) and compelled to incriminate himself in violation of his rights under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution of the United States.
We first direct attention to the fact that the statutes, Art. 37.07, supra, and Art. 36.01 V.A.C.C.P., relate to jury trials, and there is no statute requiring a separate hearing on punishment in a trial before the court.
Attention is also directed to the...
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Brumfield v. State
...as impeachment when he testified on the merits because they were not felonies nor did they involve moral turpitude. In Stratman v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 436 S.W.2d 144, we held that it was not error for the State to examine a defendant in regard to his prior convictions by calling him at the ......
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...erred in relying upon Chavez, supra, as its authority to reject appellant's contention. The holding that was made in Stratman v. State, 436 S.W.2d 144 (Tex.Cr.App.1969), which had been decided by this Court before it decided Brumfield, supra, must be mentioned. In Stratman, supra, this Cour......
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Gordon v. State
...stage of the trial, but not at the guilt-innocence stage, Walker v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 555 S.W.2d 454 (1977); and Stratman v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 436 S.W.2d 144 (1969), he may waive, for appellate purposes, evidentiary objections made during the guilt-innocence stage of the trial. This may......