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Keywords

appealtrialvoir direobjectionsustainedvoir dire examination
appealtrialwillprosecutoroverruledappellant

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Howard v. State, 941 S.W.2d 102

Facts

On April 11, 1992, Trooper Bill Davidson stopped Ronald Ray Howard, who was driving a stolen vehicle. Rather than comply with the stop, Howard shot Davidson in the neck, resulting in the trooper's death. Howard confessed to the crime on three separate occasions. During the trial, the jury found him to be a 'future danger' and sentenced him to death.

The facts pertaining to the guilt/innocence phase of the prosecution are virtually uncontested. The victim, Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson, pulled appellant over in the course of a routine traffic stop on April 11, 1992, in Jackson County. Appellant was driving a stolen car and apparently decided to shoot Trooper Davidson rather than submit to the stop. When the trooper approached appellant's automobile, appellant shot him in the neck, killing him. Appellant confessed to the killing on three distinct occasions.

Issue

The main legal issues included whether the trial court erred in dismissing certain veniremembers for cause, whether Howard's voir dire examination was improperly restricted, and whether the presence of law enforcement at the trial violated his right to a fair trial.

Appellant raises thirty-four points of error in his brief on appeal. There are no evidentiary insufficiency points of error; hence, we will address his points in chronological order where appropriate.

Rule

The court applied the principle that a veniremember can be dismissed for cause if they demonstrate bias or prejudice against the law relevant to the case, and that trial courts have broad discretion in regulating the voir dire process.

Article 35.16(b)(3) authorizes the State to challenge for cause any veniremember who has a bias or prejudice against 'any phase of the law upon which the state is entitled to rely for conviction or punishment.'

Analysis

The court found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing veniremembers who expressed unequivocal opposition to the death penalty or who demonstrated a bias against the law. The court also determined that Howard's voir dire was not impermissibly restricted, as he failed to rephrase his questions after the trial court sustained objections to their form.

The record in the instant case indicates that veniremember Martinez was the consummate vacillating veniremember. The State and appellant both were given multiple opportunities to query Martinez concerning his bias. Initially, Martinez told the prosecutor that he would require the State to prove the elements of this crime beyond all doubt. Yet, in response to appellant's questions, veniremember Martinez stated he would comply with the law and hold the State to its proper legal burden.

Conclusion

The Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the trial court's decision regarding the dismissal of a specific veniremember and remanded the case for further proceedings, while affirming the conviction and sentence in other respects.

Thus we cannot say the trial court abused its discretion when it granted the State's challenge for cause against veniremember Martinez. Point of error twenty-five is overruled.

Who won?

The State prevailed in the case, as the court upheld the conviction and the imposition of the death penalty, finding no reversible error in the trial proceedings.

The State prevailed in the case, as the court upheld the conviction and the imposition of the death penalty, finding no reversible error in the trial proceedings.

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