holding that failure to raise constitutional claim through objection waived error
How later courts described this case
- holding that failure to raise constitutional claim through objection waived error
- holding claim of cruel and usual punishment could not be raised for first time on appeal
- stating that defendant waived error because argument presented for first time on appeal
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Opinion issued October 29, 2013.
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
————————————
NO. 01-12-01113-CR
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DAVID WILLIAM HALLENE, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 176th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 1303491
MEMORANDUM OPINION
David William Hallene was indicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child,
then plead guilty to the lesser offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child,1
1
TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.021(a)(1)(B) (West Supp. 2012).
without an agreed punishment recommendation. The trial court held a sentencing
hearing, at which it considered witness testimony and a pre-sentence investigation
report, found Hallene guilty, and sentenced him to 40 years’ confinement.
Hallene’s sole issue contends that the punishment was excessive, grossly
disproportionate to the offense and, therefore, unconstitutional under both the
United States and Texas Constitutions.
Hallene failed to preserve issue
The Constitution requires proportionality between the crime for which a
defendant has been convicted and the sentence received. Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S.
277, 290, 103 S. Ct. 3001, 3009 (1983); see also Baldridge v. State, 77 S.W.3d
890, 893 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, pet. ref’d); Dale v. State, 170
S.W.3d 797, 799 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2005, no pet.). Preservation of a
complaint that a sentence is grossly disproportionate, constituting cruel and
unusual punishment, requires a defendant to present the claim to the trial court in a
timely request, objection, or motion that states the grounds for the ruling requested.
TEX. R. APP. P. 33.1(a); see Perez v. Cueto, 908 S.W.2d 29, 30 (Tex. App.—
Houston [14th Dist.] 1995, no writ) (“Even a constitutional claim must have been
asserted in the trial court in order to be raised on appeal.”). This is because, “[i]n
cases where sentencing is discretionary, it is reasonable to require a trial objection
2
so that the trial court might have an opportunity to cure any error.” Solis v. State,
945 S.W.2d 300, 301–02 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, writ ref’d).
The failure to object when the sentence is assessed or to file a motion for
new trial alleging a cruel and unusual sentence waives error. See id. (holding claim
of cruel and usual punishment could not be raised for first time on appeal); Perez,
908 S.W.2d at 30 (holding that failure to raise constitutional claim through
objection waived error); Rhoades v. State, 934 S.W.2d 113, 120 (Tex. Crim. App.
1996) (stating that defendant waived error because argument presented for first
time on appeal); Wynn v. State, 219 S.W.3d 54, 61 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st
Dist.] 2006, no pet.) (holding that defendant’s failure to object that punishment was
cruel and unusual waived error); Noland v. State, 264 S.W.3d 144, 151 (Tex.
App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, pet. ref’d) (holding defendant failed to preserve
Eighth Amendment complaint for appeal).
When the trial court pronounced the 40 year sentence at the conclusion of
the punishment hearing, no objection was lodged and no subsequent motion for
new trial was filed to bring the issue to the trial court’s attention. Accordingly, we
hold that Hallene waived the claim of error.
Conclusion
Having concluded that Hallene failed to preserve his sole appellate issue, we
affirm the trial court’s judgment.
3
Harvey Brown
Justice
Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Sharp, and Brown.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
4