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Jones v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eighth District, El Paso
Aug 21, 2003
No. 08-02-00430-CR (Tex. App. Aug. 21, 2003)

Opinion

No. 08-02-00430-CR

August 21, 2003 DO NOT PUBLISH.

Appeal from the 219th District Court of Collin County, Texas, (TC# 219-81863-01).

Before Panel No. 5: BARAJAS, C.J., LARSEN, and WITTIG, JJ. (Wittig, J., sitting by assignment)


OPINION


In a single issue, appellant complains his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object under Rules of Evidence 401, 402, and 403 to the victim character and impact testimony of two witnesses. Because the record is silent to defense counsel's reasoning or trial strategy, we affirm.

I

The appellant pled guilty to aggravated sexual assault and was sentenced by the jury to 99 years' confinement plus a fine of $10,000. Further factual background and legal analysis may be found in the related case: 08-02-00429-CR. In this and two companion cases, the complainant and a close friend of her's gave victim impact testimony. In one issue, appellant argues trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to make relevancy and Rule 403 objections. The law is well settled. With an undeveloped record, we cannot discern the reasons or strategy behind trial counsel's actions. Based upon this record, we cannot conclude that appellant has established that trial counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, in order to satisfied the first prong of Strickland. Rylander v. State, 101 S.W.3d 107, 111 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003); Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Appellant's sole issue is overruled. The judgment is affirmed.


Summaries of

Jones v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eighth District, El Paso
Aug 21, 2003
No. 08-02-00430-CR (Tex. App. Aug. 21, 2003)
Case details for

Jones v. State

Case Details

Full title:NICHOLAS BRADFORD JONES, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

Court:Court of Appeals of Texas, Eighth District, El Paso

Date published: Aug 21, 2003

Citations

No. 08-02-00430-CR (Tex. App. Aug. 21, 2003)