Opinion
Nos. 05-07-00063-CR, 05-07-00064-CR, 05-07-00065-CR, 05-07-00066-CR, 05-07-00067-CR, 05-07-00068-CR
Opinion Filed May 30, 2008. DO NOT PUBLISH. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.
On Appeal from the 380th Judicial District Court, Collin County, Texas, Trial Court Cause Nos. 380-82608-05, 380-82609-05, 380-82610-05, 380-82611-05, 380-82612-05, and 380-82613-05.
Before Justices MORRIS, FITZGERALD, and LANG.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Cameron Lee Black was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, six separate offenses arising from the same criminal episode: burglary of a habitation, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, aggravated robbery, engaging in organized criminal activity, failure to stop and render aid, and injury to a child. A jury assessed punishments of ten years' confinement (burglary), ten years' community supervision (unauthorized use of motor vehicle), nineteen years' confinement (aggravated robbery), five years' community supervision (organized criminal activity), five years' confinement (failure to render aid), and ten years' confinement (injury to child). In a single issue, appellant asserts that he has been denied an adequate record for his appeal. Because the this appeal involves the application of well-settled principles of law, we issue this memorandum opinion. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4. We affirm the trial court's judgments. Appellant's specific complaint concerns information sheets for the jurors who were peremptorily struck by the State. Appellant requested that the sheets be included in the appellate record, but a deputy clerk of the Collin County Clerk's Office signed an affidavit reciting that, despite diligent search, no such juror information sheets were located. Appellant argues the juror information sheets would disclose the race of each stricken juror so that appellant, who is black, could determine whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance to him by failing to make a Batson objection below. Appellant bases his complaint on a trial court's duty to provide an indigent appellant with an adequate record for his appeal. A trial court does have such a duty under the Texas and federal constitutions. Guillory v. State, 557 S.W.2d 118, 120 (Tex.Crim.App. 1977). The obligation operates "to provide equal appellate access to an indigent defendant by way of a free transcript to any defendant whose indigency prevents him from obtaining one." Rosales v. State, 748 S.W.2d 451, 454 (Tex.Crim.App. 1987) (citing Drummond v. State, 675 S.W.2d 545-546 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1984, pet. ref'd)). But appellant's complaint is not that he could not afford a record with juror information sheets included, so this legal principle does not suggest the trial court erred in his case. Appellant's real complaint is that the juror sheets were not available to the clerk for inclusion in the appellate record. Juror information sheets are not among the documents that must be included in an appellate record. See Tex. R. App. P. 34.5(a). Thus, the trial court had no obligation to require their inclusion for the sake of appellant's record. Moreover, our review of the record indicates no party attempted to offer the juror sheets into evidence or to file them with the clerk. If the sheets were never made part of the trial record, then they cannot become part of the appellate record. The supplementation rules cannot be used to create a new record. Solomon v. State, 49 S.W.3d 356, 365 (Tex.Crim.App. 2001). Finally, appellant complains the trial court refused to allow the court reporter to record which jurors had been peremptorily challenged by the State. Our review of the record establishes that neither party requested a record of the proceedings or objected to the court's suggestion that no record was needed. Appellant failed to preserve this issue for our review. See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a); see also Valle v. State, 109 S.W.3d 500, 508-09 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003) (objection required to preserve complaint of reporter's failure to record bench conference). We decide appellant's issue against him. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.
The conviction for burglary of a habitation is numbered 380-82608-05 in the trial court and 05-07-00063-CR in this Court.
The conviction for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle is numbered 380-82609-05 in the trial court and 05-07-00064-CR in this Court.
The conviction for aggravated robbery is numbered 380-82610-05 in the trial court and 05-07-00065-CR in this Court.
The conviction for engaging in organized criminal activity is numbered 380-82611-05 in the trial court and 05-07-00066-CR in this Court.
The conviction for failure to stop and render aid is numbered 380-82612-05 in the trial court and 05-07-00067-CR in this Court.
The conviction for injury to a child is numbered 380-82613-05 in the trial court and 05-07-00068-CR in this Court.
See Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).