Narrative Opinion Summary
In this case, the appellant was convicted on two counts of indecency with a child by contact and sentenced to ninety-nine years in prison, with sentence enhancement due to a prior conviction. The case concerned allegations of inappropriate touching of two young sisters by their step-grandfather. The conviction was challenged on grounds of insufficient evidence, errors in jury instructions, and improper admission of appellant's confession. The court found the evidence sufficient, particularly through corroborated testimonies of the children and other witnesses. It applied the idem sonans doctrine to dismiss concerns about misspellings in the indictment, affirming no material variance. The court also held that the jury instructions adhered to the unanimity requirement under the Texas Constitution, as the charges involved a single incident. Regarding the confession, the court noted the appellant's waiver of rights and found no error in its admission, emphasizing the failure to object during trial as leading to waiver of the issue. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction.
Legal Issues Addressed
Admissibility of Confession and Waiver of Rightssubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court upheld the admissibility of the appellant's confession, ruling that any issues with statutory warnings were waived due to lack of timely objection.
Reasoning: Appellant failed to raise the issue that Nusbaum only informed him of his right to counsel before questioning during the hearing or in his motion.
Idem Sonans Doctrine in Indictment Variancessubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court applied the idem sonans doctrine to dismiss the appellant's claim regarding the misspelling of the victims' last names in the indictment, finding no material variance.
Reasoning: The court applied the 'idem sonans' doctrine, which allows for misspellings that sound alike to be legally sufficient, concluding that the misspelling did not require reversal.
Sufficiency of Evidence for Indecency with a Childsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court found that the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support the conviction for indecency with a child by contact, despite appellant's contentions of insufficient evidence.
Reasoning: The court concluded that, when viewed favorably to the jury's verdict, the evidence was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had inappropriately touched D.M.
Unanimity Requirement for Jury Verdicts in Felony Casessubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court held that the jury instruction met the requirement for unanimity as the indictment charged a single incident, allowing for alternative theories of the offense.
Reasoning: The jury was properly instructed to reach a unanimous verdict based on the singular incident charged.