Dennis Jermaine Booker v. State
09-16-00049-CR
| Tex. App. | Dec 13, 2017Background
- On Aug. 15–16, 2014 at a Port Arthur apartment party, Xavier Cane was stabbed in the chest and later died from a wound that penetrated his heart. Dennis Jermaine Booker was charged with murder.
- Booker and Cane had a physical altercation after Booker argued with his girlfriend Amira Johnson; multiple bystanders witnessed portions of the fight but none definitively saw the stabbing.
- Police found Booker handcuffed in the apartment washing blood from his hands and recovered a knife handle from his pocket; the blade was never found.
- Three officers testified that Booker spontaneously said he stabbed Cane and that it was self-defense; the statements were made in custody before Miranda warnings were given.
- The jury convicted Booker of murder and assessed a 60-year sentence; Booker appealed raising four issues: ineffective assistance, admissibility of his statements, denial of a sudden-passion instruction at punishment, and legal sufficiency of the evidence.
Issues
| Issue | Booker’s Argument | State’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ineffective assistance of counsel | Trial counsel failed to request self-defense and manslaughter instructions and otherwise rendered deficient representation | Record lacks hearing, affidavits, or explanation; no firm basis in record to rebut presumption counsel was reasonable | Overruled; claim not shown on direct appeal (remedy: post-conviction writ) |
| 2. Admission of custodial statements (Miranda) | Statements admitting the stabbing were made in custody before Miranda warnings and should have been excluded | Statements were volunteered, not the product of custodial interrogation, so admissible | Overruled; trial court did not abuse discretion admitting volunteered statements |
| 3. Sudden-passion instruction at punishment | Booker was entitled to a sudden-passion issue based on the fight and provocation by Cane/Johnson, which would reduce punishment range | Evidence did not show adequate provocation or killing while under immediate passion sufficient to support instruction | Overruled; trial court properly denied the sudden-passion instruction |
| 4. Legal sufficiency of evidence | Evidence insufficient to prove Booker stabbed Cane beyond a reasonable doubt (alternative suspect, missing blade, conflicting witness accounts) | Jury could reasonably infer guilt from fight, blood on Booker’s hands, and Booker’s admitted statement; circumstantial evidence sufficient | Overruled; viewing evidence favorably to verdict a rational jury could convict |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for testing sufficiency of the evidence)
- Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App.) (standard for appellate review of sufficiency)
- Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. Crim. App.) (circumstantial evidence sufficiency and reasonable inferences)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective-assistance standard)
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (custodial interrogation and warnings)
- Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291 (definition of interrogation and volunteered statements)