Finley, William Bryan Iii
2016 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 41
Tex. Crim. App.2016Background
- Officers went to Finley’s home seeking a third party (Dennis Boyd) as part of a warrant roundup; a copy and then the original warrant were shown.
- Officer Connor attempted to arrest Finley for hindering Boyd’s apprehension after Finley remained uncooperative.
- Connor ordered Finley to turn and place his hands behind his back; Finley tensed, pulled his arms toward his abdomen, and resisted having his arms put behind him.
- Officers Rollins and Connor pinned Finley against the door and then to the ground; Rollins tazed Finley twice until he stopped resisting.
- At trial Finley was convicted of resisting arrest (acquitted of hindering apprehension); the court of appeals affirmed. Finley argued on appeal that the evidence was legally insufficient to show he used "force against" an officer under Texas Penal Code § 38.03.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Finley) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Finley’s conduct constituted using "force against" a peace officer under Tex. Penal Code § 38.03 | Evidence insufficient: pulling/holding arms to his body did not show force directed at officers | Pulling away and tensing against officers’ attempts is force "in opposition to" the officers and thus meets § 38.03 | Affirmed: pulling away qualified as force against the officers; evidence legally sufficient to support conviction |
| How to apply Dobbs’s definition of "force" and "against" in § 38.03 | (implicit) Dobbs limits force to violence directed at officer, so facts must show force toward officer | Dobbs’s plain-meaning definitions include "violence, compulsion, or constraint" and "against" means in opposition or into contact with — pulling away fits | Court applied Dobbs and held its definitions support conviction because Finley pulled against officers’ force |
Key Cases Cited
- Dobbs v. State, 434 S.W.3d 166 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (defines "force" and "against" in § 38.03 as violence/compulsion and opposition/contact with an officer)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing legal sufficiency of the evidence: view evidence in light most favorable to verdict)
- Finley v. State, 449 S.W.3d 145 (Tex. App.—Austin 2014) (court of appeals decision affirming conviction; case granted review)