Malishia Lynn Booker v. State, 07-14-00085-CR

Malishia Lynn Booker pleaded guilty (no plea agreement) to three felonies: evading arrest with a vehicle (third-degree), kidnapping (third-degree), and aggravated assault of a public servant (first-degree).
Booker had a prior felony aggravated assault conviction and was on parole when these offenses occurred; an active parole warrant existed at the time.
Sentences imposed concurrently: 5 years for evading, 5 years for kidnapping, and 20 years for aggravated assault.
The State did not seek repeat-offender enhancement under Tex. Penal Code § 12.42.
Facts at sentencing: during a traffic stop Booker drove off while an officer was reaching into her vehicle, trapped the officer, crashed into a tree, and injured the officer; the officer deployed a taser.
Booker appealed, arguing the sentences were disproportionate in violation of the Eighth Amendment; the court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Booker's sentences were grossly disproportionate in violation of the Eighth Amendment	Booker argued the aggregate punishment was excessive and disproportionate to the offenses and her rehabilitative progress on parole	State argued each sentence was within the statutory range, the trial court properly exercised discretion based on the offense severity, prior conduct, and active parole warrant	Court held sentences are within statutory ranges and not grossly disproportionate; affirmed judgment

Winchester v. State, 246 S.W.3d 386 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2008) (sentence within statutory range is generally not excessive)
Moore v. State, 54 S.W.3d 529 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2001) (recognizes narrow Eighth Amendment disproportionality exception)
McGruder v. Puckett, 954 F.2d 313 (5th Cir.) (use comparative gravity-of-offense vs. sentence analysis)
Ex parte Chavez, 213 S.W.3d 320 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (trial court discretion to impose any statutory-range sentence based on informed normative judgment)
Dale v. State, 170 S.W.3d 797 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2005) (sentences within range generally not subject to excessiveness challenge)