Michelle Isaacs v. State
10-14-00338-CR
| Tex. App. | Oct 22, 2015Background
- Michelle Isaacs was convicted after a bench trial of credit card abuse under Tex. Penal Code § 32.31 and sentenced to two years in state jail, suspended in favor of five years’ community supervision.
- The State had to prove Isaacs, with intent to fraudulently obtain a benefit, used Gary Althaus’s credit card knowing it was not issued to her and without his effective consent.
- Althaus testified he gave Isaacs his card number (or the card) at work after she texted asking for it; he never received cash and later saw unauthorized charges to DirecTV and Grandecom providing service to Isaacs’s address.
- Isaacs gave inconsistent statements: initially denying having the number or texts, later saying she received the number by phone and wrote it down, then blaming a boyfriend or her son for the DirecTV charge.
- Detective Clark attempted to obtain Isaacs’s phone texts and interviewed her multiple times; Isaacs failed to produce the texts and repeatedly changed her story.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether evidence was sufficient to prove Isaacs made the DirecTV charge (element of credit card abuse) | The State: circumstantial and direct evidence plus Isaacs’s inconsistent statements support that Isaacs used Althaus’s card to obtain services at her address | Isaacs: insufficient proof she was the person who made the DirecTV charge; alternative actors (son, ex) could have made it | Court affirmed: evidence (direct and circumstantial) and Isaacs’s changing stories permitted a rational factfinder to conclude guilt beyond a reasonable doubt |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (federal sufficiency-of-evidence standard)
- Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. Crim. App.) (circumstantial evidence can be sufficient)
- Lucio v. State, 351 S.W.3d 878 (Tex. Crim. App.) (standard for reviewing sufficiency)
- Conner v. State, 67 S.W.3d 192 (Tex. Crim. App.) (review includes properly and improperly admitted evidence)
- Chambers v. State, 805 S.W.2d 459 (Tex. Crim. App.) (factfinder may judge witness credibility)