Ex Parte Queen
Lead Opinion
OPINION ON APPELLANTS PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
This is a pre-trial application for writ of habeas corpus seeking to bar a retrial on double jeopardy grounds after the trial court has granted appellant’s motion for new trial on a ground other than insufficient evidence. The trial court denied the pre-trial writ of habeas corpus. The First Court of Appeals affirmed with the Chief Justice concurring. Ex parte Queen,
The following facts are quoted from the Court of Appeals’ opinion:
Appellant was charged by indictment with burglary of a habitation. After his plea of not guilty, a jury found appellant guilty, found two enhancement allegations in the indictment to be true, and assessed his punishment at 40 years’ confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division.
Appellant filed a motion for new trial, asserting that his conviction should be set aside due to ineffective assistance of counsel, an erroneous jury charge, newly discovered evidence, and a verdict contrary to the law and evidence. The motion for new trial was heard, recessed, and finally overruled by operation of law. In 1990, appellant appealed to [the First Court of Appeals], which abated the appeal1 and ordered the trial court to consider a second motion for new trial. After a hearing, the trial court apparently granted a new trial; however, the record contains neither a statement of facts from the hearing on the motion for new trial nor an order granting a new trial.[2]
Prior to retrial, appellant filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that double jeopardy considerations barred any retrial since his original conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence. This appeal follows the trial court’s denial of [the] writ.
Ex parte Queen,
On appeal to the First Court of Appeals, appellant argued that double jeopardy
In Lofton, the trial court granted a motion for new trial on unspecified grounds. Thereafter, Lofton filed a pre-trial application for writ of habeas corpus asserting that double jeopardy barred a retrial because the evidence at his first trial was insufficient and he was entitled to have the issue of sufficiency finally determined. Lofton, 777 S.W.2d at 96-97. This Court noted that the federal and state constitutions protect against “a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction and against multiple punishments for the same offense.” Lofton, 777 S.W.2d at 97 (citing North Carolina v. Pearce,
The principal reason [Lofton] is not entitled to relief is that under the facts of this case he is not being threatened with exposure to “double” jeopardy. Although it attached in the first trial, jeopardy was not terminated by an acquittal or conviction. After hearing, the trial judge did not order an acquittal for insufficient evidence; rather, the court set aside the verdict and vacated its judgment by granting a new trial on [Lofton’s motion], thereby restoring the case “to its position before the former trial.”Tex.R.App.P. 32 . Therefore, as with a new trial after a mistrial, initial jeopardy continues.
Lofton, 777 S.W.2d at 97 (emphasis added) (citing Richardson v. United States,
Appellant contends that our reliance in Lofton upon Richardson and Ex parte McAfee was misplaced because we erroneously equated the post-verdict grant of a defendant’s motion for new trial with a new trial occasioned by a mistrial due to the jury’s inability to render a verdict. In Richardson, the United States Supreme Court held that under the Fifth Amendment, a trial court’s declaration of a mistrial due to the jury’s inability to agree on a verdict was not an event that terminated jeopardy; therefore, double jeopardy did not bar a retrial “regardless of the sufficiency of the evidence at [the] first trial.” Richardson,
In Lofton, this Court recognized that in Richardson and Ex parte McAfee the juries were unable to agree on a verdict which resulted in a mistrial and a new trial, but concluded that those cases were sufficiently analogous to the grant of a defendant’s motion for new trial after the jury rendered a verdict because “as with a new trial after a mistrial, initial jeopardy continues.” Lofton, 777 S.W.2d at 97. “[T]he protection of the Double Jeopardy Clause by its terms, applies only if there has been some event, such as an acquittal, which terminates the original jeopardy.” Richardson,
Appellant states, as did the concurring opinion in the court below,
Appellant cites several federal cases in support of his position. See United States v. Wood,
Thus, under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a motion for new trial must be granted on insufficiency of the evidence before questions of jeopardy and sufficiency can be reviewed on appeal via a pre-trial writ of habeas corpus.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is AFFIRMED.
Notes
. Ex parte Timothy Hugh Queen, No. 01-91-00194 — CR (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.], March 15, 1991) (order) (unpublished).
2. The Court of Appeals noted that in his application for writ of habeas corpus, appellant stated that the trial court granted his motion for new trial based upon ineffective assistance of counsel. Ex parte Queen,
. The concurring opinion stated:
There is no reason that appellant should be penalized by denial of a review of the sufficiency of the evidence simply because he obtained a post-verdict reversal from the trial as opposed to the appellate court.
Perhaps a brief review of the procedural facts of this case most clearly demonstrates the injustice of the Lofton rule. Appellant’s motion for new trial was initially overruled and direct appeal was commenced. Appellate counsel (who did not represent appellant at trial or for purposes of post-trial motions) moved to abate the appeal when the trial judge agreed to rehear the motion for new trial. The trial judge then granted the new trial on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. Appellant now finds himself with no avenue to question the sufficiency of the evidence. If the trial judge had erroneously denied the motion for new trial, appellant would have had a right to complete appellate review. Certainly, such result is contrary to fairness and common sense. If the evidence was insufficient at appellant’s first trial, he should not be subject to the retrial. The Lofton rule precludes our even reviewing the evidence to determine its sufficiency. We should have that opportunity, and the appellant should have that right.
Ex parte Queen,
. Alternatively, appellant claims that article one, section fourteen of the Texas Constitution permits a defendant to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence via a pre-trial writ of habeas corpus when his or her motion for new trial is granted on trial error. However, appellant did not present his state constitutional argument to the Court of Appeals, and by raising it for the first time in this Court, we are not presented with a decision of the Court of Appeals to review. See
Additionally, because appellant does not proffer any argument as to the protection afforded by the state constitution or how that protection differs from the federal constitution, appellant's state constitutional argument is not properly presented for our review, and we will not advance those claims for him. Robinson v. State,
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting to denial of appellant’s motion for rehearing.
On original submission, a majority of this Court held the sufficiency of the evidence may not be challenged by pretrial writ of habeas corpus following the granting of a motion for a new trial on non-sufficiency grounds. Ex parte Queen,
I.
A.
The opinion on original submission demonstrates a confusion with the labyrinthine jurisprudence underpinning the Constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: “[NJor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ...”
the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.
Green v. United States,
The Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against placing a defendant “twice in jeopardy” represents a constitutional policy of finality for the defendant’s benefit in ... criminal proceedings. A power in government to subject the individual to repeated prosecutions for the same offense would cut deeply into the framework of procedural protections which the Constitution establishes for the conduct of a criminal trial. And society’s awareness of the heavy personal strain which a criminal trial represents for the individual defendant is manifested in the willingness to limit the Government to a single criminal proceeding to vindicate its very vital interest in enforcement of criminal laws.
Jeopardy attaches when the jury is impaneled and sworn, Crist v. Bretz,
Burks was convicted of armed robbery and filed a motion for a new trial alleging insufficiency of the evidence. Id.,
The United States Supreme Court reviewed the Court of Appeals’ decision and distinguished reversals resulting from trial error and reversals because the evidence was insufficient. Retrial following a reversal for trial error does not violate the prohibition against double jeopardy because trial errors are unrelated to the actual guilt or innocence of the defendant. Instead, a reversal for trial error relates to defects in the judicial process, such as the improper admission of evidence. Burks,
However, retrial following a reversal for insufficient evidence relates directly to the defendant’s guilt or innocence. A ruling that the evidence is insufficient “means that the government’s ease was so lacking that it should not have even been submitted to the jury.” Burks,
In our view it makes no difference that a defendant has sought a new trial as one of his remedies, or even as the sole remedy. It cannot be meaningfully said that a person “waives” his right to a judgment of acquittal by moving for a new trial_ Since we hold today that the Double Jeopardy Clause precludes a second trial once the reviewing court has found the evidence legally insufficient, the only “just” remedy available for that court is the direction of a judgment of acquittal. To the extent that our prior decisions suggest that by moving for a new trial, a defendant waives his right to a judgment of aoquittal on the basis of evidentiary insufficiency, those cases are overruled,4
Burks,
II.
A.
In the instant case, appellant filed a motion for new trial alleging insufficient evidence and ineffective assistance of counsel. Although the Burks Court explicitly held that a defendant who files a motion for new trial does not waive his right to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, Burks,
Following his conviction by a jury and subsequent grant of a new trial on unspecified grounds,
The principle reason applicant is not entitled to relief is that under the facts of this cause he is not being threatened with exposure to “double” jeopardy. Although it attached in the first trial, jeopardy was not terminated by an acquittal or conviction. After hearing, the trial judge did not order an acquittal for insufficient evidence; rather, the court set aside the verdict and vacated its judgment by granting a new trial on motion of applicant, thereby restoring the case “to its position before the former trial,” Tex.R.App.P. 32 . Therefore, as with a new trial after a mistrial, initial jeopardy continues.... Richardson v. United States,468 U.S. 317 ,104 S.Ct. 3081 ,82 L.Ed.2d 242 (1984).
Lofton,
B.
The Lofton Court relied on Richardson v. United States,
We think that the principles governing our decision in Burks, and the principles governing our decisions in the hung jury cases, are readily reconciled when we recognize that the protections of the Double Jeopardy Clause by its terms applies only if there has been some event, such as an acquittal, which terminates the original jeopardy.... Since jeopardy attached here when the jury was sworn ... petitioner’s argument necessarily assumes that the judicial declaration of a mistrial was an event which terminated jeopardy in his case and which allowed him to assert a valid claim of double jeopardy.
But this proposition is irreconcilable with cases such as Perez and Logan, and we hold on the authority of these eases that the failure of the jury to reach a verdict is not an event which terminates jeopardy. Our holding in Burks established only that an appellate court’s finding of insufficient evidence to convict on appeal from a judgment of conviction is for double jeopardy purposes, the equivalent of an acquittal; it obviously did not establish, consistently with such cases as Perez, that a hung jury is the equivalent of an acquittal.
Richardson,
C.
It is readily apparent that Lofton and Richardson implicate different rules of double jeopardy. Richardson, which concerned a mistrial resulting from a hung jury, was governed by the manifest necessity exception
III.
On original submission, the majority held “a motion for new trial must be granted on insufficiency of the evidence before questions of jeopardy and sufficiency can be reviewed on appeal via a pre-trial writ of habeas corpus.” Queen,
Consequently, I would grant appellant’s motion for rehearing and remand this case to the Court of Appeals to consider appellant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, Because the majority fails to do so, I respectfully dissent.
. In Benton v. Maryland,
. An acquittal will always terminate jeopardy and prevent retrial. Washington,
. However, jeopardy does not bar a retrial when the conviction is reversed for trial error. Lockhart v. Nelson,
. All emphasis is supplied unless otherwise indicated.
. Lofton apparently urged both newly discovered evidence and insufficient evidence in his motion for new trial. While the record is unclear, it appears that Lofton’s motion for new trial was granted on the basis of newly discovered evidence. Lofton,
. As a general rule, a retrial following a mistrial without the defendant’s consent is jeopardy barred. Green,
The Supreme Court has long held that a mistrial resulting from a hung jury falls within the manifest necessity exception to the prohibition against double jeopardy. Perez, supra, and, Logan, supra. The policy supporting this exception is rooted in society's interest in permitting the State to complete a prosecution against alleged violators where "unforeseeable circumstances that arise during a trial [make] its completion impossible, such as the failure of a jury to agree on a verdict.” Richardson,
. In deciding Lofton, we erroneously stated: "the principle reason [Lofton] is not entitled to relief ... is that jeopardy was not terminated by an acquittal or conviction.” Id.,
. Despite the similar procedural facts in Burks, and Lofton, e.g. following conviction, both filed motions for a new trial alleging insufficiency of the evidence, in Lofton, this Court inexplicably distinguished Burks, stating:
Burks v. United States ... is inapposite here; it did not lay down some overriding principle of double jeopardy law that was applicable across the board to situations totally different from the facts out of which it arose [and] did not extend beyond the procedural setting in which it arose.
Lofton, 777 S.W.2d at 97-98 (citation and internal quotations omitted).
.On original submission, the majority failed to mention Burks and, therefore, fails to address the double jeopardy principles expressed therein. Nonetheless, it is clear in light of the discussion above that the holding on original submission cannot be reconciled with Burks.
Lead Opinion
ON APPELLANT’S MOTION FOR REHEARING
Appellant’s motion for rehearing on petition for discretionary review denied.