81 results for 'judge:"Stevens"'.
J. Stevens reverses, in part, the trial court’s order of parental termination rights related to three children who were found living with their drug-using mother in a U-Haul van, then placed in the custody of the father, who is now incarcerated for child endangerment after the kids tested positive for methamphetamine abuse. The state’s family service plan was not filed into the trial court’s record or the appellate record and, therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support the mother's failure to comply with the plan. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the state’s assertions the mother did not complete a drug abuse program or that she continued using drugs after completing such a program. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 06-23-97, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Negligence
J. Stevens upholds defendant's drug conviction and 40-year sentence. He argues that, since he was only staying at the apartment temporarily and was not the sole occupant of the apartment, the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly possessed methamphetamine. However, "the logical force of the evidence strongly links” defendant to the illegal drug. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 06-23-223, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Search
J. Stevens upholds a trial court judgment denying the appeal of a convicted felon whose eight-year suspended sentence for illegal possession of a firearm was revoked. Defense counsel found no genuine issues to justify an appeal, and, upon review of the record, no reversible error exists. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 06-23-157-CR, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Restitution
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J. Stevens reverses and remands a trial court's order denying a non-citizen's claim of selective prosecution under the Texas Equal Rights Amendment. The defendant was arrested for criminal trespass on a railroad, a misdemeanor, pursuant to Governor Greg Abbott’s disaster proclamation in 34 counties to prevent the “ongoing surge” of illegal migrants from Mexico. The court of appeals is constrained to rule under another district's precedent, which found the state failed to show its prosecution of male, but not female, immigrants served a governmental interest in border protection. Reversed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 06-24-39-CR, Categories: Constitution, Immigration, Trespass
J. Stevens affirms the trial court’s defendant's guilty plea conviction for murder and jury-imposed life sentence. The trial judge properly denied defendant’s request for a change of venue. He unsuccessfully argued he could not get a fair trial in the small county, citing comments by 95 people on earlier Facebook posts by the parents of the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 06-23-142, Categories: Jury, Murder, Sentencing
J. Stevens finds that while the trial court properly reinstated a prior summary judgment in a property dispute case, a portion of the order should be reversed for being overbroad. The specified paragraph in the order that prohibits the owners from "using or advertising the property for special events or other non-residential uses" is overbroad, so the case is remanded for the trial court to reconsider and redraft the language. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00080-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property, Trusts
J. Stevens finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of a DUI. The evidence supports a finding that defendant drove his car while intoxicated because he was found unconscious in the driver's seat, parked in an intersection, with the car running and the key fob in his pocket. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: ED111607, Categories: Dui
J. Stevens finds that the trial court properly ordered genetic testing in order to determine the paternity of a six-year-old child. It is in the child’s best interest to know whether his father is the man who was married to his mother at the time of his birth, or his acting father, who was cohabitating with his mother at the child’s time of birth. Affirmed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: J-A23031-23, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law, Guardianship
J. Stevens finds that the trial court properly entered an order of sale for the decedent's property in Hunt County. The daughter argued she had partition claims that should have been resolved prior to the property sale, but she had no viable partition claims in her third amended petition, which was her live pleading. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00017-CV, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
J. Stevens finds that defendant was properly convicted of meth possession and given a 25-year sentence. Defendant argues that the trial court should have warned him of the "deportation consequences of his conviction," but the record shows that he was aware of the "negative immigration consequences" resulting from his guilty plea. Though, the $180 in restitution was improperly assessed and is deleted. Affirmed as modified.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 06-22-00135-CR, Categories: Drug Offender, Restitution, Plea
J. Stevens finds that the mother's parental rights to her children were properly terminated based on sufficient evidence to support the statutory ground as to endangering conduct. The mother knowingly used illegal drugs when she was pregnant, did not comply with her service plan and was unable to show she could provide for the children. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00089-CV, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Stevens finds that the lower court properly upheld the revocation of the man's driving privileges after he had an accident and a breath test found his blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit. At the hospital, however, the man refused to consent to a blood draw to complete the DUI investigation. While the man was not physically restrained by police at the time of his arrest, due to his being in a hospital bed, the arrest was valid and the man indicated he understood he was under arrest. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: ED111737, Categories: Miranda, Search, Dui
J. Stevens finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sodomy. Multiple witnesses testified that the victim was extremely intoxicated, rendering her incapable of giving consent to having sex with defendant. Further, the trial court did not err in admitting defendant's statement that his wife wanted a divorce because he "had a Facebook girlfriend," as this does not qualify as character evidence and says nothing about his propensity to have sex with unconsenting women. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: ED110967, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender