Bowen v. Texas (Original)
Annotate this CaseAppellant Deborah Bowen's father died in 2001. Her father's will established a family trust, and Appellant's mother was named as the primary beneficiary. The trust was to terminate at her mother's death, and the trust assets were to be distributed equally, per stirpes, to Appellant and her brother, Jackie. Jackie predeceased his mother, leaving three children. Appellant was appointed co-trustee in 2004. The balance of the trust at the time of appointment was $620,065. Appellant distributed the entire balance of the trust to herself when her mother died, rather than distribute one-half of the assets to Jackie's children, as required by the trust provisions. Jackie's daughter, Dana White, had power of attorney to act on behalf of her two brothers. Appellant was charged with misapplication of fiduciary property owned by or held for the benefit of White for the value of $200,000 or more. Tex. Penal Code section 32.45(b) & (c)(7). She was convicted by a jury, sentenced to eight years in prison, and ordered to pay a fine and restitution to White and her brothers. No lesser-included offense instructions were submitted to the jury. The State filed a petition for discretionary review, asking the Court to overrule "Collier v. Texas" (999 S.W.2d 779 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999)) in which the Court held that the court of appeals cannot reform a conviction of a greater offense to a lesser-included offense unless the lesser-included offense was requested by the parties or included in the jury charge. Further, the State argued that the judgment of the Eastland Court of Appeals be reversed and remanded to reflect a conviction for the appropriate lesser-included offense. Upon review, The Court overruled "Collier" and its progeny. Appellant's conviction stood, and the Court reversed the judgment of the Eastland Court of Appeals. The case was remanded to the trial court to reform the conviction to reflect the felony of misapplication of of fiduciary property in the second degree and to conduct a new punishment hearing.
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