Williams, Emil Lionel v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 174th District Court of Harris County

Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed October 7, 2003.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

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NO. 14-02-00933-CR

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EMIL LIONEL WILLIAMS, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

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On Appeal from the 174th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 851,265

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M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N

Emil Lionel Williams appeals a conviction for felony arson[1] on the ground that his 20-year sentence was not proportional to the offense committed and thus constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the United States and Texas Constitutions.[2] We affirm.

To preserve a complaint for appellate review, a party must present a timely objection to the trial court. Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a)(1). In this case, because appellant failed to object to his punishment in the trial court, his complaint presents nothing for our review. See id.; see also Idowu v. State, 73 S.W.3d 918, 921 n.9 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002); Rhoades v. State, 934 S.W.2d 113, 120 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).[3]

In addition, the Eighth Amendment does not require strict proportionality between crime and sentence; it only forbids sentences that are grossly disproportionate to the crime. Ewing v. California, 123 S. Ct. 1179, 1186-87 (2003). Moreover, the imposition of a sentence within the statutory limits, as in this case,[4] is generally not cruel and unusual punishment for purposes of the Texas Constitution. See Samuel v. State, 477 S.W.2d 611, 614 (Tex. Crim. App. 1972). Therefore, appellant s first and second issues are overruled, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

/s/ Richard H. Edelman

Justice

Judgment rendered and Memorandum Opinion filed October 7, 2003.

Panel consists of Justices Yates, Edelman, and Guzman.

Do Not Publish Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).

[1] After appellant initially pled no contest, the trial court placed him on deferred adjudication community supervision for three years. Following the State s subsequent motion to adjudicate guilt, the trial court adjudged appellant guilty and sentenced him to 20 years confinement.

[2] See U.S. Const. amends. VIII, XIV; Tex. Const. art. I, 13.

[3] Even many constitutional rights may be waived by a failure to make a timely and specific objection. See Broxton v. State, 909 S.W.2d 912, 918 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995).

[4] Arson is a second degree felony punishable by imprisonment for a term of two to twenty years and a fine not to exceed $10,000. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. 12.33, 28.02 (Vernon 2003).