Joanna Brady v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 252nd District Court of Jefferson County (majority)
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In The Court of Appeals Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont ________________ NO. 09-11-00375-CR ________________ JOANNA BRADY, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee ________________________________________________________________________ On Appeal from the 252nd District Court Jefferson County, Texas Trial Cause No. 09-07009 ________________________________________________________________________ MEMORANDUM OPINION Pursuant to a plea bargain agreement, appellant Joanna Brady pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation. The trial court found the evidence sufficient to find Brady guilty, but deferred further proceedings, placed Brady on community supervision for two years, and assessed a fine of $500. The State subsequently filed a motion to revoke Brady s unadjudicated community supervision. Brady pleaded true to one violation of the terms of her community supervision. The trial court found that Brady violated the conditions of her community supervision, found her guilty, and assessed punishment at twelve years of confinement. Brady then filed this appeal, in which she argues that the 1 trial court s sentencing was constitutionally disproportionate and unreasonable. See U.S. CONST. amend. VIII; Tex. Const. art. I, § 13. We affirm the trial court s judgment. In issues one and two, Brady argues that the trial court s sentencing was disproportionate and unreasonable, thereby violating her rights under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, section 13 of the Texas Constitution. See U.S. CONST. amend. VIII; Tex. Const. art. I, § 13. The record does not reflect that Brady raised her state and federal constitutional complaints in the trial court. See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a). However, even if Brady had preserved her constitutional issues for our review, Brady s arguments would still fail. Brady s sentence was within the statutorilyauthorized range of punishment for the offense. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 30.02(c)(1) (West 2011) (burglary of a habitation is a second-degree felony); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 12.33 (West 2011) (second-degree felony punishment range is two to twenty years of confinement and a fine of up to $10,000). Generally, a sentence that is within the range of punishment established by the Legislature will not be disturbed on appeal. Jackson v. State, 680 S.W.2d 809, 814 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984). In addition, a punishment that is within the statutory range for the offense is generally not excessive or unconstitutionally cruel or unusual under the Texas Constitution or the U.S. Constitution. Kirk v. State, 949 S.W.2d 769, 772 (Tex. App. Dallas 1997, pet. ref d); see also Jackson v. State, 989 S.W.2d 842, 846 (Tex. App. 2 Texarkana 1999, no pet.). We overrule issues one and two and affirm the trial court s judgment. AFFIRMED. ________________________________ STEVE McKEITHEN Chief Justice Submitted on September 30, 2011 Opinion Delivered October 12, 2011 Do Not Publish Before McKeithen, C.J., Gaultney and Kreger, JJ. 3
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