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Wright v. State6/11/1998
On Appeal from the 351st District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 767,587
William Delmore, III, Houston
Pamela Helen Wright, the appellant, contends the trial court violated her constitutional right to bail by setting bail at $500,000, because no bail bondsman in Harris County is approved for making a bond in that amount. We affirm.
The appellant stands indicted in two criminal felony cases: (1) case number 761141 ("the murder case") and (2) case number 766109 ("the assault case"). In the murder case, the appellant is charged with using a firearm to cause the death of Danny Lee Crosby on August 16, 1997. The appellant was arrested for the murder on August 16 and released on August 20, when she posted a $30,000 bond. The appellant was indicted in the murder case on October 30, 1997.
In the assault case, the appellant is charged with aggravated assault of Richard Jackson on October 16, 1997. Bond was initially set in the assault case by the district attorney at "no bond." The appellant challenged the "no bond" status by filing a motion for a hearing to determine the legality of holding her without bond. Without conducting a hearing, the trial court set bond at $500,000. The appellant then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the bail as excessive. The trial court granted the writ and conducted a hearing.
A. The Habeas Hearing
1. The State's evidence
The State introduced the following documents: the complaint and the indictment in the murder case, the $30,000 bail bond in that case, and the complaint and the indictment in the aggravated assault case. The State called no witnesses and offered no other evidence.
2. The appellant's evidence
a. The appellant
The appellant testified by affidavit that she is 45 years old, has resided in Harris County for 15 years, served in the Army three years, has not been convicted of a felony, and has one sister living in Alabama. She was the caregiver to her father who suffered with cancer of the larynx until he died in June 1997. The appellant has $45,000 in cash, and owns a car and part interest in her family home. She owns no stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Her only source of income is her expected inheritance from her father's estate. She could raise sufficient funds to make a $50,000 bond.
b. The probate lawyer
Patrick Hoskins, a probate lawyer, testified by affidavit that the appellant could expect to receive assets not to exceed one-half of her father's estate, which approached one million dollars. Before incarceration, the appellant had custody of and occupied the family home and acreage at 603 North Peach, Tomball, Harris County, Texas. The estate was tied up in the probate proceedings. Hoskins stated that if the appellant were to flee the jurisdiction of the trial court, she would be fleeing the future distribution of her inheritance.
Hoskins testified that in September 1997, before and after the filing of a wrongful death suit by Lynda Crosby, the appellant called him a number of times, asking how she could legally protect her financial assets, including whether she should stuff her money in a gas can and bury it.
c. The appellant's dentist
Walter M. Jarrell, the appellant's dentist, testified by affidavit that he had treated her October 16, 1997. He said he was treating the appellant for a chronic abscess, and the treatment plan would take six to nine months to complete. This evidence was offered to show that the appellant had no plans to flee the jurisdiction of the court.
d. The bonds
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