Waggoner v. State

Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(B).

On Appeal from the County Court Irion County, Texas Trial Court Case No. CR19-3982

Panel consists of Justices Kelly, Guerra, and Farris.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

April L. Farris, Justice

A jury convicted appellant, Richard Lynn Waggoner, of the Class C misdemeanor offense of driving while license invalid.^[1] The trial court assessed a $300 fine.

On appeal, Waggoner challenges the trial court's jurisdiction over him. He further argues that the statute prohibiting driving with an invalid license is unconstitutional. We affirm.

Background

On June 24, 2019, Douglas Mase noticed a vehicle parked outside of a courthouse in Sherwood, Texas.^[2] Waggoner and another man were walking around the courthouse with metal detectors. Mase was aware that the area had had recent problems with theft and burglary, and he called the nonemergency number of the Irion County Sheriff's Department to report this suspicious activity. Mase went inside a store for approximately five minutes, and when he came out, Waggoner and his companion were in the vehicle and driving away from the courthouse into a neighborhood.

Jennifer Riojas lives in Sherwood, and her daughter was outside playing. Her daughter came inside and informed her that a vehicle was driving slowly past the house. Riojas went outside and watched a vehicle drive around ten miles per hour down the street multiple times. She called the sheriff's department to report this

suspicious behavior and provide a description of the vehicle. By the time she ended the call, she could see Waggoner and another man getting out of the vehicle with metal detectors. She then saw the men start to drive away when a sheriff's deputy arrived. Riojas saw the deputy conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle.

Deputy Randy Swick received a dispatch concerning suspicious activity near the Sherwood courthouse. When he arrived in the area, he saw a vehicle matching the description he had been given in the dispatch. Waggoner was driving the vehicle. During the ensuing traffic stop, Waggoner produced a driver's license, but the license had expired and was no longer valid. Swick called the driver's license number into the dispatcher, who confirmed that Waggoner's license had been suspended. Swick also observed that the vehicle's registration was expired. When he asked Waggoner about the driver's license, Waggoner informed Swick that he did not need a license and he had a Supreme Court case that confirmed this. Swick decided not to arrest Waggoner for driving without a valid license, but he issued a citation to Waggoner.

After Swick issued the citation, Waggoner had a jury trial in Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct One, in Irion County. The jury in the justice court found Waggoner guilty of the offense of driving while license invalid and assessed a $500 fine. Waggoner then appealed to the County Court of Irion County, which conducted a trial de novo. At trial, Mase, Riojas, and Swick all testified. The trial court admitted

a certified copy of Waggoner's driving record issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which indicated that Waggoner's driver's license expired on February 28, 2018, and that he was denied renewal of the license indefinitely for "failure to appear."^[3]

Waggoner testified on his own behalf. On cross-examination, he admitted that he was driving a vehicle on June 24, 2019, and that his driver's license was not valid because he had rescinded it. He disagreed that his license had been suspended for failure to appear, but he agreed that his license had been suspended for failure to pay a traffic ticket. Waggoner testified that he did not "have to have a driver's license," but he agreed that his license was invalid at the time of trial and at the time of the offense.

The jury in the county court found Waggoner guilty of the offense of driving while license invalid, and the trial court imposed a $300 fine. This appeal followed.

Jurisdiction of County Court

On appeal, Waggoner argues that the County Court of Irion County did not have jurisdiction over him, and therefore the judgment of conviction is void.

Constitutional county courts, such as the Irion County Court, have "exclusive original jurisdiction of misdemeanors other than misdemeanors involving official

misconduct and cases in which the highest fine that may be imposed is $500 or less.” TEX. GOV'T CODE § 26.045(a); TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 4.07 (“The county courts shall have original jurisdiction of all misdemeanors of which exclusive original jurisdiction is not given to the justice court, and when the fine to be imposed shall exceed five hundred dollars.”); see also TEX. CONST. art. V, § 16 (“The County Court has jurisdiction as provided by law.”). Constitutional county courts have appellate jurisdiction “in criminal cases of which justice courts and other inferior courts have original jurisdiction.” TEX. GOV'T CODE § 26.046; TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 4.08 (“The county courts shall have appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases of which justice courts and other inferior courts have original jurisdiction.”). Justice of the peace courts have original jurisdiction “in criminal matters of misdemeanor cases punishable by fine only.” TEX. CONST. art. V, § 19; see also TEX. GOV'T CODE § 26.218(a) (“In addition to other jurisdiction provided by law, the County Court of Irion County has original concurrent jurisdiction with the justice courts in all civil and criminal matters in which the justice courts have jurisdiction under general law.”).

In this case, Waggoner was charged with driving while license invalid, in violation of Transportation Code section 521.457. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 521.457(a). This offense is a Class C misdemeanor. Id. § 521.457(e). Class C misdemeanors are punishable by a fine not to exceed $500. TEX. PENAL CODE

§ 12.23. As this offense was punishable by a fine only, the justice court of Irion County had original jurisdiction over this case, and the Irion County Court had appellate jurisdiction. See TEX. CONST. ART. V, §§ 16, 19; TEX. GOV'T CODE § 26.046; TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ART. 4.08.

The record reflects that Waggoner was convicted in a jury trial in the justice court, and he then appealed his case to the Irion County Court for a trial de novo. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ART. 45.042(A)-(B) (providing that "[a]ppeals from a justice or municipal court . . . shall be heard by the county court" and that trial "shall be de novo"). The record also contains the charging instrument-a complaint alleging that Waggoner operated a motor vehicle on a public highway while his driver's license was invalid-which identified Waggoner and informed him of the allegations against him, vesting the Irion county justice court with jurisdiction to hear the case.^[4] See TEX. CONST. ART. V, § 12 (providing that presentment of charging instrument to court "invests the court with jurisdiction of the cause"); Teal v. State, 230 S.W.3d 172, 179-80 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (stating that charging instrument must allege that "a person" "committed an offense" to vest court with jurisdiction, and if allegations in charging instrument "are clear enough that one can identify the

offense alleged," charging instrument is sufficient to confer subject-matter jurisdiction); Borne v. State, 593 S.W.3d 404, 410 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 2020, no pet.) (holding that presentment of charging instrument vested trial court with subjectmatter jurisdiction over case). By filing an appeal bond in the justice court following his conviction, Waggoner perfected his appeal to the Irion County court, vesting that court with jurisdiction. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ART. 45.0426.

To the extent Waggoner argues that the justice court and county court lacked jurisdiction over him because he is a "sovereign citizen," we note that our sister courts and federal courts have uniformly rejected this as a valid defense to prosecution. See, e.g., Borne, 593 S.W.3d at 412-13 (collecting cases and stating that defendant's "alleged sovereign-citizen status does not mean he should be allowed to violate state laws without consequence, nor does it exempt [the defendant] from the jurisdiction of the Texas courts"); Lewis v. State, 532 S.W.3d 423, 430-31 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, pet. ref'd) (discussing common trial strategies of "sovereign citizens"); see also United States v. Benabe, 654 F.3d 753, 767 (7th Cir. 2011) ("Regardless of an individual's claimed status of descent, be it as a 'sovereign citizen,' a 'secured-party creditor,' or a 'flesh-and-blood human being,' that person is not beyond the jurisdiction of the courts. These theories should be rejected summarily, however they are presented.").

We hold that both the justice court and county court of Irion County had jurisdiction to hear the case against Waggoner.

Constitutionality of Statute

Waggoner also argues that Transportation Code 521.457-which prohibits a person from driving while his license is invalid-is unconstitutional because it impermissibly infringes upon a person's constitutional right to travel.

A. Standard of Review

When considering the constitutionality of a statute, we presume that the statute is valid. Allen v. State, 614 S.W.3d 736, 740 (Tex. Crim. App. 2019); TEX. GOV'T CODE § 311.021(1) ("In enacting a statute, it is presumed that . . . compliance with the constitutions of this state and the United States is intended ...."). We seek to interpret a statute such that its constitutionality is supported and upheld, and we make every reasonable presumption in favor of its constitutionality, unless the...