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Hooks v. State3/7/2001
arkana 1998, no pet.). In contrast, a factual sufficiency review requires that the evidence be viewed in a neutral light that favors neither party. Johnson v. State, 23 S.W.3d at 7.
When a challenge to both legal and factual sufficiency is presented, an appellate court must first determine whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support the verdict. Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126, 135 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996); Hines v. State, 978 S.W.2d at 172. If the court finds the evidence legally insufficient, the case must be reversed and a judgment of acquittal rendered. Gaffney v. State, 937 S.W.2d 540, 541 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 1996, pet. ref'd). If the court finds the evidence factually insufficient, the conviction must be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial. Id. The standard for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is the same for cases involving direct or circumstantial evidence. Jackson v. State, 672 S.W.2d 801, 803 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984).
A legal sufficiency review requires us to view the relevant evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 319; Johnson v. State, 23 S.W.3d at 7; Hines v. State, 978 S.W.2d at 172. An inquiry into legal sufficiency does not require us to ascertain whether we believe the evidence at trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Gaffney v. State, 937 S.W.2d at 541. If there is any evidence that could establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the conviction will not be reversed for legal insufficiency. Hines v. State, 978 S.W.2d at 172. This Court positions itself as a final due process safeguard to ensure the rationality of the fact finder. Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d 866, 867 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988); Hines v. State, 978 S.W.2d at 172.
We find the evidence legally sufficient to support the jury's verdict. As to the issue of guilt, Hooks' only contention is that there is legally insufficient evidence to show that he struck Carney while Carney was off the roadway. That fact is important because it would be probative of a causal connection between Hooks' intoxication and his striking Carney, since it would indicate that Hooks' intoxication caused him to run off the roadway. We find sufficient circumstantial evidence to support a conclusion that Hooks struck Carney while Carney was off the roadway. Patterson saw Carney walking on the grassy edge of the highway shoulder. In fact she testified that she pulled off the roadway onto the shoulder when she tried to convince Carney to get back into her vehicle. Additionally, Officer Hitt, an experienced DPS officer, testified that at the accident scene he observed yaw marks suggesting that a vehicle had made a sharp, evasive movement from the shoulder back onto the roadway. Officer Hitt also testified that he observed a trail of antifreeze from the shoulder back onto the roadway. The State subsequently called DPS Sergeant Donnie Willingham, supervisor of the Tyler district accident reconstruction team. As an expert in accident reconstruction, Willingham opined that because of the position of Carney's shoes, which were knocked off of Carney at the impact, Carney was most likely struck while he was off the road. Willingham prepared a scale diagram representing the accident scene, and he testified that it indicated from the location of yaw marks, coolant leakage, and debris from the impact that Carney was off the road when he was hit. On a legal sufficiency challenge, we do not assess the evidence as a whole, but only examine the evidence most favorable to the verdict. Viewed from that perspective, the evidence is legally sufficien
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