Jones v. Texas

Appellant Dedric Jones was convicted of the offense of assault on a family member, and because he had previously been convicted of such an offense, this repeat offense was a third degree felony. Appellant pled true to two additional prior felony enhancement counts, and the trial court assessed his punishment at confinement for twenty-five years in the penitentiary. The court of appeals reversed the conviction, holding the trial court erred in disallowing a certain line of questioning during Appellant’s cross-examination of the principal witness against him and it was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Having reversed the conviction on this basis, the court of appeals declined to address Appellant’s second point of error. In its petition for discretionary review, the State argued the court of appeals erred on both counts: in concluding both that constitutional error occurred and that any constitutional error was not harmless. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the court of appeals’ judgment on the basis of the second, concluding that, while constitutional error did occur, it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. View "Jones v. Texas" on Justia Law