Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued – Week of September 06, 2010

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

Cook v. State,   No. 02-09-00036-CR    (Sept. 9, 2010)    (Meier, J., joined by Livingston, C.J., and Gardner, J.).

Held:    In this intoxication manslaughter case, the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support the trial court's finding that Appellant used her vehicle as a deadly weapon when she veered off the road and ran into the decedent with her vehicle. The evidence supports that Appellant was speeding, failed to keep a proper lookout, and never applied her brakes even after striking the decedent. The impact of her vehicle with the decedent caused him to land eighty-six feet from where Appellant initially struck him. Appellant's vehicle came to rest only after she collided with another stationary vehicle.

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