Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of October 15, 2012

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.

Hailey II v. State, No. 02-10-00247-CR   (Oct. 18, 2012)   (Gardner, J., joined by McCoy and Gabriel, JJ.).

Held: In this capital murder of a child, any error in introducing the entire audio-taped interview between the lead detective and the victim's mother was harmless. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting certain of Appellant's custodial and noncustodial statements. Further, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Appellant's challenge for cause based on "implied bias," and the record is insufficient to establish that the trial court improperly limited Appellant's voir dire. Also, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the State to use hypothetical examples - that did not constitute improper commitment questions - during voir dire. Finally, the trial court did not err by denying Appellant's requested article 38.22 and article 38.23 jury instructions.

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