Fields v. State
Fields v. State
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by:
This case is on remand from the Court of Criminal Appeals. Previously, this court considered Douglas Elwood Fields’s complaint that the trial judge erred by failing to define “reasonable doubt” in the court’s charge during the punishment phase of trial. Although Fields did not object to the omission at trial, this court
On petition for discretionary review, however, the Court of Criminal Appeals determined that, in the absence of a request by the defendant, the trial court is not required to define “reasonable doubt” to the jury sua sponte and that a defendant who fails to request a definition of reasonable doubt in the punishment charge waives error on appeal. See Fields v. State, 1 S.W.3d 687, 688 (Tex.Crim.App. 1999). That having been decided, and all other issues having been overruled in our earlier review, this court now affirms the sentencing portion of the trial court’s judgment.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Douglas Elwood FIELDS v. The STATE of Texas
- Status
- Published