Opinion

Butler v. State

  • 872 S.W.2d 227
  • 1994 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 30
  • 1994 WL 68878
Court
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Filed
Mar 9, 1994
Status
Published
Author
Maloney
On the bench
White, Maloney, Clinton, McCormick, Baird
Cited by
237 cases
Authority
More cited than 10.6%

holding that defense counsel reasonably accepted venire person who stated that the perpetrators of a violent crime against a family friend should have received the death penalty, because venire person’s other statements showed her to be fair and open-minded and willing to set aside her feelings

How later courts described this case

  • holding that defense counsel reasonably accepted venire person who stated that the perpetrators of a violent crime against a family friend should have received the death penalty, because venire person’s other statements showed her to be fair and open-minded and willing to set aside her feelings
  • concluding that the autopsy report prepared by one medical examiner was admissible as a business record based on the authenticating-witness testimony of a different medical examiner in the same office
  • holding that sentencing scheme that permits jury consideration of unadjudicated offenses, which differs from punishment scheme in non-capital cases, does not violate equal protection clause
  • holding that an objection that a witness was testifying from an autopsy report he did not author was not sufficiently specific to preserve a hearsay complaint for appellate review

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

MALONEY, J.,

concurs with note. Assuming under Garcia v. State, 868 S.W.2d 337 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), the Medical Examiner’s autopsy report is not precluded from introduction under Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 803(8)(B) (law enforcement preclusion) and the facts of the report are admissible, it does not follow that the conclusions of that report over a hearsay objection are admissible. See United States v. Rosa, 11 F.3d 315 (2nd Cir.1993) (discussing United States v. Oates, 560 F.2d 45 (2nd Cir.1977), upon which we based our decision in Cole v. State, 839 S.W.2d 798 (Tex.Crim.App.1992)); Tex. R.Crim.Evid. 803(8)(B) (“matters observed” by non-law enforcement personnel admissible); Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 803(8)(C) (“factual findings” against the state admissible). However, given the absence of a specific objection, I concur in the result.

McCORMICK, P.J., and BAIRD, J., not participating.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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