Brister v. Texas

A jury convicted appellant of felony driving while intoxicated (DWI), found that appellant did “use or exhibit a deadly weapon, to wit: a motor vehicle during the commission of the offense or during immediate flight therefrom,” and assessed punishment at forty years’ imprisonment. On direct appeal, appellant claimed that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support the deadly-weapon finding. The court of appeals sustained that claim, struck the portion of the trial court’s judgment that found use or exhibition of a deadly weapon, and affirmed the judgment as modified. Both the state and Brister appealed. On this record, the Court of Criminal Appeals concluded the court of appeals correctly determined that there was no reasonable inference that appellant used his motor vehicle as a deadly weapon. The Court overruled the state’s grounds for review. View "Brister v. Texas" on Justia Law