Court Opinion

ID: 9656809
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 20:02:50.357661+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:36.589115
License: Public Domain

SUE WALKER, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The majority holds that trial counsel failed to preserve error during closing argument when the trial court ruled, in response to an objection by Dr. Henson’s attorney, that the jury should disregard any workers’ compensation testimony given by any witness. In her two issues on appeal, Smith correctly characterizes the trial court’s action as a ruling. The majority, however, mischar-acterizes the trial court’s ruling as an improper comment and relies on case law dealing with improper comments and conduct by trial courts; these comment and conduct cases are inapplicable to the ruling challenged here. The majority fails to cite any case law whatsoever holding that an objection to a trial court’s ruling, which is adverse to the party appealing, is required to preserve error. In fact, the rules of appellate procedure expressly disavow the necessity of objecting or excepting to a trial court ruling in order to preserve error. See Tex.R.App. P. 33.1(c) (providing that no formal exception to a trial court ruling is required to preserve a complaint for appeal). Once the trial court has made a ruling on the record, no authority exists for the proposition that trial counsel must object to or note his exception to the trial court’s ruling, i.e., essentially argue with the trial court about an already-made ruling, to preserve error. I would address the merits of Smith’s complaints concerning the trial court’s ruling. Because the majority does not, I respectfully dissent.