Court Opinion

ID: 9858689
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 16:34:51.088382+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:55:27.760778
License: Public Domain

ROBERTSON, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by this Court. However, the purpose of this concurrence is to address a problem of constitutional dimension which was not raised by the parties.
We are remanding this cause to the court of appeals for it to again review the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s finding on gross negligence. In doing so, this Court once again reiterates the standard of review set forth in In re King’s Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660 (1951). The time has come for us to take a serious look at this standard.
Article V, section 6 of the Texas Constitution provides that the decisions of the courts of appeal “shall be conclusive on all questions of fact brought before them on appeal or error.” This section plainly does not give to a court of appeals the power to substitute its thought processes for those of a jury. Indeed, this section was never intended to enlarge the powers of the courts of appeal, but was intended to restrict the jurisdiction of the supreme court to questions of law. Choate v. San Antonio & A.P. Ry. Co., 91 Tex. 406, 44 S.W. 69 (1898).
Even before this provision was amended to the Constitution in 1891, this Court wrestled with the problem of determining how an appellate court can review the facts. See, e.g., Missouri Pacific Ry. Co. v. Somers, 78 Tex. 439, 14 S.W. 779 (1890); Willis v. Lewis, 28 Tex. 185 (1866); Love v. Barber, 17 Tex. 312 (1856). After the constitutional amendment, this Court repeatedly interpreted article V, section 6 as giving to courts of appeal the power to review for sufficiency of the evidence. See, e.g., In re King’s Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660 (1951); Electric Express & Baggage Co. v. Ablon, 110 Tex. 235, 218 S.W. 1030 (1920). We have indicated that courts of appeal are to weigh all the evidence to determine if the jury verdict is so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be manifestly unjust. Courts of appeal have followed this standard and rightfully so.
However, I am now concerned that to the extent our prior interpretation of article V, section 6 has given to courts of appeal the power to weigh all the evidence, it is antagonistic to the constitutional guarantee of trial by jury. Article I, section 15 of the Texas Constitution is clear and unambiguous: “The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.” We should not interpret the nebulous provision of article V, section 6 in such a way as to diminish or impair this constitutional guarantee of jury trial.
The jury, not the court, is the fact finding body. The court is never permitted to substitute its findings and conclusions for that of a jury. The jury is the exclusive judge of the facts proved, the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to their testimony.
Benoit v. Wilson, 150 Tex. 273, 239 S.W.2d 792, 796 (1951).
Courts are not free to reweigh the evidence and set aside a jury verdict merely because the judges feel that a different result is more reasonable. “Trial by record before an appellate court, even assuming an accurate record and conscientious review, has little resemblance to a jury trial_” Green, Jury Trial and Mr. Justice Black, 65 Yale L.J. 482, 486 (1956). Some would argue that there exists a dis*459tinction between a court reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence and a court substituting its thought processes. However, it is extremely difficult to articulate what the possible distinction could be. I conclude that it is a distinction which exists in semantics and theory only but which does not exist in reality. If a court is weighing the evidence, then it is substituting its thought processes.
It is not of controlling significance that on “insufficiency” points a court of appeals can only remand for new trial; such action still represents a serious infringement of the inviolate right to trial by jury. A jury trial is of little importance if an appellate court can remand until it gets a jury to agree with it.
I do not now propose an alternative interpretation for article V, section 6.1 However, whatever this provision means, it cannot mean that a court of appeals can weigh the evidence and substitute its thought processes for those of a jury. Such an interpretation conflicts with the constitutional guarantee of article I, section 15.
Because this issue was not raised by the parties, I reluctantly agree with the Court’s holding which reverses and remands this cause to the court of appeals. However, on remand of this cause or in a future cause involving an “insufficiency” point, I would give serious consideration to the question of whether the court of appeals exercised its fact jurisdiction in such a way as to undermine the jury verdict in contravention of our Constitution. The right to trial by jury is a fundamental feature of our system of jurisprudence; it is the best means yet devised for the determination of facts. The question is whether we will continue to adhere to a prior interpretation of article V, section 6 which has allowed appellate courts to usurp the jury’s function.
RAY, J., joins in this concurring opinion.

. For one possible alternative, see Garwood, The Question of Insufficient Evidence on Appeal, 30 Tex.L.Rev. 803, 813-814 (1952).