Court Opinion

ID: 9645761
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:34:26.068712+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:31.253185
License: Public Domain

COHEN, Justice,
concurring to order overruling motion for rehearing.
I agree with appellant that Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 37.04(e) (Vernon 1994) is unconstitutional for the reasons stated in United States v. Gaudin, — U.S. -, -, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 2320, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995). Thus, the jury instruction here was unconstitutional for the same reasons as the instruction in Gaudin.
Trial judges should no longer instruct juries that materiality is a question of law. Instead, they should instruct juries that materiality, like all other elements, must be proved by the State beyond a reasonable doubt. Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 2.01 (Vernon 1994).