Court Opinion

ID: 9768060
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:40:48.775695+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:36.255280
License: Public Domain

ONION, Presiding Judge
(concurring).
The majority overrules appellant’s motion for rehearing without written opinion. I concur in the result, but feel compelled, in light of the motion for rehearing, to state my reasons for so doing.
The testimony reflects that the appellant was referred to as “big time” and as “the biggest marihuana character in Jefferson County.” Unquestionably, counsel, in his jury argument, may make reasonable deductions from the evidence. The complained of argument here by the prosecutor at the guilt stage of the trial was that the appellant “is just as big a pusher as we have ever had in Jefferson County . . . ” (Emphasis supplied.) From this statement of historical fact the jury could infer the prosecutor had knowledge because of his position as an assistant district attorney. The assertion is not supported by the record nor is it a reasonable deduction from the evidence. This was the basis of the objection to which the court responded: “The jury will evaluate the arguments1 to the jury, counsel.” Such remark of the court would appear only to compound the error.
The opinion on original submission observed that the appellant failed to get a ruling on his objection.
On rehearing appellant contends that the magic words of “sustained” or “overruled” are not absolutely essential to a ruling and cites City Transportation Co. v. Sisson, 365 S.W.2d 216, 220 (Tex.Civ.App.1963) in which the court’s statement: “Process is open to all of them. Let’s proceed” was held to constitute a ruling.
If it can be argued that the court’s statement in the instant case constituted a ruling as urged by the appellant, then it must *727be observed that the appellant must have been satisfied with such ruling since he requested no further relief in the form of a jury instruction to disregard or a motion for mistrial.
While the argument was improper, I cannot agree, under the circumstances, that reversible error is presented.
DOUGLAS, J., joins in this concurrence.

. The court may well have meant “evidence” instead of “arguments.” Trial courts are frequently confronted with objections that jury argument is outside the record, which objections are countered with the claim the argument is a reasonable deduction from the evidence. After a concise ruling it is often good practice for the trial court to instruct the jury that while counsel may make reasonable deductions from the evidence that argument of counsel is not evidence and should not be considered as such, that the jurors are the judges of the facts, the credibility of the witnesses and weight to be given to their testimony.