Court Opinion

ID: 9678922
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 06:36:08.34475+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:08.950612
License: Public Domain

TART, Justice,
concurring.
My concurring opinion urges the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider the harmless error analysis established in Harris v. State, 790 S.W.2d 568 (Tex.Crim.App.1989). The approach in Harris is confusing because it includes factors, such as whether declaring error harmless would encourage the State to repeat it with impunity, which have no logical relation to a harm analysis. Indeed, the majority opinion relies in part on the “encourage the State to repeat it with impunity” factor in finding harm, and thus reversible error, in this case.
As set out in the majority opinion, the Harris factors include:
1. the source of the error;
2. the nature of the error;
3. whether or to what extent it was emphasized by the State;
4. its probable collateral implications;
5. how much weight a juror would probably place on the error; and
6. whether declaring the error harmless would encourage the State to repeat it with impunity.
Id. at 587.
Ractors two through five are inquiries logically relevant to determining harmless error. Ractor one, the source of the error, comes into play when the source is the appellant in determining whether the error was invited. Thus, it belongs in a waiver, rather than a harmless error, inquiry. Because most error determinations are directed at evaluating a trial court’s action or inaction, factor six is usually misdirected by focusing on the conduct of the prosecutor. Even when the error is the result of prosecutorial misconduct, however, factor six still makes no sense in determining whether the defendant was actually harmed in a particular case. It appears to be an attempt to exercise a non-existent supervisory responsibility over prosecuting attorneys.
Why should there be different analytical constructs to guide harmless error in general, and harmless error in the jury charge? In Almanza v. State, the Court of Criminal Appeals set out a harmless error analysis including review of the: (1) entire jury charge; (2) state of the evidence, including the contested issues and weight of probative evidence; (3) argument of counsel; and (4) any other relevant information. 686 S.W.2d 157,171 (Tex.Crim.App.1984).
Isn’t it time to consolidate a list of factors useful to harmless error analysis, regardless of the type of error?