Court Opinion

ID: 9754750
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:11:48.697898+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:57.058014
License: Public Domain

SCOTT BRISTER, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I join in the Court’s judgment and all aspects of its opinion except for part C(2). As to that part of the opinion, I agree with the Court’s conclusion the trial court did not err in conditioning the outpatient treatment jury question on a negative answer to the inpatient treatment question. But I would not decide whether the trial judge could have ordered outpatient treatment based on a jury finding supporting inpatient treatment, or what she might have done with jury findings supporting both. The trial judge here ordered inpatient treatment; I would reserve ruling on when she can order outpatient treatment until she does.
The necessary and proper form for submitting jury questions in a civil case lies within the trial judge’s considerable discretion. State Farm Lloyds v. Nicolau, 951 S.W.2d 444, 451 (Tex.1997). In his very brief argument, appellant claims the submission here was error because it took away the trial judge’s discretion to order outpatient treatment even if the jury made the necessary findings for inpatient treatment. In other words, the trial judge abused her discretion by taking away her discretion. For obvious reasons, he cites no cases ever adopting such an argument.
Accordingly, I concur with the Court’s disposition only in part C(2), and join in the remainder of its opinion.