Bryant v. State, 40964

Decision Date17 January 1968
Docket NumberNo. 40964,40964
Citation423 S.W.2d 320
PartiesWillie Lee BRYANT, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
CourtTexas Court of Criminal Appeals

John Richard Howard, Houston, for appellant.

Carol S. Vance, Dist. Atty., James C. Brough and Erwin G. Ernst, Asst. Dist. Attys., Houston, and Leon B. Douglas, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

OPINION

WOODLEY, Presiding Judge.

The offense is murder without malice; the punishment, 5 years.

The indictment alleged that appellant, with malice aforethought, killed Robert Lee Moore by shooting him with a gun. The case was submitted to the jury as an accidental killing by appellant, while wilfully committing an assault upon the deceased with a pistol which he was unlawfully carrying on or about his person. (Art. 42 P.C. and Art. 1151 Vernon's Ann.P.C.)

The jury rejected the plea of self-defense and found that the assault and killing were without malice.

Seven grounds of error are set forth in defendant's brief filed in the trial court. The first five relate to the overruling of motions made or filed on the day of the trial.

The first motion was to require the state to produce the grand jury minutes pertaining to the proceeding which resulted in the return of the indictment.

In the absence of any showing of a particularized need for such record, the trial judge did not err in overruling the motion. Bryant v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 397 S.W.2d 445.

The second motion was for Discovery, Inspection and Copying (Art. 39.14 Vernon's Ann.C.C.P.).

The trial court ordered the state to produce photographs taken at the scene of the killing, and received a commitment from the state that it did not have the gun and did not intend to introduce the slug or bullet. Copy of the autopsy report was tendered appellant's counsel and he was advised by the court that the autopsy report was a public record. Also the trial court received a commitment from the district attorney that he had no written statement of the appellant which he proposed to use at the trial.

The refusal of the court to grant the motion as to offense reports and tangible evidence not shown to have been available at the time, if in fact such existed, is not ground for reversal.

The third motion was for an examining trial.

Appellant having been indicted August 22, 1966, his motion for an examining trial presented March 8, 1967, came too late. Trussell v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 414 S.W.2d 466; Ash v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 420 S.W.2d 703.

The fourth and fifth motions were for a...

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28 cases
  • Harris v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • September 23, 1970
    ...Tex.Cr.App., 425 S.W.2d 645; Ash v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 420 S.W.2d 703; Murphy v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 424 S.W.2d 231; Bryant v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 423 S.W.2d 320; Trussell v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 414 S.W.2d 466; Ward v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 427 S.W.2d 876; Wallace v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 429 ......
  • Hernandez v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • January 20, 1982
    ...Ashabranner v. State, 557 S.W.2d 774 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Nelson v. State, 505 S.W.2d 271 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Bryant v. State, 423 S.W.2d 320 (Tex.Cr.App.1968). The record in the present case shows that other counsel had been first appointed to represent the appellant, but on August 15, 1980, ......
  • David v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • March 18, 1970
    ...notes which are certified and included in the record on appeal. See also Seefurth v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 422 S.W.2d 931; Bryant v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 423 S.W.2d 320; Brock v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 424 S.W.2d 436; Bass v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 427 S.W.2d 624; Luck v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 432 S.W......
  • Baity v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • April 22, 1970
    ...36.14 and 36.15, supra. Smith v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 415 S.W.2d 206; Seefurth v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 422 S.W.2d 931; Bryant v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 423 S.W.2d 320; Brock v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 424 S.W.2d 436; Bass v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 427 S.W.2d 624; Lusk v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 432 S.W.2d ......
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