Easley, Damian Demitrius

OPINION

KEASLER, J.,

delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court.

The judge presiding over Damian Eas-ley’s trial prohibited Easley’s counsel in voir dire from comparing other legal burdens of proof to the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt burden in criminal trials. The court of appeals found the judge’s ruling to be erroneous, but harmless after applying a non-constitutional harm analysis. We affirm and overrule our previous cases holding that preventing a defendant’s counsel from asking proper questions of the venire is an error of constitutional dimension per se.

Background

During voir dire, the judge…