Hutch v. State

OPINION ON APPELLANTS PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

BAIRD, Judge.

A jury convicted appellant of possession of cocaine and the trial judge assessed punishment at forty years confinement. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Hutch v. State, 881 S.W.2d 92 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st] 1994). We granted review to consider whether the Court of Appeals correctly applied the test for determining whether an erroneous jury charge caused egregious harm. We will reverse.

I

A

The Trial Court

According to the State’s testimony, Houston police officers stopped a vehicle, in which appellant was a front-seat passenger,…