Black v. State

I dissent for two reasons. First, the majority has exceeded the scope of the Court of Criminal Appeals’ mandate in deciding this case on remand. Second, the state of the evidence does not support the majority’s conclusion that the charging error is harmless. I would reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for new trial.

The Mandate

The Court of Criminal Appeals, in twenty-six words, succinctly and specifically restricted the scope of review on remand: “The judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is vacated and remanded to the Court of Appeals for consideration in light of Govan v.…