Johnson v. State

OPINION

BILL VANCE, Justice.

This case concerns how the element “deadly weapon” in an aggravated assault offense should be alleged in an indictment, how that allegation relates to the State’s burden of proof, and “variance” law. A jury convicted Lee Paul Johnson of aggravated assault against his wife and assessed punishment at fifty-five years in prison. Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 22.02(a)(2) (Vernon 1997).

Johnson contends on appeal that the indictment, by its express wording, limited the State to proof that the pocket knife that Johnson used was “manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose…