Hawkins v. State

Because I believe the majority opinion focuses on the incorrect issue in this case, and further, that it imposes a duty to act without providing a legal means to act, I am compelled to dissent.

Appellant was convicted of injury to a child. The indictment alleged that appellant “failed to remove Richard Hutchins from the presence of Teresa Hutchins.” The indictment does not allege that appellant had a duty to remove the child from his mother. The majority concludes that the State was not required to prove that the appellant had a duty under the Family Code to protect the victim in order to…