White v. State

BRIAN QUINN, Justice.

James Paul White challenges his conviction for aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon and sentence of 30 years imprisonment. The issues he asserts on appeal can be divided into two categories. The first entails the effectiveness of his counsel during both the guilt/innocence and punishment phases of the trial, while the second concerns the absence of an instruction defining reasonable doubt in the jury charge submitted during the punishment phase. We affirm.

Background

The evidence of record illustrates that appellant’s victim was hitchhiking when he offered her a…