State v. Bristol
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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of criminal appeals reversing Defendant's convictions and remanding the case for a new trial based on a purported problem with the jury instructions that had not been preserved or presented properly.
Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual battery. The court of criminal appeals held that Defendant was not entitled to relief on the issues he presented but reversed and remanded the case for a new trial by finding plain error on an issue that Defendant had not raised, no party had an opportunity to address, and that turned out to be a mere clerical error by the trial court clerk's office. The Supreme Court reversed and reinstated Defendant's convictions, holding that the court of criminal appeals abused its discretion by granting relief on an unpreserved and unpresented issue without giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter.
Court Description:
Authoring Judge: Justice Sarah K. Campbell
Trial Court Judge: Judge Vanessa Jackson
In this appeal, we clarify the scope of an appellate court’s limited discretionary authority to consider unpreserved and unpresented issues. Appellee Lynn Frank Bristol was convicted on two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Bristol appealed his convictions to the Court of Criminal Appeals. That court determined Bristol was not entitled to relief on the issues presented, but it reversed his convictions and remanded the case for a new trial based on a supposed problem with the written jury instructions that Bristol had not raised, that no party had an opportunity to address, and that turned out to be nothing more than a clerical error by the trial court clerk’s office. Because the Court of Criminal Appeals abused its discretion by granting relief on an unpreserved and unpresented issue without giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter, we reverse the Court of Criminal Appeals’ decision on the jury-instruction issue and reinstate Bristol’s convictions.
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