Morgan v. Texas (original by judge richardson)
Annotate this CaseAppellant Dewan Morgan was convicted of burglary of a habitation and sentenced to sixteen years’ imprisonment. Concluding that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury finding that Appellant entered a habitation “without the effective consent of the owner,” the Court of Appeals reversed the conviction because Appellant was a "cotenant" of the apartment he broke into. The Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed with that holding because, under the facts of this case, it ran contrary to the Texas Penal Code’s definition of "owner" as a person with "a greater right to possession of the property than the actor." Appellant’s girlfriend, as the complainant, was the "owner" of the apartment because she held a greater right to possession than Appellant. And, at the time of the commission of the offense, Appellant did not have her effective consent to enter.
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