Our Gift to You– Free Reference Chart for Criminal Jury Charges
For legal practitioners in Texas, it may require extensive time to research various criminal jury charges, along with underlying case laws. For a quick reference guide for criminal jury offenses, please read the following chart excerpted from Texas Criminal Jury Charges.
QUICK REFERENCE CHART
| OFFENSE | LESSER-INCLUDED | CASE SUPPORT |
| Capital Murder | Murder | Cantu v. State, 939 S.W.2d 627 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997) |
| Capital Murder | Voluntary Manslaughter | Laird v. State, 933 S.W.2d 707 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1996, pet. ref’d) |
| Capital Murder | Involuntary Manslaughter | Travis v. State, 921 S.W.2d 559 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 1996, no pet.) |
| Capital Murder | Criminally Negligent Homicide | Hicks v. State, 664 S.W.2d 329 (Tex.Crim.App. 1984) |
| Capital Murder | Manslaughter | Havard v. State, No. 69, 581, 1990 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 145 (Tex. Crim. App. Sept. 19, 1990) (on rehearing). |
| Murder | Second-Degree Murder (sudden passion) | Gonzales v. State, 942 S.W.2d 80 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, pet. ref’d) |
| Murder | Manslaughter | Havard v. State, 800 S.W.2d 195 (Tex.Crim.App. 1989) |
| Murder | Aggravated Assault | Coit v. State, 629 S.W.2d 263 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1982, pet. ref’d) |
| Murder | Criminally Negligent Homicide | Hunter v. State, 647 S.W.2d 657 (Tex.Crim.App. 1983) |
| Manslaughter (Reckless Causation) | Aggravated Assault — reckless serious bodily injury — use/exhibit deadly weapon | Dannhaus v. State, 928 S.W.2d 81 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1996, pet. Ref’d) |
| Manslaughter (Reckless Causation) | Criminally Negligent Homicide | Wasylina v. State, 305 S.W.3d 568 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010); Branham v. State, 583 S.W.2d 782 (Tex.Crim.App. 1979) |
| Criminally Negligent Homicide | Assault is not a lesser included offense because it requires a higher mental state | Bayona v. State, 544 S.W.2d 155 (Tex.Crim.App. 1976) |
| Aggravated Assault | Deadly Conduct | Sibley v. State, 956 S.W.2d 832 (Tex.App.- Beaumont 1997, no pet.) |
| Aggravated Kidnapping (First-Degree) | Aggravated Kidnapping (Second-Degree — safe release) | Thornburg v. State, 699 S.W.2d 918 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1985, no pet.) |
| Aggravated Kidnapping (First-Degree) | Aggravated Assault (Second-Degree) | Roberts v. State, 795 S.W.2d 842 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 1990, no pet.) |
| Aggravated Kidnapping (First-Degree) | Kidnapping (Third-Degree — abduction) | Rogers v. State, 687 S.W.2d 337 (Tex.Crim.App. 1985), (superseded by statute on other grounds). |
| Aggravated Kidnapping (First-Degree) | False Imprisonment (felony) | Schweinle v. State, 915 S.W.2d 17 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996) |
| Aggravated Kidnapping (First-Degree) | False Imprisonment (misd.) | Blalock v. State, 847 S.W.2d 461 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, pet. ref’d) |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault | Sexual Assault (non-spouse) | Chavis v. State, 807 S.W.2d 375 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist. 1991, pet. ref’d) |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault | Indecency with a Child | Evans v. State, 299 S.W.3d 138 (Tex.Crim.App. 2009); Gottlich v. State, 822 S.W.2d 734 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 1992, pet. ref’d), overruled on other grounds, Curry v. State, 861 S.W.2d 479 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 1993, pet. ref’d). |
| Aggravated Assault | Assault | Burkholder v. State, 660 S.W.2d 540 (Tex.Crim.App. 1983) |
| Aggravated Assault | Deadly Conduct | Bell v. State, 693 S.W.2d 434 (Tex.Crim.App. 1985), holding reckless conduct was lesser |
| Aggravated Assault | Assault | Walker v. State, 761 S.W.2d 572 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1988), pet. dism’d, Improvidently granted, 811 S.W.2d 131 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). |
| Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child | Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Soliz v. State, 353 S.W.3d 850 (Tex.Crim.App. 2011) |
| Indecency with a Child | Indecency by Exposure | Briceno v. State, 580 S.W.2d 842 (Tex. Crim.App. 1979) |
For more information regarding jury charges ranging from:
- manslaughter to capital murder
- assault to aggravated sexual assault
- criminal mischief to aggravated robbery
- handling waste without permits to unauthorized discharge of pollutant
check out a copy of judges Elizabeth Berry and George Gallagher’s Texas Criminal Jury Charges today.
