Texas Criminal Jury Charges

650 Accepted Jury Charges for Texas Criminal Cases

Spot more issues advance more persuasive arguments, and reduce your research and drafting time with these widely-adopted criminal jury charges.

The indispensable book of jury charges relied on by judges and attorneys throughout the state.

Now more than 40 years old, and recently revised and updated by new authors Judge Elizabeth Berry and Judge George Gallagher, Texas Criminal Jury Charges provides the most comprehensive and authoritative set of criminal jury charges available in Texas.

650 pre-drafted instructions, detailed legal discussions with 1,100 supporting citations, and dozens of practice tips are contained in this essential and affordable resource. Use it to:

• Plan winning pretrial strategies
• Spot and set-up issues
• Identify evidence requirements
• Negotiate favorable plea bargains
• Win important instructional battles
• Deliver better results for your clients

Whether you consult it (1) at the outset of a case to determine substantive law and identify issues, (2) during a case to formulate pretrial strategy and negotiate a plea, or (3) before trial to argue or prepare instructions, Texas Criminal Jury Charges is indispensable.

The book’s jury charges cover the full range of crimes, from manslaughter to capital murder, from assault to aggravated sexual assault, from criminal mischief to aggravated robbery, from handling waste without permits to unauthorized discharge of pollutant, and hundreds more.

Heavily Annotated

Texas Criminal Jury Charges is more than a book of jury charges. It delves deeply into the substantive law, devoting nearly as many pages to interpretive and supporting law as to instructions.

Before each set of charges you will find an analysis of the underlying law, complete with exceptions, caveats, and practice tips.  This detailed exposition of the law includes quotations from the governing statutes, citation-heavy summaries of common law, critical discussions of wayward decisions, and definitions.

Then, after each set of charges, come supportive decisions, interpretive or opposing cases, tactical suggestions, and use notes.

The Accepted Authority

Since it was first published in 1964, Texas Criminal Jury Charges has been the primary source of criminal instructions in Texas. Judges and attorneys throughout the state rely on its jury forms and law, and regularly compliment the book:

• “The most comprehensive jury charges.”
• “I use it all the time.”
• “Excellent.”
• “I’ve used it since 1965.”
• “It’s the only one of its kind.”

REVISION 21 HIGHLIGHTS

This 21st revision of Texas Criminal Jury Charges continues the more than two-decade legacy of the title as the leading source of criminal jury charges in the state, relied upon by both judges and attorneys. New and updated sections include:

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO JURY INSTRUCTION LAW

• §1:140 Commenting on Testimony/Weight of the Evidence
•  NEW! FORM: §1:495 Plain Language General Verdict Form with Lesser (Example of Intoxication Assault with
  Lesser of DWI)

CHAPTER 3 – DEFENSES AND SPECIAL EVIDENTIARY CHARGES

• §3:1515 Mistake Must Go to Culpable Mental State
• §3:1800 Multiple Assailants
• §3:1827 Reasonable Belief
• NEW! FORM: §3:1829 Sample Self-Defense in Murder Case (NO CASTLE DOCTRINE)
• NEW! §3:2021 Spoliation

CHAPTER 4 – PUNISHMENT

• NEW! FORM: §4:405 Punishment Charge-Plea of Guilty (Probation Eligible)
• §4:415 Repeat Offender

CHAPTER 6 – OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON

• §6:1490 Invasive Visual Recording (Offenses On or After 9/1/15)

CHAPTER 7 – OFFENSES AGAINST THE FAMILY

• NEW! §7:325 Mens Rea Should be Limited to Gravamen of Offense
• NEW! FORM: §7:328.10 Violation of Magistrate’s Order with Lesser (Example)

CHAPTER 12 – ORGANIZED CRIME

• NEW! §12:131 Possession with Intent to Deliver is Not Predicate Offense to Engaging in Organized Criminal
  Activity

CHAPTER 13 – CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES OFFENSES

• NEW! §13:115 Possession with Intent to Deliver is Not Predicate Offense to Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity
• NEW! §13:125 Joint Possession & Mere Presence Instructions

AND MORE!

ABBREVIATED TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO JURY INSTRUCTION LAW
CHAPTER 2 CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY — PARTIES TO CRIME
CHAPTER 3 DEFENSES AND SPECIAL EVIDENTIARY CHARGES
CHAPTER 4 PUNISHMENT
CHAPTER 5 CRIMINAL INSTRUMENTS
CHAPTER 6 OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON
CHAPTER 7 OFFENSES AGAINST THE FAMILY
CHAPTER 8 OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY
CHAPTER 9 OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
CHAPTER 10 OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY
CHAPTER 11 OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND MORALS
CHAPTER 12 ORGANIZED CRIME
CHAPTER 13 CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES OFFENSES
CHAPTER 14 WATER CODE CRIMES
CHAPTER 15 TAX CRIMES
CHAPTER 16 HUMAN RESOURCES FRAUD
CHAPTER 17 REAL PROPERTY OFFENSES
CHAPTER 18 ELECTION CODE
CHAPTER 19 SECURITIES FRAUD
CHAPTER 20 MISCELLANEOUS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Elizabeth Berry served two terms as the elected Judge of Criminal District Court Number Three from January 1, 2003-December 31, 2010. She presided over a court handling felony criminal cases. Prior to that, she had more than eight years’ experience as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Tarrant County, as well as over three years in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. After working as a visiting judge for over four years, she is currently practicing as a criminal defense attorney in Fort Worth, Texas.

Judge Berry graduated from the University of Texas, and attended law school at the University of Houston. She has served as a faculty advisor and speaker at trial skills courses around the state. Judge Berry has been Board Certified in Criminal Law since 1999.

Judge George Gallagher has been the presiding judge of the 396th District Court since January 1, 2000. A graduate of Texas A&M University and St. Mary’s LAW School, upon graduation Judge Gallagher served as an Assistant District Attorney in Tarrant County for four years. He was a partner in the Fort Worth criminal defense firm of Zachry, Hill, Beatty, Butcher & Gallagher for fourteen years.

Judge Gallagher has been Board Certified in Criminal LAW since 1987. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Tarrant County Bar Association, Master of the Eldon B. Mahon Inns of Court, former President of the Tarrant County Criminal Defense LAWyers Association, and was the Presiding Judge of the Criminal District Courts and the Statutory County Courts Trying Criminal Cases in Tarrant County in 2005.