Archie Brown, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court held that a trial court's refusal to give a jury instruction on the defendant's failure to testify at the punishment phase, after the defendant requested it, is reversible error because the Fifth Amendment privilege continues through that phase. Accordingly, the conviction was reversed and the case remanded for a new trial with the proper instruction. The decision relied on the constitutional privilege and U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Lakeside and Carter. Justice Davis dissented, contending that the omission was harmless error and did not require reversal.