James Steven Hightower, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed James Steven Hightower's aggravated robbery conviction, holding that the indictment gave sufficient notice, the evidence proved the money was taken without consent and from the victim's custody, and the trial court did not err in admitting the common‑law wife’s testimony, the undisclosed witness, the letter, or the jury argument. The majority applied de novo review to the legal sufficiency of the indictment and evidence, and an abuse‑of‑discretion standard to evidentiary rulings, finding no reversible error. A dissent argued that the jury argument improperly suggested Hightower's involvement in extraneous murders and should have warranted reversal.