Lindsey Monroe Smith, Jr., Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Lindsey Monroe Smith, Jr.'s murder conviction, striking the trial court's unauthorised finding that he used a deadly weapon and holding that the conviction stands. The majority rejected Smith's claims of error on expert qualification, continuance, accomplice instruction, discovery, indictment naming, jury charge, and post‑arrest impeachment, finding no reversible error. The Court also held that the trial court lacked authority to make an affirmative deadly‑weapon finding absent an indictment pledge. Justice Clinton, in a concurring opinion, noted that the licensing statutes cited by Smith had been repealed and that the supplemental briefs raised new grounds, which he reviewed in the interest of justice.