Phillip Whiting, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas reversed the lower appellate court’s judgment and remanded the case for a proper harmless‑error analysis under Tex. R. App. P. 81(b)(2). It held that the trial court’s overruling of defense objections to the State’s misstatement of the burden of proof on self‑defense was reversible error and that the correct standard of review is the Rule 81(b)(2) harmless‑error test.