Billy Eugene Gipson, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the Court of Appeals' reversal of Billy Eugene Gipson's murder conviction, holding that Rule 81(b)(2) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure governs the harmless error analysis and that the prior Arnold/Tolbert/Deason presumption test is disavowed. Because the trial judge expressly stated that the conviction was based, at least in part, on the inadmissible custodial confession, the error was not harmless and the conviction was reversed. Justice Benavides, concurring, objected to overruling Tolbert and to the Court conducting the harmless‑error analysis on discretionary review, preferring a remand for such analysis.