Raymond Owens, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the Texas Court of Appeals and held that the trial judge erred in admitting extraneous offense evidence because the prior alleged assaults did not establish a distinctive “system” and were not relevant to any material fact, rendering the evidence inadmissible. The Court remanded for the appellate court to determine whether the error was harmless under Rule 81(b)(2). Justice Overstreet, in a partial concurrence/dissent, agreed the evidence was error but argued the Court should decide the harmless‑error issue now rather than remand.