Steven Morrison, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' judgment, holding that the trial court erred by allowing jurors to submit written questions to witnesses and by recalling a witness to answer a question prompted by a juror, a practice not authorized by Texas law and not subject to a harmless error analysis. The opinion emphasizes that such juror participation undermines the adversarial system's principle of a neutral, passive jury.