Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Antonio Gonzales, Appellant v. the State of Texas
June 9, 19991999 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 75
Summary
The Court held that a trial judge’s erroneous exclusion of a proper question during jury voir dire is subject to a harmless error analysis, overruling Nunfio and applying the modern rule from Cain. Accordingly, the Court vacated the Court of Appeals' judgment and remanded for a determination of whether the error was harmful, also directing analysis of the excluded evidence on the necessity defense. Justice PRICE dissented, arguing the error should not be remanded for harmless error analysis, while Justice MEYERS concurred, emphasizing the need to assess the substantive right at issue.