Michael Winn Lafleur, Appellant v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals held that a trial court may enter an affirmative deadly‑weapon finding when the jury’s application paragraph for a lesser‑included offense expressly requires a finding that the defendant used a deadly weapon, provided the indictment also alleges a deadly weapon. Applying that rule, the Court reversed the lower appellate court’s deletion of the deadly‑weapon finding in Lafleur’s manslaughter conviction and reinstated the finding. The Court also overruled Davis v. State as flawed reasoning. Justice Price dissented, arguing that the Court should not overturn Davis and should strike the deadly‑weapon finding.