Richard Lee Stadt, Appellant v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed the lower appellate court's judgment that the trial court did not err in instructing the jury on the lesser included offense of criminally negligent homicide. The Court held that the second prong of the Rousseau test was satisfied because evidence allowed a rational jury to find the defendant possessed only criminal negligence, not recklessness. Accordingly, the jury instruction was proper and the conviction upheld.