Second Court of Appeals

Week of January 31, 2022

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of January 31, 2022.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

In re Commitment of Jones, No. 02-18-00019-CV (Feb. 3, 2022) (op. on en banc reconsideration) (Wallach, J., joined by Kerr, Birdwell, Womack, and Walker, JJ.; Sudderth, C.J., dissents with opinion, joined by Bassel, J.)

Held: The evidence is legally sufficient to support the jury’s finding that Jones suffers from a behavioral abnormality that likely predisposes him to committing sexually violent offenses in the future. The evidence is also factually sufficient. Further, the Allen charge given to the jury was not impermissibly coercive and thus does not constitute reversible error.

Dissent: For the reasons articulated in the court’s now-withdrawn May 6, 2021 Memorandum Opinion, the trial court’s Allen charge was impermissibly coercive and constituted harmful, reversible error.