Mor3ris v. State (Unpublished Memo): Intoxication manslaughter conviction affirmed. Morris and his passenger left the El Greco club in Kilgore at 12:30 a.m. They headed towards Tyler on Highway 31. For those not familiar with East Texas, that’s a notorious liquor run road (Tyler dry, Kilgore wet). Not the best place to be after dark, as this case shows. Morris swerved into oncoming traffic. His passenger was killed in the wreck.
Morris complais that the evidene wasn’t legally or factually sufficient to convict him (see opinion for discussions of these standards of review). But the investigating officer testified to skid marks on the scene that showed Morris was in the wrong lane. The officer also smelled alcohol on Morris. What’s more, Morris complained of “heart pain” and was taken to the hospital. His blood was drawn, tested, and came back at twice the legal limit.
Conviction affirmed.
Morris also tried to say that his sentence was unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. Since he didn’t make that complaint to the trial court, the Tyler court won’t hear it on appeal.
