Jackie Farley v. State, 07-15-00096-CR

Jackie Farley appealed his DWI conviction, arguing the evidence was legally insufficient to show he lacked the normal use of his mental or physical faculties due to alcohol.
Trooper Corey Kernell observed Farley travel at high speed and nearly run a stop sign; the trooper stopped the vehicle after it slid through the intersection.
On contact, the trooper detected a strong odor of alcohol, red/glassy bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech; Farley admitted to having two or three drinks.
Trooper Kernell administered field sobriety tests: HGN (6 clues), walk-and-turn (7 of 8 clues), one-leg stand (4 clues), and other observations (slow responses, needed vehicle for balance, failed to recite the alphabet); parts of the testing were video-recorded and admitted at trial.
The State relied on evidence of observable indicia of intoxication (odor, speech, eyes, balance, gait, driving behavior) rather than a measured BAC.
The jury convicted; the appellate court reviewed sufficiency under Dobbs standard and affirmed, deferring to the jury’s assessment of credibility and the cumulative weight of circumstantial evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to prove intoxication (loss of normal use of faculties)	Farley: evidence was weak (one driving cue, common traffic infraction, odor, subjective FSTs); insufficient to prove loss of normal faculties	State: combined observations (driving, odor, appearance, admission, multiple FST clues, video) support finding of intoxication	Affirmed: a rational juror could find beyond reasonable doubt that Farley lacked normal use of faculties due to alcohol

Dobbs v. State, 434 S.W.3d 166 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (standard for reviewing legal sufficiency and treatment of circumstantial evidence)
Ubesie v. State, 379 S.W.3d 371 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2012) (examples of indicia of intoxication)
Harris v. State, 204 S.W.3d 19 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006) (indicia of intoxication listed and discussed)