Samantha Amity Britain v. State
392 S.W.3d 244
Tex. App.2012Background
- Eight-year-old Sarah Brasse died from complications of appendicitis after Britain did not seek medical treatment for her condition.
- Britain was convicted by a jury of reckless injury to a child and manslaughter, and she appealed five challenges.
- Sarah visited the school nurse on 2/4/2008 for a stomach ache; the nurse sent her back to class and later contacted Sarah’s father and Britain.
- Sarah vomited and deteriorated over 2/4–2/5/2008; by approximately 6:00 p.m. on 2/5, Sarah died.
- The court reversed and rendered a judgment of acquittal on both counts, finding legally insufficient evidence of recklessness; the opinion discusses sufficiency and related evidentiary and procedural issues.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency: recklessness for injury to a child by omission | Britain: intentionally aware of risk not proven | State: there was a substantial and unjustifiable risk | Legally insufficient; no subjective awareness shown |
| Sufficiency: recklessness for manslaughter | Britain: same as above | State: substantial risk existed | Legally insufficient; no subjective awareness shown |
| Mistake-of-fact instruction in jury charge | Britain: requested instruction not given | State: not addressed on appeal | Not addressed; lower court error not sustained |
| Mistrial after witness testimony violating order | Britain: mistrial requested | State: irrelevant to record on appeal | Not addressed; no ruling on appeal |
| Voir dire PowerPoint tainting presumption of innocence | Britain: tainted presumption | State: not addressed on appeal | Not addressed; no ruling on appeal |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. Supreme Court 1979) (standard for legal sufficiency review)
- Williams v. State, 235 S.W.3d 742 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (reckless definition and required mental state)
- Schroeder v. State, 123 S.W.3d 398 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (relevance of mental state to crime elements)
- Moriel, 879 S.W.2d 10 (Tex. 1994) (recklessness standard; how to assess risk from defendant's viewpoint)
- Crume v. State, 658 S.W.2d 607 (Tex. Crim. App. 1983) (gross deviation from ordinary standard of conduct)