Dwayne Uterral Hardeman v. State

Summary

This document is the appellant's brief in a Texas criminal appeal arising from Dwayne Uterral Hardeman's conviction for family-violence assault by impeding breath or circulation. The brief raises issues concerning juror racial bias, admission of extraneous-offense and hearsay evidence, impeachment, and denial of a lesser-included-offense instruction. The appeal was filed in the Eleventh Court of Appeals of Texas in cause number 11-16-00244-CR.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying a mistrial after finding that a juror made a racially biased statement before the venire and by refusing further inquiry into possible jury contamination.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion under Texas Rules of Evidence 404(b) and 403 by admitting evidence of alleged prior choking and assaultive conduct against Melissa.
3. Whether the State improperly used Melissa as a strawman to place otherwise inadmissible extraneous-offense evidence before the jury under the guise of impeachment.
4. Whether the trial court erred by admitting law-enforcement recordings as recorded recollections under Texas Rule of Evidence 803(5), and by admitting hearsay and extraneous-offense material contained in those recordings.
5. Whether the trial court erred by refusing to submit family-violence assault causing bodily injury as a lesser-included offense.