MacKenzie Rene Chesney v. State

Summary

The Fifth District Court of Appeals at Dallas affirmed the judgments in two criminal cases involving convictions for intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. The court held that the appellant waived her complaint about improper jury argument by failing to pursue her sustained objection to an adverse ruling through a request for an instruction to disregard or a motion for mistrial.

Holdings

1. A defendant waives a complaint about erroneous jury argument, including a claim that an instruction to disregard could not have cured the argument, by failing to pursue the objection to an adverse ruling through a request for an instruction to disregard or a motion for mistrial.

Questions Presented

1. Whether appellant preserved her complaint that the prosecutor made improper punishment-stage jury argument by characterizing the choice as prison punishment versus probation without punishment, after the trial court sustained her objection but appellant did not request an instruction to disregard or move for a mistrial.

Disposition

affirmed