The Double Jeopardy Carving Doctrine is Abandoned in Texas

Date

1983

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech Law Review

Abstract

Analyses the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ case Ex Parte McWilliams. In the instant case, the court abandoned the carving doctrine which prohibited prosecution of more than one offense out of the same “continuous transaction” as double jeopardy. The author notes that, “Texas courts must resolve how the state's definition of "lesser included offense" is to be construed relative to the newly adopted Blockburger offense defining test. In sum, the apparent result of McWilliams is to give the prosecutor the greatest amount of flexibility, within constitutional limits, in securing conviction and punishment of Texas criminal defendants.”

Description

Keywords

Double jeopardy, Carving doctrine, Lesser included offenses, Successive prosecutions, Multiple punishments, Plea bargaining, Blockburger test, Ex parte McWilliams, Case note

Citation

14 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 495