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Marie Louise Ouellette v. the State of Texas

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Womack, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Keller, P.J., and Price, Cochran, and Alcala , JJ., joined. Keasler, J., concurred in the judgment of the Court. Meyers, J., filed a dissenting opinion. Johnson, J., dissented. Hervey, J., did not participate in the consideration or decision of the case.

The appellant rear-ended another car while driving in Austin. She was charged by information with driving while intoxicated “by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, or a combination of two or more of those substances into the body.” The court’s charge repeated that language. The jury convicted her. The Third Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction.*fn1

We granted review of the issue, “In a driving while intoxicated case, where the evidence is legally sufficient to support a conviction on the theory that the defendant was intoxicated by … alcohol …, is it proper for the trial court, in its charge, to also authorize a conviction on an alternative theory that the defendant was intoxicated by … a drug, or a combination of alcohol and a drug …, where the evidence merely shows that medications prescribed for the defendant were found in her car …?” Because we find there was evidence relating to the challenged portions of the definition, we conclude the charge was proper and affirm the Court of Appeals.

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