Cartier v. State

In Cartier v. State, 58 S.W.3d 756, 759-60 (Tex. App.--Amarillo 2001, pet. ref'd), the punishment charge required the jurors to answer "yes" or "no" to a special issue inquiring whether the defendant acted under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause, and then to assess punishment accordingly. Elsewhere in the charge, the jurors were told that they were to unanimously agree upon a verdict. The court of appeals concluded that the charge satisfied the need for unanimity and did not permit the jurors to return a non-unanimous decision adverse to the defendant on the sudden passion issue. Id. at 760.