Smith v. TexasCERTIORARI TO THE TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS IntroductionLaRoyce Lathair Smith was found guilty of capital murder and after some time in court was sentenced to death by a jury in Dallas County, Texas (Kennedy). This case is about whether or not the death penalty should be overturned due to improper jury instructions, how weak the two special issues are in some cases, and since it was appealed against a constitutional error, there was no a sign that would cause future deliberate acts. danger to the public (Breyer). In 1991 petitioner was convicted of brutally murdering one of his former co-workers at a Taco Bell in Dallas County, Texas. Smith entered the Taco Bell with the intent to rob it without victims, but when the two colleagues refused to leave he resorted to violence, killing one with a pistol, whipping her and then shooting her in the back and threatening the other before leaving the premises. restaurant with his friends. Because Smith did not meet the requirements for the death penalty, the Court granted him certiorari (a writ that says a higher court will review the decision made by the lower court). In 2008 LaRoyce Smith had his sentence reduced to life in prison (Kennedy). II Conduct an Analysis Next you will consider whether or not harmless error review is appropriate in a court case with issues such as Penry v. Lynaugh (Souter) . The problem with the case is not as difficult as the opinion expressed by the court. The error that occurred during the appellant's trial involved a flaw in the jury instructions: the instructions did not give jury members enough time to review important evidence in the case. This error would not have occurred... half of the paper...).(5) Tennard: Tennard v. Dretke – A United States Supreme Court case asking whether the defendant's low IQ could be given full consideration by the jury during the criminal phase of his trial. The Supreme Court has held that not considering a defendant's low IQ violates Eighth Amendment rights.VI Bibliography/Resourceshttp://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html?terms=smith%20v %20texas&url=/ supct/html/04-5323.ZPC.htmlhttp://www.lectlaw.com/def/i020.htmhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/eighth_amendmenthttp://www.law. cornell.edu/ supct/search/display.html?terms=smith%20v%20texas&url=/supct/html/5-11304.ZO.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html ?terms=smith %20v%20texas&url=/supct/html/5-11304.ZD.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html?terms=smith%20v%20texas&url=/supct /html/5 -11304.ZC.html