DueProcess
When a defendant is convicted of an offense for which he was not indicted, and has preserved the issues of constitutional error, what factors should a reviewing court consider when determining whether the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt?
QUESTION PRESENTED A jury convicted Freddy Garcia for a felony arising from a different incident than the one for which he was indicted. The State gave no pretrial notice of its intent to present the unindicted incident to the jury; not even as a potential extraneous offense. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found this to be constitutional error, but harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. 1. When a defendant is convicted of an offense for which he was not indicted, and has preserved the issues of constitutional error, what factors should a reviewing court consider when determining whether the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt? ii