Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 405
PRACTICAL LEGAL TIP
admission in one case can almost always be used against you in
another case. Meaning, your sworn testimony in the civil case
(“yes, I shot the guy”) can almost always be used against you in the
criminal case, and vice versa.
394 | CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Unlike criminal cases where a
unanimous jury verdict is required to
convict someone, to prevail in a civil
suit in Texas, only 10 of the 12 jurors
(or five out of six, depending upon the
court where your case is pending)
must agree to render a verdict. In a
criminal case, many times the goal of
the defendant is to avoid conviction
by convincing a single juror that the
State cannot prove its case at the
higher “beyond a reasonable doubt”
standard. By contrast, in a civil lawsuit,
in a district court, a plaintiff can prevail
and recover damages, even if two
of the jurors vehemently believe the
defendant should prevail, as long as
the remaining 10 jurors believe that
the plaintiff has proven his case by the
lower “preponderance of the evidence”
standard. —Kirk
