I think the offense of deadly conduct is stupid. It just doesn't fit right in the Penal Code. Many times I have had to fight the issue whether deadly conduct was or wasn't a lesser-included offense, and it seems like there is a never a good answer, only bad results. I don't see any reason why aggravated assault and assault aren't good enough for what we do.

Does anyone want to offer a defense of this offense?

John,
I agree. It worried me to death in a recent jury trial of aggravated assault deadly weapon case where the Defendant fired an officer's shotgun at several police officers. No one was hit but I knew that it would raise it's ugly head in the trial. It's a constant irritant!How can we wipe it off the books?????

The creation of deadly conduct is a very typical example of what happens when the Penal Code is used to react to crimes de jure. A few years ago, we all worried about the notion of "drive-by shootings." Without an identifiable victim to put in the charge of aggravated assault, politicians reacted by creating this new offense.

Same thing happened when we began to see persons with AIDS infect others intentionally. Rather than analyze the conduct under aggravated assault, the Leg created a new crime that ended up being more specific and harder to prove. With the Penal Code rewrite in 1994, that statute was repealed.

The best Penal Code is one that describes general crimes and applies general punishment ranges. When the Penal Code was redone in 1994, a national study concluded that Texas had the best model penal laws in the nation. I wonder where we would fall now.