Two game wardens discover two defendants in the act of an early morning burglary of a habitation. Warden blocks the road with his vehicle. Driver defendant rams the wardens vehicle, and a high speed chase ensues. Driver defendant tells passenger defendant to shoot at the wardens. Passenger defendant refuses, but uses a spotlight to shine at the pursuing wardens vehicle. Warden driving the vehicle loses his night vision and leaves roadway, crashing and hospitalizing both wardens. Defendants escape and are found after an intense manhunt a few days later. Driver defendant is indicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for ramming the wardens with his vehicle, and passenger defendant is indicted as a party to that offense. Passenger defenant is indicted for using the bright light to cause the wardens to crash, and driver defendant is indicted as a party to that offense. Both are indicted for the burglary also.

There is not much out there on the intense light as a deadly weapon. What prompted me to think of that particular charge is Penal Code Sec 42.14 Illumination of Aircraft by Intense Light and the Amspacher case 311 SW3d 564. I have also looked at traffic code section 547.327 b which states a spotlamp shall be aimed so that no part of the high intensity portion of the beam strikes the windshield, window, mirror, or occupant of another vehicle in use, and section 547.333 which states that no part of the high intensity portion of the lamp projects into the eyes of an approaching vehicle operator. These traffic laws are mainly pointed out to use as talking points that you are to dim your lights at night when another vehicle approaches, and get the jury to thinking about why we have these statutes on the books.

I realize most of this would be common sense (bright lights blind you, especially at night) but I want to cover all the bases. I have listed an optometrist as an expert witness to discuss the effects of losing your night vision while operating a motor vehicle. I would welcome any and all thoughts and suggestions for voir dire and examples to use during trial.

I think that the lamp as it was used could be classified as a deadly weapon under the definition in the penal code.

penal code 1.07 (a)(17)(B) anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.

And I think here a bright spotlight used to blind an officer in a high speed chase at night could be considered something capable of causing death or serious bodily injury, given the circumstances and the manner in which it was used. I think you could use the truck that was used in this same incident as an example. A motor vehicle in and of it self is not a deadly weapon, but in the manner that it was used (ramming) makes it one, same with light.

Objects that are not usually considered dangerous weapons may become so, depending on the manner in which they are used during the commission of an offense. Thomas v. State, 821 S.W.2d 616, 620 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991).

Another example albeit a gross one is found in Mathonican v State, 194 S.W.3d 59 at 69. Court found that HIV seminal fluid is a deadly weapon.


I know very weird example, but its the only non weapon type I could find....

You could call any mother as an expert witness. Don't we all remember being told not to stare at the sun?

Update: we tried the driver last week and after a weeklong trial the jury came back with a guilty verdict on the aggravated assault on a public servant, and found the intense light was used as a deadly weapon; jury assessed punishment and gave the driver 50 years to do (he was probation eligible). Parks and wildlife, Texas Rangers, DPS lab and our local sheriff departments did a great job, along with the prosecution team from my office (shout out to Brody, Beth, Jeff and Bill, and my office staff). We used a local optometrist as an expert witness and he was instrumental in expaining the phenomenon of flash blindness to the jury. Couple the flash blindness with a high speed pursuit at 3 a.m., and you can see how the game warden's crash can be attributed to the spotlight being used as a deadly weapon.