Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court, holding 5-4 that the Texas procedure was improper.

[2] After the case was remanded, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that Smith’s pre-trial objections did not preserve the claim of constitutional error he asserted.

"Under the Texas framework for determining whether an instructional error merits reversal, the state court explained, this procedural default required Smith to show egregious harm — a burden the court held he did not meet.

Justice Kennedy, writing for the 5-4 majority, held that the Texas Court "misunderstood the interplay of [previous death penalty decisions,] and it mistook which of Smith’s claims furnished the basis for this Court’s opinion in Smith I.

The state court’s error of federal law cannot be the predicate for requiring Smith to show egregious harm."