"The Eighth Court of Appeals erred in its preliminary holding that Appellant was entitled to jury instructions on the use of deadly force in self-defense because there was no evidence presented from any source of Appellant’s subjective state of mind at the time of the shooting, that is, whether h...
“Whether the majority opinion conflicts with Burch v. State, when the majority opinion affirmed the trial court’s admission of DNA testimony over Appellant’s Confrontation Clause objection?”
“The lower court misapplied the standard of review in this case. Specifically, the panel in this case assumed the role of fact-finder rather than viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict.”
1. “Article 46B.0095 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows for commitment of an incompetent defendant for the ‘maximum term provided by law for the offense for which the defendant was to be tried.’ The maximum term of confinement for a juvenile adjudicated for a first-degree felony offe...
“In affirming Petitioner’s conviction, the Eighth Court erred when it misapplied the four-factor test in Brown v. Illinois, conceding that the arrest was unlawful under Texas law but not unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment and, therefore, was not flagrant.”
“Whether the Court of Appeals properly protected appellant’s right to an instruction on a lesser included offense by failing to consider his testimony regarding an intervening circumstance that caused the accident resulting in death?”
“Whether conclusory lay testimony can contradict undisputed testimony from medical sources and a victim on the issue of serious bodily injury such that a lesser-included offense is a ‘valid, rational alternative’ to the charged offense?”
“Is a summary reversal warranted when the lower court violated an absolute requirement by applying law not applicable to the case, i.e. the punishment-phase sudden passion issue, not in effect until 1994, to a first-degree murder committed in 1991?”
denotes a petition filled by SPA