“Did the jury charge in a case that involved autoerotic asphyxiation that led to the death of one of the participants and a conviction of murder for the other participant, and contained an incorrect definition of ‘intentionally,’ which allowed the jury to find the Appellant guilty merely by findi...
1. “The First Court erred by holding that a shotgun objection and a complaint about another part of the statute preserved the appellant’s appellate argument. This conflicts with this Court’s holding in Resendez [v. State, 307 S.W.3d 308 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009)].” 2. “The First Court erred by hold...
1. “The Court of Appeals erred by finding the value ladder provisions of the forgery statute to be mandatory in all cases where forgery was committed in order to obtain property or services.” 2. “The Court of Appeals erred by holding that the State was required to allege the purpose for which Ap...
“From the appellate court’s statutory construction of Section 32.21(e-1) of the Texas Penal Code, there was no jury-charge error; but more importantly, this Court should resolve a jurisdictional conflict that now exists in Texas law as to how county and district attorneys in the State of Texas sh...
“Can harmlessness be presumed from a silent record when a defendant has been denied his constitutional and statutory rights to be present during a pretrial proceeding?”
1. “The judge, on an at best, partially developed record, required one spectator to view one witness’s testimony contemporaneously from a neighboring room. Is this the sort of closure requiring reversal contemplated by the right to a public trial[?]” 2. “Did the Fourth Court of Appeals fail to a...
1. “When—as the Ransier Dissent recognizes—the record does not support a rational conclusion that if Appellant was guilty of anything, it was only attempted tampering, should the Fourteenth Court have nevertheless reversed Appellant’s conviction because of the failure to include a ‘lesser-include...
1. “Did the court of appeals err when it held as a matter of law that selling sexual contact with a four-year-old child could never constitute compelled prostitution?” 2. “Must a child knowingly engage in an act of prostitution for the person who sold sex with her to be guilty of compelling pros...
denotes a petition filled by SPA