Henson v. Texas (Original)
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In 2008, appellant was involved in a violent altercation with a friend in which he stabbed the friend 11 times. Appellant was charged with aggravated assault. Appellant's case was reset several times because the appellant had difficulty getting and keeping counsel. Finally, on January 30, 2009, the trial court appointed counsel. After that, the case was reset for pretrial hearings and conferences. On January 2, 2010, the State filed an agreed motion for continuance because a witness was sick. The next day, the judge granted the State's motion and added the notation, "Def. ready." The case was reset seven more times before the trial began on March 4, 2011. In total, the case was reset 25 times over three years. Appellant agreed to every reset in this case. The State, appellant, and (when appellant had one) his trial counsel signed each reset form. At no point throughout this process did appellant object to these delays or file a speedy-trial motion. The first time the appellant raised the issue of a speedy-trial violation was on appeal to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the judgment of conviction. The Supreme Court granted appellant's petition for discretionary review to address whether a defendant must raise a speedy-trial claim in the trial court in order to preserve that issue for appellate review. Holding that he must, the Supreme Court affirmed the holding of the Court of Appeals.
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