Krajcovic v. Texas (Original)
Annotate this CaseAppellant Paul Krajcovic was charged with a murder committed in 2007. A jury found him guilty and sentenced him to fifty-five years' confinement. He appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in refusing to grant his request for a jury instruction on the "Castle Doctrine," which went into effect on September 1, 2007. The court of appeals reversed the trial court's judgment and remanded the case for a new trial. The Supreme Court granted the State's petition for discretionary review to address: (1) whether the Court of Appeals' panel majority improperly applied the law on defensive instructions where there was no evidence that supported an inference that the requested defensive instruction on the "Castle Doctrine" applied to the case; and (2) whether the Court of Appeals' panel majority erred by holding the lack of the requested instruction was harmful where there was no evidence whatsoever of "retreat," and where a self-defense claim would have failed regardless of whether Appellant was legally required to retreat or not. Upon review, the Supreme Court held that the court of appeals erred in failing to consider whether the evidence supported the inference that the Castle Doctrine applied to this case. The Court reversed the appellate court and remanded the case for further proceedings.
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