In re Robbins (original by judge womack)
Annotate this CaseApplicant Neal Robbins was convicted in 1999 of the capital murder of his girlfriend’s seventeen-month-old daughter. The State did not seek the death penalty, and upon conviction applicant was sentenced to life in prison. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment and sentence on direct appeal. The applicant filed a subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus on September 3, 2013, pursuant to article 11.073 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 11.073 was passed during the 2013 legislative session and became effective on September 1, 2013. There were no factual changes in the applicant’s case since the filing of his first application. In both applications he argued he was entitled to a new trial because the medical examiner who testified for the prosecution, could no longer stand by her trial testimony regarding the cause of death. The only difference between the two applications was the enactment of the new law upon which the applicant now relies. Based on article 11.073, applicant argues he was entitled to relief because scientific evidence relied on by the State at trial has been contradicted by relevant scientific evidence that was unavailable at trial, and if it had been presented at trial he would not have been convicted. The Court of Criminal Appeals was persuaded by this argument, and granted applicant’s request for relief.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.