Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Decisions 2017
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,051
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0283-16
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 746, a bill that amended several provisions within the Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act contained within the Health and Safety Code. The amendments…
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0283-16
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0931-16
Justia Opinion Summary: A Houston police officer witnessed defendant Andreas Marcopoulos walk into a bar known for narcotics activity, stay for three to five minutes, and then leave. When Marcopoulos committed a traffic violation, the officer…
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0931-16
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,017-01
Date: December 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,604-01
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0775-17
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0776-17
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,704-01
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,821-01
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,442-01
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,442-02
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,337-01
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,689-01
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0145-17
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0347-15
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Appellant Michael Bohannan to be a sexually violent predator. The trial court thus adjudicated Appellant as a sexually violent predator and ordered him to be civilly committed for treatment. Appellant…
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0618-16
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0618-16
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals considered whether a person convicted of a criminal offense could present a facial challenge to the constitutionality of a statute for the first time in an application…
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,192-01
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,192-01
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,192-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Over a period of sixteen months during 2013 and 2014, Applicant Morris Johnson, II was convicted of forgery, then possession of a controlled substance, and then delivery of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to ten…
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,192-01
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,627-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0253-16
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0253-16
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0254-16
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0254-16
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1100-15
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1100-15
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1100-15
Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury indicted Abraham Proenza for Injury to a Child, alleging that he intentionally and knowingly caused serious bodily injury to "AJV" by, among other things, failing to seek prompt medical care for AJV.…
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1137-16
Justia Opinion Summary: The court of appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Dan Dale Burch’s motion for new trial. Burch was indicted for sexual assault. He pled not guilty and opted for a jury to assess his…
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1137-16
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1137-16
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-78,106-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-78,106-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-78,106-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,008-07
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,008-07
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,943-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Jaye McClellan pled guilty to online solicitation of a minor under fourteen years of age pursuant to the pre-2015 version of the statute. He was sentenced to three years’ confinement and was required to register…
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,073-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,073-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,073-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,073-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,073-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,381-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,781-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,781-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,781-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,091-01
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,621-01
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1043-16
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1043-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Johntay Gibson was convicted of capital murder during the course of an armed robbery of a mobile phone store in which the store’s owner was shot and killed. He received a sentence of imprisonment for life…
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1118-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jamie Hallmark and the State entered into a plea agreement. According to the plea papers, Appellant would be sentenced to three years unless she failed to show up for her sentencing hearing, in which case she…
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1118-16
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,551-01
Date: November 6, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,075
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,053
Justia Opinion Summary: In December 2014, a jury convicted Eric Williams of capital murder, for which he was sentenced to death. Direct appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was automatic. Williams was tried for the shooting deaths of…
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0480-17
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court granted a motion to suppress evidence, and the State appealed. Appellant Hector Macias was charged with committing family-violence assault. The State filed a motion to stay further trial court…
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1184-16
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1184-16
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1184-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Richard Owings, Jr. was convicted by a jury of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to thirty years in prison. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that “the trial court committed harmful…
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-64,017-05
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Wimberly was convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to fifty years’ imprisonment. In his fifth writ application, Wimberly claimed he was actually innocent of this offense based on newly available…
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-64,017-05
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,465-02
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0704-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Gordon Elrod was charged with fraudulent use or possession of identifying information and with two offenses of tampering with a governmental record. Appellee filed a motion to suppress evidence seized by police…
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0705-16
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0706-16
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0197-16
Justia Opinion Summary: After the State’s first witness, Officer Ruben Ramirez, was sworn-in and the trial court asked him to take a seat, a juror said, “Judge, I know [the witness]. I went to school with him.” The witness responded, “Yeah, I…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0517-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jeromy Leax was charged with two counts of online solicitation of a minor under the pre-2015 version of Penal Code section 33.021(c) (2014). He filed a motion to quash the indictment (which he later amended),…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0791-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Mark Bolles was found guilty of possessing child pornography and sentenced to two years in prison. The Court of Appeals reversed Appellant’s conviction and rendered a judgment of acquittal, holding that the…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1049-16
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1049-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Teodoro Hernandez was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Court of Appeals held the evidence to be legally insufficient to establish the deadly-weapon element of the offense, reformed the…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-75,852-02
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,185-07
Justia Opinion Summary: Orian Lee Scott was convicted of nine offenses in three separate indictments and was sentenced to a total of 100 years’ confinement. The Court of Criminal Appeals filed and set these writ applications to decide whether…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,185-08
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,185-09
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,185-10
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,185-11
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,185-12
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,267-01
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,719-01
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,719-01
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,445-01
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,445-02
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,040
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0111-16
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0213-16
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0665-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0665-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0665-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0666-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0666-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0666-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0880-16
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Appellant Ronald Lee, Jr. of continuous sexual abuse of a child, for which he was given a life sentence. Appellant claimed on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. The…
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0880-16
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1052-16
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1254-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1254-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1254-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1314-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1314-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1314-15
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-75,835-01
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-75,835-01
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-75,835-01
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-77,838-03
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,161-02
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,161-02
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,420-01
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0227-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Cesar Gamino was convicted on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Court of Appeals reversed Appellant’s conviction and remanded his case for a new trial, holding that the trial court erred by refusing…
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0227-16
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1037-16
Justia Opinion Summary: During a traffic stop, Appellee Reinaldo Sanchez was arrested for outstanding warrants. During that arrest, the officer searched Appellee’s person and discovered illegal drugs. The officer then searched Appellee’s Jeep…
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,458-01
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,458-02
Justia Opinion Summary: Darren Lewis pled guilty to obtaining a controlled substance “through the use of a fraudulent prescription form” and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. However, Lewis’s lawyer never told him that, under the Court…
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,651-01
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,020-01
Date: September 27, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,403-01
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,069
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Appellant, John David Battaglia, was convicted and sentenced to death for shooting and killing his two young daughters in his apartment while they were talking to their mother on speaker phone. In 2016, shortly…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,069
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0576-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0576-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0576-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0576-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Burt Burnett was charged with driving while intoxicated after he rear-ended another vehicle. The State alleged that Burnett was intoxicated “by not having the normal use of his mental and physical faculties by reason of…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1180-16
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Appellant Alvin Prine, Jr. guilty of sexual assault and sentenced him to 20 years’ confinement and a fine of $8,000. He claimed on appeal that his attorney was ineffective during the punishment phase of…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1180-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1299-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Kimberly Ford was indicted for possession of methamphetamine. The drugs were seized from her purse at a Dollar General store during a theft investigation. The investigating officer informed appellee that she had…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1299-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1300-16
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue for the Court of Criminal Appeals' review was whether the record supported the trial court’s decision that a peace officer had reasonable suspicion of narcotics possession to continue the detention of a driver…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1671-15
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1671-15
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-12
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-12
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-12
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Numbers: WR-49,980-13, WR-49,980-14, WR-49,980-15, WR-49,980-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Applicant Keith St. Aubin claimed Double Jeopardy when the State obtained multiple convictions against him in a single trial. He raised this claim for the first time in his habeas application brought under Texas Code…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-13
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-13
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-14
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-14
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-14
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-15
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-15
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-15
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-49,980-16
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-69,178-03
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,014-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Cristian Aguilar, a Honduran national with temporary protected status, pleaded guilty to the state-jail felony of attempting to evade arrest in a motor vehicle and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. In his…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,014-01
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,014-01
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,873-02
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,873-02
Justia Opinion Summary: Applicant Malcolm Evans was charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child. After the State abandoned a deadly weapon allegation, he pled guilty with a 50-year cap, and the trial court sentenced him to 50 years in…
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,873-02
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,439-01
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,409-01
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,409-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Real Party in Interest Mitchell Childers was accused of two counts of indecency with a child by contact. Childers moved the District Court to order the State to deliver the two victims’ video recorded Children’s Advocacy…
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0332-17
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,791-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,292-02
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,437-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,603-02
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,891-02
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,994-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,094-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,172-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,190-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,226-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,283-01
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,300-01
Date: August 23, 2017
Docket Number: WR-51,670-02
Date: August 23, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,635-01
Date: August 23, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,085-01
Date: August 23, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,099-01
Date: August 23, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,119-01
Date: August 23, 2017
Docket Number: WR-87,125-01
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,221-02
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,407-01
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,219-01
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,501-01
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0208-16
Justia Opinion Summary: After jet-skiing in the afternoon with one friend, and then drinking at least one glass of wine at the apartment of another friend before briefly falling asleep on her couch, Appellant Richard Bowman drove home in the…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0208-16
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0244-16
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue presented for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in this case was whether the court of appeals erred when it held that a witness could not be an accomplice as a matter of law unless the witness was charged…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0270-17
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0307-17
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0330-17
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0578-16
Justia Opinion Summary: In an appeal of the denial of relief of a pretrial habeas application, appellant Adam Ingram raised various facial challenges to the constitutionality of the pre-2015 version of subsection (c) of the “Online Solicitation…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0578-16
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0712-16
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0712-16
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0712-16
Justia Opinion Summary: While purportedly disciplining his pet dog, appellant Robert Prichard killed her by repeatedly hitting her head with a shovel and then drowning her in a swimming pool. He was indicted for the state-jail felony of cruelty…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0984-15
Justia Opinion Summary: At the time of the offense, Wendee Long was the principal of Wayside Middle School and a member of the Argyle I.S.D. school board. Long’s daughter, C.L., attended Argyle High School and traveled to Sanger High School to…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0984-15
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0992-15
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0992-15
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,454-02
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,238-01
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-84,815-03
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,193-01
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,264-01
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,500-01
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,880-01
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0215-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Robert Queeman was convicted of criminally negligent homicide after failing to prevent his van from colliding with another vehicle, which resulted in the death of a passenger in the other vehicle. The court of…
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0832-15
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1661-15
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1661-15
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1661-15
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1661-15
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: WR-44,695-10
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0703-16
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0703-16
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the issue before the Court of Criminal Appeals was how a trial court should weigh a defendant’s failure to exercise his right to a speedy trial under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers when analyzing a…
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0703-16
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0703-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Stephen Hopper was indicted in 1993 for an offense that he committed in Texas, but his trial did not take place until 2015. During most of that period of time, he was incarcerated in Nebraska for crimes he had…
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1056-16
Justia Opinion Summary: While driving intoxicated, Appellant Harold Moore rear-ended another car that was stopped at a red light, causing the driver and passenger bodily injury, but not serious bodily injury. The trial court found that…
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1056-16
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1391-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1391-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1391-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1391-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1391-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Mikenzie Rodriguez was indicted for possession of a controlled substance. Resident assistants searched Rodriguez's dorm room, found drugs, and called their director, who in turn called the police. The police…
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1566-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1566-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1648-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1648-15
Justia Opinion Summary: This case presented a question of jury-charge error. The State alleged that Appellant Robert Arteaga, Jr., committed first-degree felony sexual assault of a child because he was “prohibited from marrying” the victim, his…
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1649-15
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-01
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-01
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-01
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-01
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Roger Carter argued in a series of applications for habeas relief that the trial judge improperly cumulated, or “stacked,” his burglary sentence and credit-card-abuse sentences. The Court of Criminal Appeals filed and…
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-02
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-02
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-02
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-02
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,060-02
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,549-02
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,728-01
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,829-01
Date: June 7, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,839-01
Date: May 24, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,577-02
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0623-16
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0623-16
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0623-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Rosa Arizmendi pled guilty pursuant to an agreement, but she moved for a new trial after her codefendant prevailed on a motion to suppress. Appellee, with a co-defendant, was charged with possession with intent…
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0623-16
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0623-16
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0805-16
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1544-15
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1544-15
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1544-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Joe LaRue was convicted for the capital murder of Donna Pentecost, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. His conviction was based in part on DNA evidence and in part on the very detailed testimony of…
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,337-01
Date: May 17, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,731-01
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: AP-76,674
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,664-01
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,045
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0771-16
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0772-16
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved an appeal from a district court judge’s denial of relief in a pre-trial application for writ of habeas corpus. Appellant was under indictment for three charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child,…
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0773-16
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0891-15
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0891-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by sexual contact. Appellant waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded not guilty at a bench trial to the charges. Appellant…
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0947-16
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-55,332-02
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-55,332-03
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,597-05
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,603-01
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,621-01
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,627-01
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,627-02
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,627-03
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,627-04
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,054
Justia Opinion Summary: Rodney Reed sought post-conviction DNA testing of over forty items collected in the course of investigating Stacey Stites’ sexual assault and murder. Ultimately, Reed was convicted and sentenced to death for the capital…
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0887-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Following the denial of his motion to suppress, Appellant Gareic Hankston was convicted of murder and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. The Court of Appeals affirmed Appellant’s conviction, holding that the…
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1252-15
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-31,583-04
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,014-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Broussard pleaded guilty to delivery of cocaine and was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment. Laboratory tests later determined that Broussard possessed methamphetamine. In his habeas corpus application,…
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,014-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,014-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,014-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,310-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,310-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,529-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,139-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,168-02
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,220-01
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,584-01
Date: April 5, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,065
Date: April 5, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,065
Date: April 5, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0295-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Cody Thomas agreed to enter an open plea of guilty to state-jail felony theft as a lesser-included offense of the charged offense of third-degree felony engaging in organized criminal activity. Because the…
Date: April 5, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,177-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Relator, Matthew Powell, District Attorney of Lubbock County, sought to have the Court of Criminal Appeals compel Respondent, Judge Hocker, a county court at law judge, to rule in a certain way in a discovery dispute…
Date: April 5, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,066-01
Date: March 29, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,616-02
Date: March 29, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,680-02
Date: March 29, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,438-01
Date: March 29, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,503-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0052-17
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0171-16
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0171-16
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0541-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jamie Villa participated with gang members in a gang-related assault. The complainant testified that he was assaulted by gang members and that appellant was one of the people who assaulted him. The court of…
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0658-16
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0658-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Mike Ulloa was charged with two counts of tampering with physical evidence. The alleged date of the offenses was December 21, 2009. The offenses were originally charged by complaint and information on February…
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0677-16
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1641-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Bradley McClintock lived in an upstairs residence above a business. Access to his residence could be gained through a stairway at the back of the building. Police took a drug-sniffing dog to Appellant’s door,…
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1641-15
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1682-15
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,551-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,551-01
Justia Opinion Summary: Jonathan Salvador worked as a laboratory technician at the Houston Police Department's Crime Lab Division from 2006 to 2012. The Texas Forensic Science Commission (“TFSC”) published a full report in January 2013…
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,506-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,397-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,397-02
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,448-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,472-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,476-01
Date: March 22, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,489-01
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,038
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Us Carnell Petetan, Jr. was charged with the capital murder of his wife, Kimberly Petetan. The indictment alleged that he intentionally caused her death during the course of committing or attempting to commit…
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,038
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0170-16
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0170-16
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0170-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Orlando Salinas challenged the assessment of a consolidated fee (or court costs, the payment of which is statutorily mandated when a defendant is convicted in a criminal case). The fees at issue were to be…
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0170-16
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1317-15
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1317-15
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1317-15
Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer pulled appellee Mary Zuniga over after she ran a stop sign in front of her home. During the stop, the officer observed a bottle of medicine in Zuniga’s vehicle. When Zuniga was unable to produce a valid…
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,875-01
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,875-01
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,875-01
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,875-02
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,875-02
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,875-02
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,421-01
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,450-01
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,033
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,033
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0840-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was charged with delivery of a dangerous drug under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 483.042(a). The trial court granted his motion to quash the indictment. The State appealed, and the court of appeals…
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1335-16
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1358-15
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1359-15
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1360-15
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1361-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Eric Baumgart acted as a security guard but had no license for doing so. He was charged with committing violations of the Private Security Act, in the Occupations Code. Appellant filed motions to quash and to…
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,750-01
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,879-01
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,879-02
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,879-03
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,995-01
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0292-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jennifer Wolfe presented an issue of whether expert testimony on the subject of abusive head trauma was reliable. She raised the issue in her petition for discretionary review following her conviction in a…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0699-16
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in this case was whether there was sufficient evidence to affirm the jury’s deadly-weapon finding elevating robbery to aggravated robbery. Because the Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that there was and that…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1283-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Pleading guilty to the offense of sexual assault in 1984, Appellant Milton Crawford was convicted and later required to register as a sex offender. Twice after that, in 2007 and then again in 2009, he was convicted of…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1283-15
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1283-15
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1455-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Kelvin Roy was convicted of murder and sentenced to seventy-five years’ imprisonment. The trial judge denied his request for a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of manslaughter. Because there was “more than…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1484-15
Justia Opinion Summary: After being released from the penitentiary earlier than permitted by the statutory minimum sentence for his crime, Appellant was convicted of another crime, and his sentence was enhanced by his prior conviction. He…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1484-15
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1484-15
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1596-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant William White was convicted for delivery of less than a gram of methamphetamine in a drug free zone, a third degree felony. His punishment was enhanced with a prior felony to a second degree felony, and the…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1639-15
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1639-15
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-77,812-05
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-77,812-05
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,153-01
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,311-01
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,311-01
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,333-01
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,335-01
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,355-01
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0196-16
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found appellant Rodney Lake guilty of sexual assault of a child under age seventeen and sentenced him to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Upon the recommendation of the jury, sentence was suspended and…
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0196-16
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0196-16
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1032-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Angel Obella entered a guilty plea to aggravated sexual assault and was sentenced by the trial court to 30 years’ imprisonment. Appellant filed a motion for new trial alleging that his plea was involuntary…
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-81,584-01
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue before the Court of Criminal Appeals in this matter was the judicial authority of the judge who presided over habeas proceedings in this case. The judge signed an order voluntarily recusing himself from…
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,302-01
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,309-01
Date: February 8, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,325-01
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: AP-77,041
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1362-15
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,381-01
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,152-01
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,248-01
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,253-01
Date: February 1, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,254-01
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: PD-0251-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jeffrey Pruett was convicted of arson, and the jury made a deadly-weapon finding. The question before the Court of criminal Appeals was whether: the fire started by appellant was a deadly weapon when the fire…
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: PD-1480-15
Justia Opinion Summary: The officer in this case encountered and arrested an intoxicated driver during a traffic stop he initiated to check the welfare of a passenger in the vehicle. The question this case presented for the Court of Criminal…
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-80,344-05
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,691-04
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-82,691-04
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,329-02
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,634-01
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,634-01
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-01
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-01
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-02
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-02
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-03
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-03
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-04
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,399-04
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,850-02
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,199-01
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,199-01
Date: January 11, 2017
Docket Number: WR-76,979-03
Date: January 11, 2017
Docket Number: WR-79,680-02
Date: January 11, 2017
Docket Number: WR-83,420-02
Date: January 11, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,781-02
Date: January 11, 2017
Docket Number: WR-85,953-01
Date: January 11, 2017
Docket Number: WR-86,113-01
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.
