Rodriguez v. Texas (original by judge keel)
Annotate this CaseAppellant Marvin Rodriquez was charged with murder. At trial he requested jury instructions on the defenses of necessity, self-defense, and defense of a third person. The trial court denied his request, and he was convicted. The court of appeals affirmed on grounds that Appellant failed to satisfy the confession-and-avoidance doctrine. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Appellant’s petition for discretionary review to consider whether his actions and admissions satisfied the doctrine of confession and avoidance, whether Martinez v. Texas, 775 S.W.2d 645 (Tex. Crim. App. 1989), was still good law, and whether the facts leading to the charged conduct were relevant. The Court concluded he did satisfy the requirements of confession and avoidance in that his testimony equivocated about his commission of the charged conduct, Martinez still stands, and all the facts surrounding the charged conduct may be relevant in deciding whether a defensive issue has been raised. Consequently, the judgment of the court of appeals was reversed and the case remanded for a harm analysis.
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