The record
These are our recent cases at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — cases pending and cases we have won. No other defense team in Texas has had more cases before the Court in this period.
Many of these cases were handled in collaboration with other defense lawyers.
Active cases — March 2026
Ten cases are currently pending before the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Barrera v. State, PD-0541-25
Murder. Two issues: whether cross-examination of a witness about a felony deferred adjudication is limited to the existence of criminal proceedings, or extends to the nature of the offense; and whether a jury charge permitting conviction on either theory of murder under section 19.02(b) without requiring unanimity as to which theory violates the right to a unanimous verdict.
11th Court of Appeals · Midland County · Argued
Nguyen v. State, PD-0523-25
Digital search warrant. Whether Wells v. State, 714 S.W.3d 614 (Tex. Crim. App. 2025) — which addressed geofence warrants — produced a controlling majority opinion, and therefore whether the court of appeals erred in treating it as binding authority on the Fourth Amendment and Article I, section 9 challenge presented here.
3rd Court of Appeals · Comal County · Argued
Garcia v. State, PD-0556-25
Family-violence assault enhanced to a felony by a prior family-violence conviction; 50-year sentence. The Court granted review on legal sufficiency: whether the State proved that the victim in the prior conviction — the predicate for enhancement — was a member of the defendant’s family or household at the time of that offense.
3rd Court of Appeals · Comal County · Argued
Young v. State, PD-0526-25 (State PDR)
DWI. The court of appeals affirmed suppression of evidence on a ground the State argues was abandoned on appeal. Issue: whether a court of appeals may ignore an argument, assume the trial court was correct on a ground that was not pursued, and affirm on that basis. Defense defending the suppression win.
4th Court of Appeals · Guadalupe County · Submitted
Mejia v. State, PD-0358-25 (State PDR)
Aggravated assault. The court of appeals reversed, holding the trial court abused its discretion by excluding the defendant’s full recorded statement under Rule 107 (optional completeness). State’s PDR raises three issues: the scope of Rule 107, whether a self-defense instruction is available without the defendant admitting the elements of the offense, and which harm standard applies to evidentiary error. Defense defending the reversal.
3rd Court of Appeals · Tom Green County · Submitted
Barber v. State, PD-0510-25 (State PDR)
Intoxication manslaughter. Trial court suppressed blood-toxicology results because the officer who executed the blood-draw warrant lacked authority to make an arrest outside his jurisdiction under article 18.067 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court of appeals reversed. The State’s PDR asks what “authorized to make an arrest” means under article 18.067, and whether probable cause developed post-incident satisfies that standard. Defense defending suppression.
9th Court of Appeals · Liberty County · Argued
Williams v. State (Kendarius), PD-0479-25
Murder; 50-year sentence. Five issues: whether section 19.02(b) defines separate murder offenses requiring jury unanimity as to which theory applies; whether two extraneous shootings were properly admitted as same-transaction contextual evidence or to rebut a defensive theory; whether the probative-prejudice balance was correctly assessed; and whether firearm photographs and social media posts were admissible when not connected to the charged offense.
2nd Court of Appeals · Tarrant County · Briefing
Williams v. State (Jemadari), PD-0692-25 (State PDR)
Aggravated promotion of prostitution; 40-year sentence. The court of appeals reversed the conviction a second time on remand. State’s PDR argues the court bypassed applicable procedural bars without explanation, and granted relief on a Brady/Michael Morton Act claim that was neither raised nor meritorious. Defense defending the second reversal.
4th Court of Appeals · Kerr County · Briefing
Lankford v. State, PD-0178-26
Possession of child pornography. Five grounds challenging the court of appeals’ reversal of suppression: whether the State preserved its good-faith argument at the suppression hearing; whether an officer can rely in good faith on a warrant authorizing only seizure of hardware to conduct a forensic examination of digital contents; whether a warrant identifying “cellular phones” without specifying a particular device by make, model, or IMEI provides a sufficient basis for good faith; whether a justice of the peace had statutory authority under article 18.01(c) to issue the warrant; and whether the good-faith analysis must be applied to the warrant’s deficiencies in combination, not separately.
8th Court of Appeals · El Paso County · Filed
Robinson v. State, PD-0252-26
Online solicitation of a minor under Penal Code section 33.021(c). Whether a court may add a belief element to a statutory defense that the legislature did not include: section 33.021(e)(2) provides a defense when “the actor was not more than three years older than the minor” — the court below required the defendant to have believed he was not more than three years older, a requirement that appears nowhere in the statute.
1st Court of Appeals · Harris County · Filed
Recent results
Reversals and acquittals
Hernandez v. State, PD-0176-25 (2025)
Evading arrest. The Court held no rational juror could find the officer’s stop was supported by reasonable suspicion — the vehicle did not match the 9-1-1 caller’s description, the call was 30 minutes old, and no articulable facts linked appellant’s vehicle to criminal activity. Acquittal ordered.
13th Court of Appeals · Willacy County
Ex parte Estevez, PD-0581-24 (2025)
Double jeopardy. The State prosecuted for DWI after using the same conduct to hold the defendant in contempt. The Court reversed, protecting the constitutional bar against double punishment for a single act.
1st Court of Appeals · Harris County
State v. Cuarenta, PD-0205-24 (2025)
The State had no right to appeal a grant of deferred disposition on a Class C misdemeanor. The Court reversed the court of appeals and dismissed the State’s appeal.
7th Court of Appeals · Brazos County
Owens v. State, PD-0075-24 (2025)
First Amendment. Texas’s electronic harassment statute is unconstitutional as applied to nonthreatening messages. The Court reversed and remanded.
7th Court of Appeals · Bexar County
Alkayyali v. State, PD-0290-23 (2025)
Murder. The court of appeals reversed the conviction for jury charge error — the application paragraph omitted the causation element, and causation was genuinely contested given the victim’s pre-existing heart condition and the medical evidence. The State petitioned for discretionary review; the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the reversal.
2nd Court of Appeals · Tarrant County
Habeas corpus
Ex parte Eric Todd Williams, WR-96,658-01 (2025)
Online solicitation of a minor under former Penal Code section 33.021(b) — the provision held facially unconstitutional in Ex parte Lo. The Court granted relief and set aside the conviction.
379th District Court · Bexar County
Ex parte Kerry Max Cook, WR-84,565-01 (2024)
Actual innocence. After 47 years — including three death sentences and years on death row — the Court found Kerry Max Cook actually innocent of a 1977 murder. The longest-running wrongful-conviction case in Texas history.
114th District Court · Smith County
GVR — Granted, Vacated, Remanded
Ex parte McGee, PD-0517-24 (2024)
The court of appeals dismissed a habeas appeal as moot without addressing whether the trial court retained jurisdiction to dismiss its own contempt judgment after plenary power expired. The Court vacated and remanded, requiring the court of appeals to decide that systemic question.
1st Court of Appeals · Harris County
Ex parte Eugene, PD-0461-24 (2024)
Companion case to McGee. Same issue — whether a trial court could dismiss a final contempt judgment after its plenary power expired — requiring the court of appeals to address contested arguments it had bypassed.
1st Court of Appeals · Harris County
Earlier landmark win
Ex parte Lo, PD-1560-12 (2013)
First Amendment. The Court held Penal Code section 33.021(c) — the online solicitation statute — facially unconstitutional. The decision freed dozens of people serving time under the statute and cleared their records. The ruling led to a constitutional amendment changing how Texas regulates online speech to minors.
Court of Criminal Appeals · Statewide effect
Notable cases
For fuller accounts of significant cases, see the Cases page.
This page shows favorable results and active cases only. Many were handled in collaboration with other defense lawyers. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.