Oral Arguments - 4/1/09

Okay, I'm sorry it's taken so long. I generally try to get this done within a month of oral argument, but what can I say, I'm a lazy slack ass. On April 1, 2009, the Court of Criminal Appeals heard oral argument in the following cases:

AP-76,034, Ex parte Bobby Wayne Woods, a capital murder habeas corpus case out of Hood County:

Applicant's opening - Maurie Levin
State's response - Ellen Stewart-Klein
Applicant's rebuttal

This is a subsequent writ of habeas corpus in a capital murder case where the defendant is again alleging that he is ineligible for execution because he is mentally retarded. Because it's a writ, there's no underlying case to link to, so the oral argument audio will just have to do. [Note: This is another mental retardation case where the defendant managed to work in the service industry, in this case, the Waffle House. Seems about as reliable as anything else. I'm just saying.]

PD-1097-08, Christopher Irby v. State, a sexual assault case out of Dallas County:

Appellant's opening - Katherine A. Drew
State's response - Christine Womble
Appellant's rebuttal

If you recall, this case centered around the claim that the defense should have been allowed to cross-examine the victim about his deferred adjudication for aggravated assault. Here's a link to the summary when the petition for discretionary review was granted. [What a relief, I'm finally getting to the point where I can link to myself for summaries when the issue was granted. As Howard Jones says, things can only get better.]