Legal Opinion
Bustamante v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Decided June 13, 2001No. 1954-99PublishedCited by 375 opinions
1Opinion of the Court 1
OPINION
2Opinion of the Court · KeaslerKeasler, J.
in which KELLER, P.J., MEYERS, WOMACK, HERVEY, and HOLCOMB, J.J. joined.
In Victor Bustamante’s murder trial, his attorney asked a State’s witness what type of gangs were in Bustamante’s neighborhood. When the State objected, the trial judge said “as soon as I hear from the defendant we’ll get into it.” We hold that the mere fact that this remark was made before Bustamante closed his case does not preclude it from being a comment on his failure to testify.
Factual History
Close to midnight on Independence Day 1996, Arturo Chavez was at his mother’s house drinking beer with his cousin…
3Cases cited16 opinions
- Griffin v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1965
- Griffin v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1965
- Moore v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1999
- Ramos v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1967
- Bird v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1975
11 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
4Cited by375 opinions
- Wead v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2004
- Canales v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2003
- Snowden, Rion PhealCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2011
- Archie v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2011
- Cruz v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2007
370 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.