Martinez v. State

The issues presented for our review are whether the trial court erred in allowing the state, during a criminal prosecution, to question witnesses and argue in closing argument that appellant had hired a law firm to file a civil suit related to the incident for which appellant was arrested. We find, specifically, that the trial court erred in allowing the state to question a doctor, testifying for appellant, as to whether appellant had hired a civil attorney to file a lawsuit. We further find that the error was not harmless, as it was compounded by the questioning of appellant’s wife as to…