John Arlin Walters, Appellant v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals held that a murder defendant who raises self-defense is not entitled to a non-statutory jury instruction on the decedent's prior verbal threats, because such an instruction is not grounded in the Penal Code, is covered by the general self-defense and apparent-danger charge, and would impermissibly comment on the weight of the evidence. The Court further held that the trial court abused its discretion under Rule 107 by excluding appellant's response to the 911 operator's question, because the State's own questioning and closing argument created a false impression that appellant never explained the shooting, but that the exclusion was non-constitutional rather than constitutional error because it did not prevent appellant from presenting his self-defense theory through his own testimony. The Court vacated the court of appeals' judgment, which had reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, and remanded for further proceedings.