Second Court of Appeals

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of June 26, 2023.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

Cooper v. State, No. 02-21-00082-CR (June 29, 2023) (Walker, J., joined by Bassel and Womack, JJ.).

Held: The trial court did not abuse its discretion by holding a “premature” hearing under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 64.04 when some of the items that the trial court had previously ordered to be tested under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 64.03 remained untested. The appellant had not met the requirements for his requested DNA testing in the first place, and as long as the trial court had jurisdiction over Appellant’s case, it had the power to rescind its original order for DNA testing. If the law does not provide otherwise, then the scheduling of hearings is a matter within the trial court’s discretion.