tcdla.com - Voice For The Defense Online

Defendant’s Pre-Trial Motion No. 108Motion In LimineConcerning the State’s Entitlement to a Fair Trialby Maxwell C. Peck IIICAUSE NO.STATE OF TEXAS § IN THE DISTRICT COURT§VS. § 31ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT§_______________ § ___________ COUNTY, TEXASTO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:COMES NOW _________________, Defendant, and brings this Motion in Limine Concerning theState’s Entitlement to a Fair Trial, and in support thereof shows:1. The District Attorney has repeatedly made statements to veniremen during the voir dire of this casethat the State is entitled to a “fair trial,” the same as the Defendant. The implication of this statement beingthat the rules governing this trial should be applied equally to the State and the Defendant so that neitherside should have any advantage over the other.2. This comment is a misstatement of the law. Unlike the Defendant, the State of Texas is not entitledto due process and due course of law. Collier v. Poe, 732 S.W.2d 332, 343-344 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987)(copy attached hereto); State ex rel. Turner v. McDonald, 676 S.W.2d 371, 373 (Tex.Crim.App. 1984).These fundamental rights are personal rights guaranteed to the individual citizen as protection from theState. Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1, 68 S. Ct. 836, 846, 92 L. Ed. 1161 (1948). Accordingly, the Defendantwill always have superior rights to the State and, as such, a criminal trial will never be fair to the Stateat the expense of the Defendant. 13. The District Attorney’s repeated statements to veniremen that the State is entitled to a “fair” trialerodes the protection guaranteed Defendant under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitutionand Article I, §§13 and 19, of the Texas Constitution by implying to the prospective jurors that thepersonal due process rights enjoyed by the Defendant are no more important than the power wielded by1. “Fair” being defined as “conforming with established laws or standards: being in accordance with a person’s rights under thelaw.” Me r r i a m-We b s t e r’s Dictionary o f Law ©1996.44 VOICE FOR THE DEFENSE October 2009