# Puckett v. State

> Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas · November 25, 1959 · 168 Tex. Crim. 615

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9671762

## Case

- **Full name:** Joseph Levi Puckett, Jr. v. State
- **Court:** Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
- **Decided:** November 25, 1959
- **Citations:** 168 Tex. Crim. 615; 330 S.W.2d 465; 81 A.L.R. 2d 1237; 1959 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 2672
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Woodley
- **Judges:** Dice, Woodley
- **Cited by:** 22 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9671762

## Opinion text

WOODLEY, Judge,
(dissenting).
I find no error in the remarks of counsel for the state which are made the basis for the reversal of this conviction.
It is unthinkable that any attorney would ask a jury to convict upon the testimony of an officer or other witness unless he believed such witness’ testimony was true. In fact, if the testimony was false and the prosecuting attorney had knowledge of such facts, the conviction would be totally void. Alcorta v. Texas, 355 U.S. 28 , 2 L.Ed. 2d 9 .
There is nothing in the argument to suggest that counsel was testifying to the credibility of the police officers or that the remarks were otherwise improper.
I quote from my dissent in Hickerson v. State, 162 Texas Cr. Rep. 446 , 286 S.W. 2d 437 , 439: “Surely my brethren do not intend to hold that a prosecuting attorney is precluded from getting before the jury his belief that the witnesses for the State have testified truthfully and the defense testimony to the contrary is not true!”
I respectfully dissent.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9671762. Public record. Not legal advice.