Chuck Lanehart won a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus on June 29 in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The opinion summary is listed below in Ex parte Bocanegra.

Also on the defense team were Lorna Bueno and Lindsey Craig. Former CL&S partner David Schulman of Austin also assisted as an advisor. Theirs was a two-and-a-half year effort on behalf of the client.

Trial counsel mistakenly advised Mr. Bocanegra that he was eligible for probation from the court, not the jury, when in fact, he was eligible for probation from the jury, but not the court. He will now get a new punishment trial in which significant mitigation which was not produced at the previous trial, and which Lindsey Craig discovered, will be utilized. Hopefully, the punishment phase will result in a much better outcome.

Congratulations to Chuck, Lorna, Lindsey and David!