First Texas Penal Code

  1. First Texas Penal Code (TPC) task. Examine the case of Commonwealth v. Pestinikases which is

    found in Chapter 3 beginning on page 114 (this is a homicide case so the various criminal homicide statutes should be explored as well as other possible crimes/defenses). Per the syllabus 

    1. Students will examine instructor assigned cases found in the text and summarize the facts, outline the law of the jurisdiction where the case was tried, locate portions of the Texas Penal Code that would have been applied if the case had been tried in Texas and discuss what the result would have been in Texas if the case had been tried in Texas.Submitted in assignments and must be in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt or .pdf format.

    2. TPC tasks are to be prepared in essay format. There is no need to use a specific style guide; however, this is a writing assignment so use of proper grammar, punctuation, word choice etc. is expected. Do not copy  paraphrase  again this is a writing assignment. Here is a link to the Texas Statutes and the Penal Code Texas Statutes link https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/ To find the appropriate Texas statutes try using the significant statutory language cited in the case summary in the text and look for those terms in the Chapter titles in the TPC. There is also a specific chapter in the Penal Code on defenses and dont forget failure of proof. Did the prosecution prove its case under Texas law? You need to cite the statutes you discuss. Information on citing statutes is found in the Course Orientation in Getting Started module. Screenshots illustrating a road map to negotiating the Texas Statutes online is contained in this Elements module.

      Screen shot of case from book is in the files. 

      Book is criminal law by Joel Samaha