Clark, III v. State

A jury convicted defendant of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison with no possibility of parole. On appeal, defendant claimed he was denied due process at his trial. At issue was whether defendant's objections at trial put the court on notice of his due-process, fair-trial complaint. The court held that the court of appeals used the correct standard and did not err in failing to consider the court's holding in Zillender v. State. Contrary to defendant's argument, the court's holding in Zillender did not change the outcome of his appeal where nothing in the record indicated that the trial court or prosecutor knew that defendant was making a due-process claim. Therefore, defendant never put the court on notice of his due-process, fair-trial complaint, and the issue was forfeited. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Clark, III v. State" on Justia Law