Thomas M. Giesberg, Appellant v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence, holding that the defendant was not entitled to a separate jury instruction on alibi because alibi merely negates an element of the State's case and is not a statutory or affirmative defense. The Court reasoned that the Legislature has not enumerated alibi as a defense, and a special instruction would constitute an impermissible comment on the weight of the evidence. Two dissenting opinions argued that an alibi instruction should be required when the evidence raises the issue.