TexasCHLforum.com

A Houston jury on Monday found a Seabrook optometrist not guilty of murder in the 2013 shooting death of a neighbor.
Karl Hormann, 56, testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot 36-year-old Brandon Smith after a Memorial Day weekend crawfish boil in 2013.

Hormann's attorneys told jurors that the eye doctor feared for his life and for the lives of his guests when he followed Smith off the lake property and into the street.
Prosecutors said Hormann should have let Smith just go home. "Was the defendant justified in following him down the street and taking his life?" prosecutor Aaron Chapman
asked jurors in closing arguments in the murder trial. "It wasn't immediately necessary".

Jurors deliberated about three hours Monday before reaching a decision.

Hormann was not arrested at the scene but was indicted months later on a charge of murder.

Prosecutors told jurors during the trial's opening statements that Smith was unarmed and was trying to leave the scene when he was shot.
The lawyer said Smith threatened the partygoers and told them he had a knife but did not show it. Investigators later found a black lockblade knife in the dead man's pocket.

A Houston medical examiner sprang into action Wednesday when a juror appeared to faint during a presentation of autopsy photos in a Seabrook slaying.
Dana Hopson, a medical doctor with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, was testifying about the fatal shooting of 36-year-old
Brandon Smith when a man sitting in the front row of the jury box slumped forward and began sputtering unconsciously.
Hopson rushed from the witness stand to direct other jurors who were trying to lay the man down in the cramped jury box.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:.... I find this tactic and the lack of an admonishment by the judge to be very troubling. ..
Chas.

As the late-night argument ended up being more heated, Hormann, who has actually a hidden pistol license,
obtained a semi-automatic handgun with a laser sight from his nightstand and challenged Smith.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:"Armed with a semi-automatic pistol with a laser sight, Hormann confronted Smith who was arguing with other partygoers." I find it interesting that the prosecutor felt it was appropriate to include the type of sight on the pistol. Perhaps the day is coming when, even in Texas, the type and/or configuration of your defensive firearms will be made an issue with the jury. I find this tactic and the lack of an admonishment by the judge to be very troubling. If the elements of self-defense under TPC §9.32 are present, then the tool one used to preserve one's own life is irrelevant.

Chas.

WildBill wrote:Here's a favorite of mine:

As the late-night argument ended up being more heated, Hormann, who has actually a hidden pistol license,
obtained a semi-automatic handgun with a laser sight from his nightstand and challenged Smith.

http://www.darkfallgames.com/seabrook-e ... n-defense/

WildBill wrote:...This "evidence" too could have backfired on the prosecutor.