Amber Renee Guyger v. the State of Texas, 05-19-01236-CR

On Sept. 6, 2018, Amber Guyger, an off-duty Dallas police officer, entered apartment 1478 (not her apartment 1378) in a complex that used electronic key fobs and had unmarked hallways. The door to 1478 was ajar.
Guyger testified she believed she was in her own apartment, saw a silhouette she thought was an intruder, drew her service pistol, and fired two shots; one struck Botham Jean in the chest and killed him. She later told 911 she thought she was in her apartment and that she had shot someone.
Forensic evidence tied the casings and fatal bullet to Guyger’s service weapon; pathology showed a downward trajectory consistent with Jean bent over or rising from a couch. Her blood contained no drugs/alcohol.
Video and key-fob tests showed Guyger’s fob did not unlock Jean’s door; many residents had at times used fobs in the wrong door/floor. Guyger admitted she did not take cover or call for backup before shooting.
A jury convicted Guyger of murder and sentenced her to ten years’ imprisonment. She appealed arguing (1) legal insufficiency based on mistake of fact and self-defense and (2) that the verdict should be reformed to criminally negligent homicide with remand for punishment.

Issue	Guyger's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Legal sufficiency of murder conviction given mistake of fact and self-defense	Guyger: she reasonably but mistakenly believed she was in her own apartment and that deadly force was immediately necessary to stop an intruder, negating culpable mental state or justifying the shooting	State: Guyger admitted intent to kill, evidence supports intentional/knowing killing; mistake of fact (where relevant) only bears on justification, not intent; evidence contradicted reasonableness of self-defense	Conviction affirmed. Evidence legally sufficient for murder; mistake-of-fact instruction not warranted because mistake did not negate intent; jury reasonably rejected self-defense
Whether conviction should be reformed to criminally negligent homicide and remand for punishment	Guyger: if her belief was unreasonable, her mental state at most was criminal negligence, so court should reform to a lesser offense and remand punishment	State: Guyger testified she intended to kill (intentional/knowing); her misperception of circumstances does not convert intentional/knowing conduct to criminal negligence	Rejection of reform. Court finds direct evidence of intent/knowledge supports murder; no basis to reduce to criminally negligent homicide

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (standard for reviewing legal sufficiency of the evidence)
Malik v. State, 953 S.W.2d 234 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (use of the hypothetically correct jury charge in sufficiency review)
Clayton v. State, 235 S.W.3d 772 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (deference to factfinder to resolve conflicts and draw inferences)
Granger v. State, 3 S.W.3d 36 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) (mistake-of-fact defense entitlement when mistake negates culpable mental state)
Celis v. State, 416 S.W.3d 419 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (mistake-of-fact applies only to elements requiring a culpable mental state)
Jones v. State, 544 S.W.2d 139 (Tex. Crim. App. 1976) (clarifies that defendant’s reasonable belief that deadly force is necessary can support self-defense even if mistaken about underlying facts)
Schroeder v. State, 123 S.W.3d 398 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (murder is a result-of-conduct offense; culpable mental state relates to causing death)
Montgomery v. State, 369 S.W.3d 188 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (criminally negligent homicide defined by gross deviation from reasonable standard of care)