Andre Demont Thompson v. State, 01-14-00862-CR

Appellant Andre Demont Thompson was indicted for Murder (First Degree Felony) in Harris County on 1/16/2013 and tried 10/1/2014–10/8/2014.
The jury found Thompson guilty as charged; he received a 30-year sentence.
Thompson gave timely Notice of Appeal on 10/8/2014.
Appellate counsel filed an Anders brief asserting two potential issues only.
State witnesses included Bergeron (eye-witness), officers Flores, King, Ullo, Brown, and other lay and expert testimony establishing presence at the scene and evidence linking Thompson.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of mistrial was an abuse of discretion	Thompson	Thompson contends improper unsworn testimony required mistrial	No abuse; instruction to disregard sufficed
Whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance for failing to object	Thompson	Failure to object to improper arguments deprived Thompson of a fair trial	No reversible error; defense strategy supported stance; appeal frivolous

Ladd v. State, 3 S.W.3d 547 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) (mistrial standard balancing misconduct, cure, and certainty of conviction)
Hawkins v. State, 135 S.W.3d 72 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (mistrial standard; prejudicial impact of remarks)
Wead v. State, 129 S.W.3d 126 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (standard for reviewing trial court rulings on mistrial and prejudice)
Archie v. State, 221 S.W.3d 695 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (Mosley-based framework for mistrial abuse of discretion)
Dinkins v. State, 894 S.W.2d 330 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995) (prosecutorial comments outside record; need for objection to preserve error)
Temple v. State, 342 S.W.3d 572 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2010) (prosecutorial closing arguments; permissible areas and need for preservation)