Boyer v. State
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
801 S.W.2d 897 (1991)

- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Mark Boyer (defendant) was in a car with James Brumley, an undercover police officer, and a second man, Brumley’s informant. Boyer did not know that Brumley was a police officer or that the other passenger was an informant. Boyer instructed the informant to hand Brumley some drugs and instructed Brumley to pay the informant. Boyer did not touch the drugs or money. Boyer was arrested and convicted for selling drugs based on Texas law holding that Boyer could be held criminally responsible for the drug sale because he solicited the offense even if he did not carry it out himself. Boyer appealed. The initial appellate court overturned the conviction, finding that because neither Brumley nor the informant could be convicted of an offense, Boyer could not have solicited an offense because his coparticipants’ conduct was not criminal. The state appealed that ruling.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McCormick, J.)
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