Overview
- Texas’ 14th Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Armstrong’s bid to undo his 2023 conviction, with no timeline given for a decision.
- Armstrong’s lawyer argued a Brady violation based on a 2019 complaint to the Texas Forensic Science Commission about Rossi and asked for an evidentiary hearing or a new trial.
- Commission records show the complaint accused Rossi of planting evidence in an unrelated 2007 case but was dismissed as unfounded months after it was filed.
- The defense emphasized that the third trial added newly detected specks of the father’s blood under a police visitor sticker on Armstrong’s shirt, supported by Rossi’s testimony.
- Prosecutors said there was no duty to disclose a dismissed, unrelated complaint they did not know about and maintained the verdict rested on extensive circumstantial evidence, as judges probed whether prosecutors must search independent forensic-oversight files.