State v. Lee

In State v. Lee, 15 S.W.3d 921, 922 n.1 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000) the Court re-affirmed that it is only when the defendant is required to move for a mistrial "because the prosecutor deliberately or recklessly crossed 'the line between legitimate adversarial gamesmanship and manifestly improper methods'... that rendered trial before the jury unfair to such a degree that no judicial admonishment could have cured it" that the Texas double jeopardy provision bars a retrial. Id. at 923. In Lee, this Court reversed the trial court and court of appeals which had both held double jeopardy barred a retrial because both lower courts "failed to take into account the appropriate substantive law when assessing the prosecutor's mental state." Id. at 924. The Court explained that if the prosecutor has a "legitimate" view of the law (or of the facts), even if that view is ultimately incorrect, his actions cannot be considered intentional or reckless misconduct. Id. at 924-25.