Garcia v. State (1970)

In Garcia v. State, 454 S.W.2d 400 (Tex. App.--Austin 1970, no pet.), the appellant complained that he had been impeached with evidence of his involvement in other fights that was admitted in order to correct misrepresentations he had made while testifying that he acted in self-defense. Id. at 405-06. He testified during direct examination that he had innocently engaged the victim in conversation, he attempted to back off when the victim showed aggression towards him, he knew that the victim had been in fights before, and, while he did not fear death, he thought he would be "beaten up." Id. The Court held that the impeachment in that case was proper because the appellant's testimony "clearly left the jury with the impression that the inexperienced appellant was confronted with an experienced fighter whom he had just reason to fear and while the deceased was unarmed the appellant acted out of fear to protect himself." Id. at 406.