Carballo v. State
In the defendant's trial for aggravated robbery, the trial court
correctly ruled that the defendant could not read his own written
statement about the events. The trial court itself did not actually prevent the defendant from
testifying because the trial court did not have a duty to interfere
with defense counsel's trial strategy not to question the defendant.
Evidence showed that the defendant approached the victim and engaged
him in conversation before demanding his car keys. The defendant then
pulled a handgun from his pocket and shot the victim five times during
the subsequent struggle. The victim, who was able to see the defendant
run to a vehicle and leave the scene, called his wife and then 9-1-1
and described the defendant to officers before he collapsed. After
spending a month in a coma, the victim picked the defendant out of a
photographic lineup.
