Supreme Court unanimously upholds 2015 murder conviction for Bexar County man

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Supreme Court has upheld a decades-long prison sentence for a man convicted of killing his boyfriend 10 years ago.

39-year-old David Asa Villarreal was convicted in 2018 of fatally stabbing 29-year-old Aaron Estrada in 2015 and was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

The opinion was 9-0 with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson delivering the opinion, with Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett joining. Justices Alito and Thomas also filed concurring opinions, with Justice Gorsuch joining Thomas's.

What they're saying:

The crux of the appeal was around whether Villarreal's Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated when the judge in his trial instructed his defense attorneys not to "manage his testimony."

Villarreal was testifying in his own defense when his testimony was interrupted by a 24-hour overnight recess. 

Despite the instruction, the judge did clarify that Villarreal was not barred from talking to his attorneys at all and "recognized Villarreal's constitutional right to confer about certain topics, such as possible sentencing issues," says the Court opinion.

The Court holds that the judge's order prohibiting only discussion of the testimony itself during the recess "permissibly balances the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel against the burden of offering unaltered trial testimony."

The opinion elaborated that when a defendant takes the stand, he "assumes the position of a witness" with its attendant "criticisms and burdens," including "the inability to receive advice from counsel aimed at ‘influenc[ing] the testimony in light of the testimony already given.’"

Read the full opinion below:

The Court's decision upheld previous decisions by both the 4th Court of Appeals and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Local perspective:

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales issued a statement about the ruling and the work of ADA Andrew Warthen, who argued the case before the Court in October:

"I am incredibly proud of the outstanding work Andrew did in presenting our case, and I am grateful that the Supreme Court saw it our way with a unanimous decision. Watching one of our own stand before the highest court in the country to see justice served for our community was a moment I will never forget.

The backstory:

According to FOX 7 Austin's reporting partner KSAT, Villarreal and Estrada had been roommates and lovers and Villarreal claimed during the trial that the stabbing was in self-defense.

Villarreal testified that Estrada had been choking him during an argument over cameras hidden in the apartment. 

Prosecutors had also brought up the fact that Villarreal was also involved with a woman who was a mutual friend, asking if that was the real reason behind the fight, which Villarreal denied.