Austin attorney Carolyn Denero has announced her campaign to win a seat on the 3rd Court of Criminal Appeals. Although she is only 36 years old, she believes she’d be a good addition to the appeals court. “The court needs more people with experience in the trenches,” Denero said. “I believe I’ve got that.” Denero may be best known for representing Roy Rose, the West Virginian friend of Robert Springsteen. This past spring, the state subpoenaed Rose to testify against Springsteen — the first of three defendants tried for the 1991 yogurt shop murders. When he refused, he was held in contempt of court and spent the remainder of Springsteen’s three-week trial in the Travis County Jail.
Denero argued that the state was holding Rose — who suffers from a host of medical problems — in violation of his constitutional rights. Rose had told APD detectives in 1999 that Springsteen had bragged about his involvement in the murders. Six hours later, he recanted, saying the detectives coerced his statement. But the Travis County District Attorney‘s office threatened to slap Rose with a perjury charge if he took the stand at Springsteen’s trial and provided testimony that contradicted information contained in his original (and possibly false) statement.
To assure that Rose was protected from any such charge, Denero filed a writ with the Texas Supreme Court. The court refused to hear the complaint, but did express their belief that Rose would be protected from a perjury charge if he took the stand — ultimately granting Rose the protection Denero had sought. Interestingly enough, Assistant DA’s Robert Smith and Darla Davis subsequently declined to call Rose as a witness.
This article appears in December 21 • 2001.