The House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence has issued and personally served the subpoena below on Robert Roberson. The subpoena commands his appearance in person before the committee at its hearing scheduled for December 20, 2024, at noon in Room E2.010 of the Texas Capitol.

The hearing follows litigation over a prior subpoena that interrupted Robert's scheduled execution. Although the Texas Supreme Court decided that a subpoena could not interrupt a future execution, it also upheld the committee's subpoena power otherwise. "If the committee still wishes to obtain [Robert's] testimony, we assume that [TDCJ] can reasonably accommodate a new subpoena," the court wrote, holding that "so long as a subpoena issues in a way that does not inevitably block a scheduled execution," the committee may "compel a witness's testimony" before it. The court's opinion and the briefs that led to it can be found here.

Robert's testimony will shed important light on some of the problems with our "junk science writ" process, a legal procedure Texas lawmakers expected to provide reconsideration in cases like this one. His perspective will be especially valuable as a person on the autism spectrum whose neurodivergence profoundly influenced both his case and his access to justice on appeal, including through writs.

The committee is now awaiting a response from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which has custody of Robert. It looks forward to hearing from Robert in person at the Capitol on the 20th.

The Sean Hannity Show