Crum v. Guerrero

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: February 10, 2026
• Docket: 25-40153
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 25-40153 Document: 58-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/10/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-40153 Summary Calendar FILED ____________ February 10, 2026 Lyle W. Cayce Aaron Tyler Crum, Clerk

Petitioner—Appellant,

versus

Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division,

Respondent—Appellee. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas USDC No. 4:21-CV-704 ______________________________

Before King, Haynes, and Ho, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Aaron Tyler Crum, Texas prisoner # 2234595, was convicted of murder and sentenced to fifty years of imprisonment. The district court denied his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition, and this court granted a certificate of appealability with respect to his claim that his trial attorney was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor’s statements in closing argument that _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-40153 Document: 58-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/10/2026

No. 25-40153

Crum’s actions on the night of the murder were in his “nature” given his history of alcohol and anger issues and, therefore, and not in self-defense. Based on our review of the parties’ briefs and the record, including the surrounding trial context of the comments, we conclude that the state court did not unreasonably adjudicate Crum’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 102-05 (2011). Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying the § 2254 petition. See Register v. Thaler, 681 F.3d 623, 626 (5th Cir. 2012). AFFIRMED.