“All we’re trying to do is … reach the Court of Criminal Appeals directly to them and say that, ‘Hey there, you’ve got a lot of cover. Those efforts followed Paxton’s successful crusade last year to unseat three judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals who declined to give his office unilateral power to prosecute voter fraud. Now the high criminal court is being urged to wade into Roberson’s politically charged case, with promises that enough Republicans are on board with his exoneration to provide political cover. Fourteen days before Roberson’s scheduled execution, the Court of Criminal Appeals had not yet ruled on an appeal from Roberson that presented new evidence received by his lawyers in June. Also being tested is a new state appeals court created by the Republican-controlled Legislature to hear cases involving the state and the constitutionality of state laws.