Art. 36.07 ORDER OF ARGUMENT

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

The judge in charge of the trial gets to decide the order in which lawyers make their arguments to the jury. This gives judges flexibility to run their courtroom the way they think works best.

There's one fixed rule, though. No matter how the judge sets things up, the prosecutor (the lawyer representing the State) always gets to speak last. This means the prosecution gets the final word before the jury goes to decide the case.

For a defendant, this matters because it means the defense argument won't be the last thing jurors hear before they start deliberating. The prosecution's closing argument is the last thing on their minds as they head into the jury room.