Texas Courts of Appeals
State v. Charles
No. 03-23-00241-CR 2/29/24
Issue:
Is a driver’s movement from the left-turn-only lane to the leftmost straight-only lane of a highway a “lane change” for purposes of Transportation Code §545.104(a), which requires drivers to signal a lane change in an intersection?
Holding:
Yes. Video evidence showed the driver moving from the left-turn lane into the far-left lane after going through the green light, which amounted to a lane change under §545.104(a). The Court also rejected the defendant’s argument that there was no violation because he made the lane change safely. “Although he is correct that ‘the Transportation Code does, in fact, contain a provision discussing the safe movement of vehicles from left to right,’ see Tex. Transp. Code §545.103, to the extent that he contends that the safety statute acts to limit the application of subsection 545.104(a), we disagree.” Read opinion.
Commentary:
The trial court in this case entered findings of fact that the officer’s representations and belief that he had reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant were not credible because, for example, the court found that “[n]othing the [d]efendant did before the stop was suspicious.” While credibility findings like this often make a State’s appeal very difficult or impossible to win, this case shows that it is feasible to get a trial court’s ruling reversed via a State’s appeal when indisputable video evidence affirmatively shows that the defendant committed a crime, or at least engaged in conduct that would lead an objectively reasonable person to reasonably suspect that he had committed, was committing, or soon would commit a crime. Keep this case in mind if you have a suppression hearing where the trial court makes similar credibility findings against your officer(s), and yet other, objective, indisputable evidence establishes that the officer’s conduct was legally justified.
Also, despite that the intermediate appellate court here relies on dicta from the Court of Criminal Appeals to reach its conclusion that lateral movement in an intersection still constitutes a “lane change” even when the designated lane lines do not continue through the intersection, the opinion is well reasoned and should withstand attack via a petition for discretionary review from the defense.
Marquez v. State
No. 08-22-00177-CR 2/29/24
Issue:
Can the anger, rage, or resentment arising from the rejection of a romantic proposal, without more, constitute an adequate cause giving rise to sudden passion in a murder prosecution?
Holding:
No. “To hold otherwise would impliedly normalize the inability to cool down and reflect following such a romantic rejection.” The Court agreed with the State that instead of finding that the victim provoked the defendant by rejecting him, the trial court could have reasonably found that the defendant, “who badgered [the victim] and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer, created the circumstances that allegedly inflamed his passions, such that he cannot claim that his conduct arose from adequate cause.” Read opinion.
Commentary:
The appellate court explains that the affirmative defense of sudden passion applies only when the “adequate cause” that prompts the defendant’s act of supposed sudden passion would “commonly produce a degree of anger, rage, or resentment…in a person of ordinary temper, sufficient to render the mind in capable of cool reflection.” It does not apply when the defendant is a person “whose actual emotional responses are aberrational in this society.” Though this case involved a sudden passion defense in the context of a rejected romantic proposal, the opinion should be useful in other situations where the defendant’s emotional response is “aberrational,” as well, such as might occur in workplace disputes, child-custody matters, etc.
Lymbery v. State
No. 12-23-00191-CR 2/29/24
Issue:
Is surveillance video (with no audio) showing an impermissible quorum of a county’s commissioners court meeting in the county judge’s office, plus testimony from other witnesses regarding the length of the video and what the video showed, sufficient to support accomplice testimony about a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act?
Holding:
Yes. The “tends to connect” standard is not a high threshold, and the non-accomplice evidence does not need to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by itself. The corroboration requirement of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.14 does not apply separately to each element of the charged offense or to each aspect of the accomplice’s testimony. Read opinion.
Commentary:
This opinion provides a good review of the basic principles concerning sufficiency of the evidence to corroborate an accomplice-witness’s testimony, set against the uncommon backdrop of a TOMA-violation prosecution. In particular, the opinion reminds us that independent, non-accomplice evidence that even remotely verifies the accomplice’s version of events will satisfy the low “tends to connect” bar, even if it relates to only an isolated detail of the case. So, if you have a case that will feature accomplice-witness testimony, keep the fundamental tenets discussed in this opinion in mind and get creative with the direct or circumstantial evidence that you offer to substantiate the accomplice’s account because, again, any evidence, big or small, can suffice to connect the accused to the offense and provide sufficient corroboration.
Texas Attorney General Opinion
KP-0458 3/4/24
Issue:
May a deputy sheriff from Aransas County certified under Transportation Code §§621.402–.402 operate a fixed commercial motor vehicle weigh station directing all commercial vehicles to enter the facility to have their weight inspected for violations?
Conclusion:
No. Transportation Code §621.402(a) requires a weight enforcement officer to have reason to believe a loaded vehicle’s weight is unlawful. Although Transportation Code §644.103(a) allows some officers to stop and weigh a commercial vehicle without suspicion that the weight is unlawful, this statute applies only to counties with specific populations or locations, which excludes Aransas County. The AG’s Office declined to address the additional presented issue of whether warrantless and suspicionless stops to weigh vehicles could be permissible under the 4th Amendment as a general matter. Read opinion.
Requested by:
Jacky Cockerham, Aransas County Auditor
Stays granted on SB 4 (4th S.S.)
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether Texas’s new immigration laws (SB 4, passed by the 88th Legislature in its fourth special session) can be enforced. Although those laws, which include new chapters in the Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, were set to take effect on March 5, 2024, a federal district judge granted a preliminary injunction against enforcing the provisions of SB 4. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then set aside the federal district court’s ruling, and an order issued by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on March 4 has put the laws on hold until 5 p.m. March 13 until the full Supreme Court can weigh in. See a strikethrough/underline version of the laws here.
TDCAA executive director search is underway
Rob Kepple will be retiring at the end of the year, and the TDCAA Board of Directors has formed a search committee to help select the new executive director. As part of the process, TDCAA members should keep an eye on their email for a short survey coming in the next few weeks. The survey will give all members currently working in a prosecutor’s office a chance to offer valuable input on the selection process, so please take the time to complete the survey when it comes your way!
Domestic Violence Resource Prosecutor
The Texas District and County Attorneys Association is pleased to announce the creation of a new position: Domestic Violence Resource Prosecutor (DVRP). Patterned after the successful Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor position (which provides training and support for prosecutors handling intoxicated driving cases), the DVRP will be responsible for training and technical assistance to Texas prosecutors and law enforcement personnel around the state. For more information, see the job posting here.