Justia Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Opinion Summaries

Defendant was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Prior to his trial, defendant moved to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of the traffic stop on the basis that the officer's traffic stop was improper because he did not have reasonable suspicion that defendant had committed a criminal offense. At the suppression hearing, the officer testified that he saw the car that was driving in front of defendant slow down at the railroad tracks and he saw defendant pass the slowing car on the shoulder. The officer said that he initiated the traffic stop based solely on that behavior. The court held that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion that defendant was illegally driving on an improved shoulder. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded. View "Lothrop v. State" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed the trial court's denial of his Batson motion, which he filed after all of the black venire members in the strike zone were struck by the State. The First Court of Appeals held that the trial court clearly erred in failing to find that the State's proffered race-neutral reasons were a pretext for racial discrimination. The court held that the record did not demonstrate that the trial court clearly erred by finding that the reasons proffered by the State were facially sufficient to show race-neutral reasons for the strike. Therefore, the court reversed and remanded. View "Nieto v. State" on Justia Law