Pawlak v. Texas

Appellant Paul Pawlak was convicted of various counts of prohibited sexual activities including sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, and attempted sexual assault. The court of appeals held that the trial court properly admitted thousands of digital pornographic images at Appellant's trial, including images of child and homosexual pornography. Upon review of the matter, the Supreme Court found that the trial court abused its discretion when it improperly admitted thousands of extraneous-offense pornographic images over Appellant's objection under Rule 403 of the Texas Rules of Evidence. Accordingly, the Court reversed the appellate court's judgment and remanded the case for a harm analysis in the first instance. View "Pawlak v. Texas" on Justia Law