As I have noted in prior posts, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, §9 of the Texas Constitution prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement officers. Hayes v. State, 475 S.W.2d 739, 741 (Tex.Crim.App. 1971); Kolb v. State, 532 S.W.2d 87, 89 (Tex.Crim. App. 1976). However, the protections afforded [...]
A law enforcement officer may lawfully stop a vehicle and conduct a brief investigation when he observes a traffic violation. Strauss v. Texas, 121 S.W.3d 486, 490 (Tex.App. – Amarillo 2003, pet. ref’d.). In general, the decision to stop a vehicle is reasonable when the officer has probable cause to believe that a traffic violation [...]
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, §9 of the Texas Constitution prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement officers. It is well established that the basic purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to safe guard the privacy and security of individuals against arbitrary invasion by governmental officials. Hayes v. [...]
After reading Alford v. State, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex.Crim.App. 2012) (see previous post), I decided to update my “Rules to Live By” first published in my March 12, 2011, post. I have added Rule Number 4. My updated Rules to Live By are as follows: Rule Number 1: Do not talk to the police. Rule [...]
In Miranda v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court held that “the prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966). The Supreme Court later [...]