State v. Sanavongxay
State v. Sanavongxay
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
The State filed a notice of appeal “from the trial court’s granting of a motion to suppress or exclude DNA evidence in this case.” Shortly after filing the notice of appeal, the State also filed an original proceeding in this court complaining about the trial court’s refusal to enter a written order granting the motion.
The copy of the motion to suppress contains handwritten, unsigned notations that were scratched out.
At a pretrial hearing, the trial judge explained that she did not intend to rule on
Although the trial judge admitted writing the notations on the motion for continuance and motion to suppress, she nevertheless has not memorialized her ruling in a written order; thus, we must dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction in accordance with our Cox opinion. See Tex. R.App. P. 43.2(f); State v. Cox, 235 S.W.3d 283, 284 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2007, no pet.); State v. Kibler, 874 S.W.2d 330, 331-32 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1994, no pet.).
LIVINGSTON, C.J., filed a concurring opinion.
WALKER, J., filed a concurring opinion.
. We grant the State’s motion to take judicial notice of our records in the original proceeding.
. The State also filed an affidavit from an administrative clerk in the district clerk’s office averring that the handwriting on the motion to suppress is “consistent with the practice and style of the judge of Criminal District Court No. 1.”
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
Although I agree that we must dismiss this interlocutory appeal because the trial court has not signed a written order, I write separately to express my concern that a trial court can effectively deny the State its right to an interlocutory appeal under article 44.01 of the code of criminal procedure by refusing to sign a written order memorializing its preliminary ruling on pretrial evidentiary matters. Like a defendant, the State may urge the trial court to reconsider its ruling at trial. But, unlike a defendant, the State cannot appeal after trial if it cannot meet its burden of proof because the trial court refuses to reconsider its evidentiary ruling.
In the original proceeding, the trial judge explained her reasons for not signing a written order: (1) she gave the State the opportunity to brief the issue but it chose not to, filing the mandamus petition instead; and (2) she was merely making a preliminary ruling on admissibility because of the State’s failure to produce the DNA evidence in discovery until immediately before trial and, thus, her ruling was conditional and not final.
I joined in the denial of the original proceeding because the trial judge’s response indicated that she had not finally considered the matter; she had invited the State to brief the issue and was willing to consider its arguments and hold a hearing. The State did not attempt to have the trial judge resolve the matter before filing its appeal and mandamus petition.
However, the trial judge has refused to consider any of the State’s motions while this appeal is pending, on jurisdictional grounds. So the State is essentially stuck: it cannot get a reconsideration from the
“Article 44.01 was enacted as a vehicle for the State to challenge ‘questionable legal rulings excluding what may be legally admissible evidence[.]’ The purpose of the statute is to permit the pretrial appeal of erroneous legal rulings which eviscerate the State’s ability to prove its case.” State v. Medrano, 67 S.W.3d 892, 895-96 (Tex. Crim.App. 2002); see Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 44.01(a)(5) (Vernon Supp. 2010) (providing that the State may appeal an order that “grants a motion to suppress evidence, a confession, or an admission, if jeopardy has not attached in the case and if the prosecuting attorney certifies to the trial court that the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay and that the evidence, confession, or admission is of substantial importance in the case”). The legislative intent of article 44.01 “was to permit the State to appeal any ‘questionable legal rulings excluding what may be legally admissible evidence.’ Period.” Medrano, 67 S.W.3d at 900 (emphasis added). “[A] motion to suppress evidence is one in which the defendant (or the State) claims that certain evidence should not be admitted at trial for a constitutional, statutory, eviden-tiary or procedural reason.” Id. at 901 (emphasis added). Thus, what a defendant names his motion — whether a motion to suppress or a motion to exclude evidence— is irrelevant; Texas law governing pretrial motions does not distinguish between the two. Id.; State v. Marrs, 104 S.W.3d 914, 916-17 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2003, no pet.).
Although its ultimate purpose is unclear, the trial court appears to have drawn a distinction in this case between suppressing the evidence as a result of police misconduct
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.
. Although the trial judge’s response in the original proceeding argues that her ruling regarding the DNA evidence was conditional and not final, that does not distinguish the ruling from a ruling on a motion to suppress. A suppression order is a nonfinal ruling; the trial court may reconsider its decision at trial. See, e.g., Ex parte King, 134 S.W.3d 500, 503 (Tex.App.-Austin 2004, pets, ref’d).
. Medrano overruled State v. Roberts, 940 S.W.2d 655 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996), in which the court of criminal appeals held that the State could appeal from an adverse ruling on a motion to suppress only when the trial court determined that the evidence was illegally obtained. 67 S.W.3d at 903.
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
Because the trial court has not held a suppression hearing — that is, no witness
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The STATE of Texas, State, v. Soutchay SANAVONGXAY, Appellee
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published