Ronald Wilson, Appellant v. the State of Texas

Summary

In a case of first impression, the Court of Criminal Appeals held that article 38.23 of the Code of Criminal Procedure bars admission of a confession that an interrogating officer obtained by fabricating a forensic fingerprint report in violation of Texas Penal Code section 37.09, because that tampering-with-evidence statute is a penal law directly related to the gathering and use of evidence; the officer's good-faith belief and the confession's federal constitutional voluntariness are immaterial. The Court affirmed the San Antonio court of appeals' reversal of the denial of the motion to suppress, and a per curiam opinion later denied the State's motion for rehearing, excusing the State's first-time preservation complaint under the unique circumstances of the case. Justice Meyers dissented on the merits, concluding the detective could not be convicted under section 37.09; Justices Keasler and Hervey, joined by President Judge Keller, dissented on preservation and standing grounds.