Ernesto Ortega Varela, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed Ernesto Ortega Varela's conviction for sale of heroin, rejecting all eight grounds of error he raised, including alleged violations of his compulsory process rights, a motion to suppress evidence, denial of a continuance, evidentiary rulings, jury instruction issues, denial of a second jury argument, and claims of newly discovered evidence. The majority held that the State had exercised due diligence in attempting to secure the absent informant and that the appellant had not shown prejudice. Justice Roberts dissented, arguing that the State's actions deprived the appellant of compulsory process and should have resulted in reversal.