Lonnie Earl Johnson, Appellee v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed the Court of Appeals' decision that the defendant's written statement was admissible, rejecting the State's argument about burglary findings and upholding the trial court's suppression ruling as improper. It also held that Article 44.01(a)(5) does not permit a defendant to challenge the State's certification, that the attenuation doctrine is not an exception to Article 38.23 but a method to determine whether evidence was "obtained," and that the Court of Appeals' attenuation analysis was adequate. Justice Clinton dissented, arguing that the attenuation doctrine should be treated as an exception and that the statement should be suppressed.