Omar Anderson, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the lower courts' judgment, holding that evidence of appellant's gang membership and the gang's illegal activities was admissible at the punishment phase under Article 37.07, §3(a) and Rule 404(c) as character evidence. The Court reasoned that such evidence was relevant to sentencing and not unfairly prejudicial. It also concluded that the First Amendment does not bar admission of this evidence because the gang's primary purpose was illegal. Justice Maloney dissented, arguing the evidence failed the Lemon test and should have been excluded.