Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Jerry T. Smith, Appellant v. the State of Texas
December 15, 19991999 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 143
Summary
The Court held that Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.36(a) does not abrogate Rules of Criminal Evidence 404(b) and 403; thus, evidence admissible under Article 38.36(a) may still be excluded under those rules. The judgment of the Court of Appeals was vacated and the case remanded for the trial court to apply the 404(b) relevance test and the 403 balancing test. Justice McCormick dissented, arguing the statute alone governs, and Justice Keller filed a partial concurrence/dissent.