Ricky Hernandez, Appellant v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Court held that the admission of evidence obtained from an unlawful traffic stop violated the Fourth Amendment and constitutes constitutional error, requiring application of the constitutional harmless error standard of Rule 44.2(a). It reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded for a Rule 44.2(a) harm analysis. The opinion reasoned that, although the exclusionary rule is not mandated by the Fourth Amendment, a Fourth Amendment violation is still a constitutional error. A dissent argued that the error is non‑constitutional and should be reviewed under Rule 44.2(b).