Today's Opinions - 3/25/09

The Court of Criminal Appeals handed down published opinions in the following cases:

PD-0292-08 & PD-0295-08, Mark De La Paz v. State (& Mark De La Paz v. State) (Cochran, J.)(8:0): This case arose out of the Dallas County “fake drug scandal” where De La Paz was ultimately charged with tampering with physical evidence for knowingly making a false statement in an offense report and aggravated perjury for making those same false statements under oath. The CCA held, in a nigh unto unanimous opinion, that the State could introduce De La Paz's participation in other fake drug buys as extraneous offense evidence under "the doctrine of chances". [Click here for a more detailed summary.]

PD-0002-08, Darrell Jay Keehn v. State (Keasler, J.)(8:1:0): Here, police were able to enter a van parked in a driveway based not on the plain view doctrine, but upon the automobile exception in this, Keehn’s possession of anhydrous ammonia with intent to make meth, case. [Click here for a more detailed summary.]