Fischer v. State
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
252 S.W.3d 375 (2008)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
State trooper Martinez pulled over John Fischer (defendant) for not wearing a seatbelt and to investigate whether Fischer was driving while intoxicated. Martinez used a body microphone to verbally record his observations that Fischer had a wine opener in his truck, a strong alcohol smell on his breath, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. Martinez also recorded statements about his observations of Fischer’s eye movements during a sobriety test. Fischer was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Fischer moved to suppress the evidence of Martinez’s audio recording from the body microphone, arguing that the recorded out-of-court statements were inadmissible hearsay. The court ruled that the recorded statements met the hearsay exception for present-sense impressions and denied the motion. Fischer appealed the denial. The intermediate court of appeals reversed the trial court, finding that a police officer’s recorded investigatory statements were not admissible present-sense impressions. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals accepted review of the evidentiary issue.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cochran, J.)
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