Vega v. State

84 S.W.3d 613, 2002 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 139, 2002 WL 1379247
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 26, 2002
Docket337-01
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 84 S.W.3d 613 (Vega v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vega v. State, 84 S.W.3d 613, 2002 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 139, 2002 WL 1379247 (Tex. 2002).

Opinions

OPINION

JOHNSON, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court

in which MEYERS, PRICE, WOMACK, HOLCOMB and COCHRAN, JJ., joined.

In late December 1994, appellant and her boyfriend were implicated in a capital murder committed in Starr County, Texas. They fled to Chicago, Illinois, to stay with the boyfriend’s aunt. Appellant was sixteen years old at the time of the charged offense. Texas authorities learned from relatives of appellant’s boyfriend in Starr County that the two suspects were staying in Illinois. Starr County deputies sent a teletyped message to the Chicago Police Department, advising that Texas warrants had been issued for the two suspects. The message contained the address and telephone number of the home in which the Texas deputies believed appellant was staying. The Chicago police arrested appellant at that address.

Following Illinois law, the police obtained a written statement from appellant. It is undisputed that, while correct under Illinois law, the procedures followed in obtaining the statement, as well as the format of the statement itself, were not in compliance with Title 3 of the Texas Family Code. Appellant claims that, because the statement does not comply with Texas law, it was inadmissible at trial. The state argues that, because appellant was in lili-[616]*616nois when she gave the statement, Illinois law should apply and that the statement was admissible under Illinois law.

In holding that appellant’s statement was inadmissible, the court of appeals relied upon our holding in Davidson v. State, 25 S.W.3d 183 (Tex.Crim.App.2000), to guide its analysis as to the admissibility of appellant’s confession. Vega v. State, 32 S.W.3d 897, 901 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2000). In Davidson, we held that, because art. 38.22 § 3(a)1 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure was proce dural in nature, a trial judge is required to apply Texas law to determine the admissibility of an oral confession obtained in another state. Davidson, 25 S.W.3d at 185-86. We also held that because the mandatory requirement of art. 38.22, § 3(a), that an oral custodial statement must be recorded before it can be used against a defendant, was not followed by the authorities in Montana, appellant’s oral confession was inadmissible at his Texas trial. Id. at 186.2

Although art. 38.22 § 3(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Title 3 of the Family Code deal with the same general subject, the persons involved and the objectives of the two provisions are different. Vasquez v. State, 739 S.W.2d 37, 42 (Tex. Crim.App.1987). Like the current version, the 1994 version of Title 3, Juvenile Justice Code, began with a statement of purpose and interpretation. In pertinent part, section 51.01 stated that the title “shall be construed” to “to protect the welfare of the community and to control the commission of unlawful acts by children,” and “to provide a simple judicial procedure through which the provisions of this title are executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their constitutional and other legal rights recognized and enforced.” Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 51.01 (1994). Unlike the language in art. 38.22, the legislature did not mandate that Title 3 be “strictly” construed.

The holding in Davidson applies here only if art. 38.22 prevails over Title 3 of the Family Code. Here, the challenged statement was written and therefore did not violate the provisions of art. 38.22. In addition, this Court has held that, pursuant to the Code Construction Act, the sections of the Family Code relevant to confessions prevail over art. 38.22. Lovell v. State, 525 S.W.2d 511, 514 (Tex.Crim.App.1975). Thus, it is Title 3 that controls issues concerning juvenile confessions, not art. 38.22. See Griffin v. State, 765 S.W.2d 422, 427 (Tex.Crim.App.1989). This is not a Davidson case by statute, circumstances, or command to “strictly construe.” Davidson is, therefore, inapplicable here. Because appellant was a juvenile at the time she gave her statement, its admissibility must be determined under Title 3 of the Family Code.

Traditional conflict-of-law principles prescribe that issues that are strictly procedural in nature are governed by the laws of the forum state, whereas issues that are substantive in nature require an analysis of which state has the most significant relationship with the communication in question. Gonzalez v. State, 45 S.W.3d 101, 104 (Tex.Crim.App.2001) citing Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 139 (1971). A substantive right has [617]*617been defined by this Court as a right to the equal enjoyment of fundamental rights, privileges, and immunities or a right that can be protected or enforced by law. Gonzalez, 45 S.W.3d at 106 n. 8, citing Black’s Law DictionaRY (5th ed.1983 & 7th ed.1999). A procedural right is a right that helps in the protection or enforcement of a substantive right. Gonzalez at 106 n. 8 citing Black’s Law Dictionaby (7th ed.1999).

Here, the state argues that Title 3 is substantive in nature because it arose out of the desire to bestow constitutional rights and protections upon juveniles facing delinquency proceedings. Appellant, on the other hand, says that Texas courts and the Texas legislature have mandated that the Family Code’s procedural provisions on the taking of a juvenile statement be strictly followed and that this Court has held that juvenile confessions warrant special procedural considerations and protections. See e.g. Comer v. State, 776 S.W.2d 191 (Tex.Crim.App.1989); Vie Le v. State, 993 S.W.2d 650 (Tex.Crim.App.1999).

There are, under Texas conflict-of-law principles, several factors to consider in determining which jurisdiction has the most significant relationship to the case, including: 1) where the injury or unlawful conduct occurred; 2) the place where the relationship between the parties is the strongest; 3) the number and nature of contacts that the non-forum state has with the parties and with the transaction involved; 4) the relative materiality of the evidence that is sought to be excluded; and 5) the fairness to the parties. Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws §§ 6, 145 (1971); Gonzalez, 45 S.W.3d at 104 n. 4 (Tex.Crim.App.2001) citing Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 139 (1971).

Here, a Texas resident is charged with an offense committed in Texas, and the non-forum’s contact with the parties was limited to one occasion on which apparently unrequested questioning was done and a highly material statement obtained. The statement was obtained in Illinois, but Illinois has no interest in the offense or appellant. All these factors militate for application of Texas law. Only resolution of the issue of fairness is not obvious.

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Vega v. State
84 S.W.3d 613 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
84 S.W.3d 613, 2002 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 139, 2002 WL 1379247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vega-v-state-texcrimapp-2002.