© 2002 Lang Baker
Pham v StateApril 10, 2002No. 198-01 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS NO. 198-01 JOHN TUY PHAM, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS ON STATES PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW FROM THE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HARRIS COUNTY The opinion of the Court was delivered per curiam. O P I N I O N A jury found Appellant guilty of murder and assessed punishment at confinement for life. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction based on its conclusion that the trial court erred to admit Appellants confession. Pham v. State, 36 S.W.3d 199 (Tex. App. Houston [1st Dist.] 2001). The Court of Appeals held the confession was inadmissible because of the States violation of V.T.C.A. Family Code, § 52.02(b), which requires that a juveniles parent or guardian be promptly notified that the juvenile has been taken into custody. The Court of Appeals concluded the trial court reversibly erred to admit Appellants confession. See Article 38.23, V.A.C.C.P.; Tex.R.App.P. 44.2(b). The State has filed a petition for discretionary review contending the Court of Appeals erred to conclude that any statement given by the juvenile must be suppressed because of the failure to notify the juveniles parent, guardian, or custodian that the juvenile had been taken into custody. The State also argues that no causal connection exists between the failure to notify and any statement subsequently made by the juvenile. Recently, in Gonzales v. State, S.W.3d (Tex. Crim. App. No. 47-00, delivered February 13, 2002), we addressed the same issue. We concluded that before a juveniles written statement can be excluded, there must be a causal connection between the Family Code violation and the making of the statement. Id. slip op. at 4-5. The Court of Appeals in the instant case did not have the benefit of our opinion in Gonzales. Accordingly, we grant grounds one and two of the States petition for discretionary review, vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand this case to the Court of Appeals in light of our opinion in Gonzales. Delivered April 10, 2002 This information is made available as a free public service for your personal, non-commercial use. While every effort has been made to provide accurate material at this site, it is provided "as is" and no representations are made that it is free of mistakes or inaccuracies. This file was derived from the text posted on the web site of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, by the automatic operation of conversion software, and may contain errors. Baker's Legal Pages are a public service of Freelance Enterprises, Inc.
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