Court Opinion

ID: 9596796
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:53:11.983154+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:39:05.686325
License: Public Domain

DORSEY, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that the trial court erred in suppressing the accident report. The issue in this case is whether the trial court erred in granting the motion to suppress the police report concerning appellant’s accident. Appellant filed a motion to suppress the accident report, claiming that sections 550.021 and 550.023 of the Texas Transportation Code required him to give police officers information in violation of his right against self-incrimination. See Tex. TRANSp. Code ANN. §§ 550.021 & 550.023 (Vernon 1999). The majority concluded that the trial court erred in granting appellant’s motion to suppress the accident report, stating: “The statutes do not require a driver to give any information to law enforcement officers.” I agree with this statement; however, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion. My contention is that police reports constitute inadmissa-ble hearsay.
Hearsay is a statement, written or oral, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at trial offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Tex. R. Crim. Evid. 801(d); Dinkins v. State, 894 S.W.2d 330, 347 (Tex.Crim.App.1995). Police offense reports are hearsay and specifically inadmissible under Rule 803(8)(B) of the Texas Rules of Evidence. Gaitan v. State, 905 S.W.2d 703, 708 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1995, pet. ref d). Likewise police reports are also inadmissible as a business record under Rule 803(6) of the Texas Rules of Evidence. Cole v. State, 839 S.W.2d 798, 811 (Tex.Crim.App.1990); Gaitan, 905 S.W.2d at 708. The exception to the rule is when a police report is not offered for the truth of its contents. Gaitan, 905 S.W.2d at 708. See Dinkins, 894 S.W.2d at 347. The exception does not apply here.
Here the trial court sustained the motion to suppress the police report on the basis that sections 550.021 and 550.023 of the Texas Transportation Code required appellant to give police officers information in violation of his right against self-incrimination. Although the trial court based its decision to suppress the police report on an incorrect theory, its decision to suppress the police report is ultimately correct, because police reports constitute in-admissable hearsay. Cole, 839 S.W.2d at 811; Gaitan, 905 S.W.2d at 708. The court of criminal appeals has said that a trial court’s decision will be sustained if it is correct on any theory of law applicable to the case, especially with regard to the admission of evidence. McDuff v. State, *132939 S.W.2d 607, 619 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). This principle holds true even when the trial court gives the wrong reason for its decision. Romero v. State, 800 S.W.2d 539, 543 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). For this reason I would affirm the trial court’s decision to suppress the police report.