FELIX ARGUELLEZ, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS (Dissenting)
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ARGUELLEZ DISSENT 2 need not be criminal; and (2) in forming reasonable suspicion, an officer is able to make rational inferences from those facts. The majority s statement that [p]hotographs are routinely taken of people in public places, including at public beaches, where bathing suits are commonly worn, and at concerts, festivals, and sporting events 1 is undoubtedly true. However, the same cannot be said for its claim that [t]aking photographs of people at such places is not unusual, suspicious, or criminal. 2 As an initial matter, the broad statement is inaccurate.3 Texas Penal Code § 21.15(b)(1) s inclusion of language regarding the other s consent and specific intent defines when seemingly innocent photography becomes a statejail felony. Moreover, whether the specific, articulable facts Officer Tolbert possessed were themselves criminal is irrelevant; the focus is the degree of suspicion that attaches to particular non-criminal acts. 4 I believe common sense warrants a finding that taking pictures of people sunbathing at a pool from a car parked in the pool s parking lot is both unusual and suspicious. The majority s opinion does not consider the rational inferences, based on common sense, Officer Tolbert may have deduced from Arguellez s behavior. Officers are entitled 1 Ante, op. at 10. 2 Id. 3 See T EX. P ENAL C ODE § 21.15(b)(1) (defining the offense of improper photography or visual recording as photograph[ing] . . . a visual image of another at a location that is not a bathroom or private dressing room: (A) without the other person s consent; and (B) with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. . . . ). 4 See Derichsweiler v. State, 348 S.W.3d 906, 914 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011).
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