Texas v. Copeland (original by judge hervey)
Annotate this CaseShirley Copeland was charged with possession of a dangerous drug after police searched the vehicle she was in and found prescription pain medication in a plastic bag. She filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the search of the car was illegal. The trial court granted the motion and sua sponte issued findings of fact and conclusions of law. The State appealed the trial court's suppression order three times, initially focusing on whether the police had the consent of the driver and Copeland to search the vehicle. The Court of Criminal Appeals, on second remand, instructed the court of appeals to determine if there was an alternative theory of law upon which to uphold the ruling of the trial court. Specifically, the Court noted that, in her motion to suppress, Copeland argued that the length of her detention was unreasonable but that the State did not challenge that argument on appeal. On remand, the court of appeals held that the State procedurally defaulted the length-of-detention issue, reasoning that because the State argued at trial that the length of Copeland’s detention was reasonable, the issue was a theory applicable to the case, and as a result, the State was obliged to make that argument on appeal or forfeit it through inaction. The State appealed, and the Court of Criminal Appeals exercised its discretionary review power to determine: (1) whether the court of appeals erred when it held that the State procedurally defaulted the length-of-detention issue; and (2) whether the court of appeals properly performed the analysis instructed by the Court. Because the Court agreed with the court of appeals that the State procedurally defaulted the length-of-detention issue on appeal, it affirmed the court of appeals.
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