Second Court of Appeals

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of February 29, 2016.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

Dearmond v. State, No. 02-15-00195-CR, (Mar. 3, 2016) (Gabriel, J., joined by Meier, J.; Dauphinot, J., dissents with opinion).

Held:  In conviction for driving while intoxicated, a police officer's stop of a car with two flat tires and subsequent detention of the driver were justified by law enforcement's community-caretaking function and by the presence of reasonable suspicion that the driver was violating the transportation code.

Dissent:  Because the police officer's community-caretaking purpose was neither the primary justification for the stop nor distinct from his goal and actions in detecting, investigating, and acquiring evidence relating to an alleged crime, community caretaking cannot be used to justify the stop.