The State of Texas v. Arizona Rooney

Summary

The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s exclusion of evidence that the State produced approximately nine months after the defense requested discovery. Applying Article 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and State v. Heath, the court held that exclusion was within the trial court’s discretion despite the absence of prosecutorial bad faith or demonstrable prejudice. The court concluded that the State’s failure to timely ascertain and produce discoverable evidence constituted a willful violation sufficient to support the remedy.

Holdings

1. The trial court acted within its discretion by excluding the evidence the State produced approximately nine months after Rooney requested discovery. The exclusion order was not outside the zone of reasonable disagreement.
2. The identity of the individual prosecutor responsible for the delay does not alter the State's statutory discovery violation or require a lesser remedy.
3. The absence of demonstrated surprise or prejudice did not require the trial court to reject exclusion as a remedy.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by excluding evidence that the State untimely produced in violation of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 39.14.
2. Whether the fact that a former district attorney was responsible for the delay, and the defense possessed the records for approximately two months before trial, required the trial court to impose a lesser remedy than exclusion.

Disposition

affirmed