Christopher Campos v. State
09-14-00481-CR
| Tex. App. | Nov 4, 2015Background
- Christopher Campos was convicted by a jury of driving while intoxicated; sentence was a $1,000 fine and 90 days jail (suspended) with one year probation.
- Officers observed four vehicles appear to race through a blinking red light; Campos was driving one of the vehicles and detained in a Waffle House parking lot.
- Officer Meza (certified in standardized field sobriety tests and drug recognition) administered HGN off-camera and performed walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand on video; Meza testified Campos exhibited 6/6 HGN clues, multiple walk-and-turn clues, and 2/4 one-leg-stand clues.
- Campos refused a blood sample. Video of the walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand was played for the jury; HGN was not recorded because Meza conducted it off to the side.
- Campos moved pretrial to exclude HGN testimony, alleging Meza deliberately performed HGN off-camera in bad faith so defense could not evaluate administration; trial court admitted HGN testimony and the jury convicted.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Campos) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of HGN testimony | Meza intentionally conducted HGN off-camera in bad faith; lack of video makes HGN unreliable and prejudicial | Meza is certified, described standardized HGN procedure, and there is no evidence of bad faith; admission proper under Rule 702/Kelly | Court upheld admission; no evidence of intentional or bad-faith conduct and Rudd does not mandate exclusion for lack of video |
| Sufficiency of evidence without HGN | Without HGN, evidence is insufficient to prove intoxication beyond reasonable doubt | Other evidence (racing, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, odor, walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand video, refusal to give blood) supports conviction | Court held evidence sufficient even if HGN were excluded; rational juror could find guilt beyond reasonable doubt |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for assessing legal sufficiency of the evidence)
- Kelly v. State, 824 S.W.2d 568 (Tex. Crim. App.) (framework for admissibility of scientific expert testimony)
- Emerson v. State, 880 S.W.2d 759 (Tex. Crim. App.) (HGN is scientific evidence admissible under Kelly/Rule 702)
- State v. Rudd, 255 S.W.3d 293 (Tex. App.—Waco) (upheld suppression where trial court found officer lacked credibility about HGN administration; does not establish blanket rule excluding unrecorded HGN)
- Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. Crim. App.) (standard for reviewing combined evidence and reasonable inferences)