John Paul Brooks Jr. v. the State of Texas, 13-20-00085-CR

Background

Appellant John Paul Brooks Jr. was tried on two methamphetamine possession counts after officers executed search warrants on his home (Oct. 19, 2018) and arrested him (Nov. 5, 2018); lab testing showed ~1.61 g and ~0.27 g methamphetamine recovered.
The search warrant affidavit was based on a written statement from Julie Dowdy reporting Brooks assaulted her (BB gun to face, threatened with knife); officers observed injuries and photos consistent with her account.
Brooks filed pretrial motions: to suppress the search (arguing material omissions in the affidavit), for continuance to secure two witnesses (Yates and LaFan), and later moved for mistrial after alleged juror communications.
At trial the court denied the suppression and continuance motions, heard and denied the mistrial motion after voir dire of jurors, and excluded testimony from Yates and Dowdy as irrelevant to the possession charges.
Brooks requested an article 38.23 jury instruction on unlawfully obtained evidence; the trial court denied it. The jury convicted Brooks on both possession counts and assessed concurrent sentences (25 and 2 years).

Issues

Issue	Brooks' Argument	State's Argument	Held
Motion for mistrial based on juror misconduct	A juror (Parker) spoke about the case to a co-worker and had effectively made up her mind; mistrial required	Juror remarks did not show bias or a fixed conclusion; inquiry showed jurors would remain impartial	Denial affirmed — presumption of harm rebutted; trial court did not abuse discretion (jury willing to decide on evidence)
Motion for continuance to secure Yates & LaFan	Witnesses were material to rebut Dowdy's assault account and to support suppression argument; need time to subpoena/serve them	State abandoned assault counts; witnesses not material to possession charges; no adequate diligence or reasonable expectation LaFan could be secured	Denial affirmed — witnesses not material to possession charges and Brooks failed to show prejudice
Motion to suppress (Franks-style omission claim)	Affidavit omitted material adverse information (e.g., Dowdy's criminal history) so probable cause was lacking	Affidavit contained Dowdy's detailed statement and corroborating injury; omissions not shown to be intentional/reckless and were not material to probable cause	Denial affirmed — Brooks failed to show intentional or reckless omission; magistrate had substantial basis for probable cause
Exclusion of Yates/Dowdy testimony and denial of art. 38.23 instruction	Their testimony would impeach Dowdy, show warrant invalidity, and require article 38.23 instruction to exclude evidence	Testimony was irrelevant to possession and did not create a disputed factual issue about the lawfulness of the search; good-faith warrant exception applies	Denial affirmed — exclusion was within discretion; no jury fact issue for article 38.23 instruction; evidence admissible under warrant/good-faith exception

Key Cases Cited

Balderas v. State, 517 S.W.3d 756 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016) (standard for reviewing denial of mistrial)
Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (U.S. 1982) (due process does not require new trial for every juror contact)
Quinn v. State, 958 S.W.2d 395 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (presumption of harm from juror communication can be rebutted)
Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (deference to trial court findings on historical facts/credibility)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983) (totality-of-circumstances standard for probable cause in warrant affidavits)
Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (U.S. 1978) (requirements for attack on affidavit based on false statements)
Massey v. State, 933 S.W.2d 141 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (four-corners rule for affidavit review; discussions on omissions)
Foreman v. State, 613 S.W.3d 160 (Tex. Crim. App. 2020) (commonsensical reading of affidavits; probable cause analysis)
Madden v. State, 242 S.W.3d 504 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (standards for submitting article 38.23 jury instruction)