Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 18A.358 – Suppression of Contents of Intercepted Communications
(a) An aggrieved person charged with an offense in a trial, hearing, or proceeding in or before a court, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, or other authority of the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state may move to suppress the contents of an intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication or evidence derived from the communication on the ground that:
(1) the communication was unlawfully intercepted;
(2) the interception order is insufficient on its face; or
(3) the interception was not made in conformity with the interception order.
(b) A person identified by a party to an intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication during the course of that communication may move to suppress the contents of the communication on:
(1) a ground provided under Subsection (a); or
(2) the ground that the harm to the person resulting from the person’s identification in court exceeds the value to the prosecution of the disclosure of the contents.
Terms Used In Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 18A.358
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Justice: when applied to a magistrate, means justice of the peace. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) The motion to suppress must be made before the trial, hearing, or proceeding unless:
(1) there was not an opportunity to make the motion; or
(2) the aggrieved person was not aware of the grounds of the motion.
(d) The hearing on the motion to suppress shall be held in camera on the written request of the aggrieved person.
(e) If the motion to suppress is granted, the contents of the intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication and evidence derived from the communication shall be treated as having been obtained in violation of this chapter.
(f) The judge, on the filing of the motion to suppress by the aggrieved person, shall make available to the aggrieved person or the person’s counsel for inspection any portion of the intercepted communication or evidence derived from the communication that the judge determines to make available in the interest of justice.
(g) A judge of this state, on hearing a pretrial motion regarding conversations intercepted by wire in accordance with this chapter, or who otherwise becomes informed that there exists on such an intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication identification of a specific individual who is not a suspect or a party to the subject of interception shall:
(1) give notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter of suppression of references to that individual if identification is sufficient to give notice; or
(2) suppress references to that individual if identification is:
(A) sufficient to potentially cause embarrassment or harm that outweighs the probative value, if any, of the mention of that individual; and
(B) insufficient to require the notice under Subdivision (1).