Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 38.23 Interpretation

In Texas, our exclusionary rule is articulated in Article 38.23, and it is this statute that the Court is called upon to interpret today. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. Art. 38.23. In Texas, the statutory exclusionary rule is unique. Regardless of what the federal circuit courts say concerning application of the federal exclusionary rule, this Court is bound in this case to determine whether a treaty is a "law" for purposes of our Texas statute - Article 38.23. Based on the plain language of the Supremacy Clause, the Supreme Court's definition and characterization of "treaty," the portrayal of the character of treaties in other sources, strong policy considerations, and the plain language of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, the Court concluded that a treaty is a "law" and included within the scope of Article 38.23.