Since 1990 I’ve been a criminal defense lawyer in Houston. During my experience, I’ve defended numerous Houstonians charged with different types of drug-related criminal offenses which hinged on the involvement of a confidential informant.
These cases typically start off the same way;
- An informant is called to a specific location and provides information to the police as to what they saw.
- The informant will tell the officers that they saw certain individuals possessing drugs or weapons in a given location,
- then the officers will obtain a search warrant.
Informants in Criminal Cases
I know that a lot of bad, unprovable cases, are brought by corrupt, lazy, or incompetent police officers, narcotics officers, and the DEA. They will lie, in an affidavit, about having a confidential informant. This affidavit will be presented to a judge that will authorize a search warrant based on information provided by the confidential informant.
Unmasking Confidential Informants
In many cases involving a CI, I’ve filed a motion to divulge that person’s identity, and because I’ve done this, I’ve found that the arresting officer has actually lied about the confidential informant and that there never was one. The officer simply filed the affidavit with the search warrant, with the judge, making up the information hoping that they would get lucky and actually find drugs. All this is based on a hunch or a tip.
Our motion to disclose the CI will require the officer to explain to the judge, face to face, in the judge’s chambers, with the prosecutor and defense lawyer waiting outside, the identity and information derived from the confidential informant. It is in this type of situation, where the officer has been brought to task and asked by the judge, the particulars of who is the confidential informant, and what information did they provide.
The officer, if he has lied about having a CI, will be backed into a corner. The officer will usually say that they cannot divulge the identity of the CI, because it would be dangerous if the identity were released, or because the CI is so important to future investigations, that it would be better to dismiss this case and move on.
A Recent Experience with a Major Drug Case
The case involves a confidential informant, 2 kilos of heroin, 2 kilos of cocaine, a motion to suppress evidence, and a motion to disclose the identity of a confidential informant in a major drug case.
In June of 2016, one of our clients was arrested and charged with the manufacture and delivery of over 2 kilos of heroin, crystallized methamphetamine, and cocaine. Our client was stopped by police on a routine traffic stop when he was leaving his house and was told that he was being detained. While the police had our client stopped, another set of officers used a search warrant to gain entry to the house. After finding heroin and methamphetamine, our client was arrested, booked, and placed in county jail on two first degree drug charges.
After our client was brought to court and we were able to review the police report, we learned that a confidential informant may have provided the officers with the information necessary to obtain a search warrant. According to the police report, a CI had told officers that our client was at the house where the drugs were found the day before the search. Based on nothing more than this anonymous individual’s testimony to police, our client was arrested and charged with possession of almost two kilograms of narcotics when he wasn’t anywhere near the scene of where the drugs were found. He was placed in Harris County Jail and given an $800,000 bond.
As the case began to develop, we asked the prosecutor if we could personally speak with the confidential informant regarding precisely what he was alleged to have seen. We wanted to be able to assess the credibility of the informant and make a decision as to whether or not his testimony would be used if the case was set for trial or a suppression hearing. Of course, the prosecutor denied our request “in the interest of protecting the CI’s identity” and offered our client a plea deal of 30 years in prison. We knew that if we wanted to get the identity of the confidential informant, we would have to take our motion to divulge the identity of the CI to the judge.
Texas Rules of Evidence
Under the Texas Rules of Evidence, the State of Texas has a privilege (Texas Rule 508) allowing them to refuse to disclose an informant’s identity.
Dismissals in Drug Cases Are Often Possible, but Squandered.
This rule has caused me to wonder, after many years as a Houston criminal defense lawyer, how many bad cases have been pled out for significant prison time, where if the defense attorney had done his job and filed the motion to disclose the CI’s identity, the case may have been dismissed. If attorneys had taken the step to require the police officer to tell the judge face to face whether or not the CI was actually used, they might have saved their client from conviction. If attorneys were more diligent in their defense, the police wouldn’t be so lax, and they would do their job the right way.
Need help fighting a major drug charge?
Contact Houston Defense Lawyer Jack B. Carroll today!
Since 1991 I’ve defended the rights, lives, and freedom of individuals accused of drug offenses and other serious felonies in Houston and other regions of Texas.
If you’re facing criminal charges for a serious drug offense, whether you’re in Harris County or not, you can count on Jack B. Carroll & Associates as your legal representation.
To schedule your 100% private consultation or if you have questions, call us at 713-228-4607.