Wright v. State

Tony Demond Wright was charged with the second degree felony offense of possession of a controlled substance. Before trial, Wright filed a motion to suppress contending that the tactical team’s no-knock entry to the house was unreasonable. After holding a pretrial suppression hearing, the trial judge denied Wright’s motion. Wright later pled guilty pursuant to a negotiated plea bargain agreement with the State. Accepting the terms of the agreement, the trial judge entered an order deferring adjudication and placing Wright on community supervision for a period of four years. Having preserved his right to appeal the trial judge’s decision to deny his motion to suppress, Wright filed a notice of appeal. The trial judge then certified Wright’s right to appeal.

Before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, Wright challenged the trial judge’s refusal to grant his motion to suppress.*fn1 Each justice on the panel filed a separate unpublished opinion.*fn2 A majority of the court of appeals, albeit for different reasons, reversed the trial judge’s decision to deny Wright’s motion to suppress.*fn3 As a result, the court remanded the case to for a new trial without the illegally seized evidence.*fn4 The State filed a petition for discretionary review, which we granted.