The punishment for tampering with physical evidence under Texas Penal Code Section 37.09 is so severe enough that many people who try to cover up their wrongdoing find themselves in worse trouble. For example, people who are caught swallowing marijuana or pills in order to avoid a misdemeanor arrest are typically charged with the felony evidence tampering statute. A misdemeanor arrest is unfortunate; a felony indictment for trying to cover up a misdemeanor is tragic.
When the statute was recently amended following the Jennifer Cave murder in Travis County, there was an error in codifying duplicative portions. The pertinent parts of of the statute are as follows:
TAMPERING WITH OR FABRICATING PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
A person commits an offense if, knowing that an investigation or official proceeding is pending or in progress, he:
(1) alters, destroys, or conceals any record, document, or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility, or availability as evidence in the investigation or official proceeding;
(2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation or official proceeding;
(3) knowing that an offense has been committed, alters, destroys, or conceals any record, document, or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility, or availability as evidence in any subsequent investigation of or official proceeding related to the offense; or
(4) observes a human corpse under circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that an offense had been committed, knows or reasonably should know that a law enforcement agency is not aware of the existence of or location of the corpse, and fails to report the existence of and location of the corpse to a law enforcement agency.
This section shall not apply if the record, document, or thing concealed is privileged or is the work product of the parties to the investigation or official proceeding.
An offense under Subsection (1), (2), or (3) is a felony of the third degree, unless the thing altered, destroyed, or concealed is a human corpse, in which case the offense is a felony of the second degree. An offense under Subsection (4) is a Class A misdemeanor.
