Court schedules inspection hearing after defense moves to inspect vehicle; expert extraction requires court order

Defense counsel moved for an order to inspect a vehicle and to appoint an investigator in a pending case involving a deceased person. The court heard the request and directed the parties to coordinate logistics and file necessary affidavits and orders.

At the hearing counsel said evidence had been retained or extracted from one vehicle but the San Antonio Police Department had not been able to extract data from a second vehicle. The prosecutor said she had reviewed the motion and "I have no objection to his motion to be able to inspect" (state counsel) and the parties agreed to confer and select a date for inspection so the court could sign the inspection order. The court instructed counsel to include the inspection date in the proposed order when submitted.

Defense counsel also said the family had hired an expert crash engineer at a cost of about $5,000 and that the expert required an order to proceed. The court told counsel an affidavit would be required to support a request to appoint or fund an investigator and that a hearing would be set; the parties agreed to try to return the matter the next day, and the judge directed deputies to have the defendant present for the scheduled setting.

The courtroom exchange included directions on how to proceed with discovery — one counsel said a phone dump is large and would be provided on drive — and administrative scheduling for a return date and hearing to sign necessary orders. The court did not rule substantively on the request today but set procedures: file an affidavit if financial inability to pay is being asserted, propose an inspection date for the court order and return on the set date for a hearing.