Barry Adams v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas

Barry Adams v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 21, 2002·No. 12-01-00305-CR·Published

Opinion

NOS. 12-01-00304-CR

12-01-00305-CR

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT

TYLER, TEXAS

BARRY NEAL ADAMS,

§ APPEAL FROM THE 203RD

APPELLANT

V.

§ JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF

THE STATE OF TEXAS,

APPELLEE

§ DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS

PER CURIAM

Barry Adams pleaded guilty to murder and arson. In each case, the trial court sentenced him to twenty years of imprisonment and a $1,500.00 fine, to run concurrently. In three issues, Appellant contends he did not receive effective assistance of counsel and the trial court erred in not withdrawing his guilty pleas. We affirm the trial court's judgments.

At the request of Donnie Curtis and Michael Ray, Appellant agreed to call his friend Derrick Jones and ask him to meet him for the purpose of buying drugs from Jones. At the time he made the call, he knew that Curtis and Ray intended to rob Jones. During the course of the robbery, Curtis and Ray shot Jones, put him in the car they were driving, drove to another location, and shot him again. They then drove the car to another location and set it on fire.

In his first and second issues, Appellant contends that his testimony showed that he was innocent of the crimes and that he acted out of fear for his own personal safety. Therefore, he argues, the trial court erred in not sua sponte rejecting his guilty pleas in light of the fact that his acts were justified and that he raised the defense of necessity.

Appellant's pleas were to the court, and not a jury. In such circumstances, the trial court has no obligation to sua sponte withdraw a plea of guilty, even if evidence is presented which makes evident the innocence of the defendant or reasonably and fairly raises an issue as to his guilt. Thomas v. State, 599 S.W.2d 823, 824 (Tex. Crim. App. 1980). Since the trial court, as the trier of fact, was already under a duty to review and weigh the evidence submitted, it would serve no valid purpose for the trial court to sua sponte withdraw the defendant's guilty plea. Moon v. State, 572 S.W.2d 681, 682 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978)(on reh'g).

As we shall explain in our discussion of issue three, we have reviewed Appellant's testimony and are not convinced that he raised the defense of necessity. However, even if he had, because he waived his right to a jury and pleaded guilty to the trial court, the trial court had no duty to withdraw his pleas. Thomas, 599 S.W.2d at 824. We overrule issues one and two.

In his third issue, Appellant contends he did not receive effective assistance of counsel. Specifically, he complains that counsel did not advise him that he had a viable defense, necessity. He further argues that because he had said viable defense, counsel should have, but did not, advise Appellant that he could withdraw his guilty pleas, move to withdraw the guilty pleas himself, and object to the proceedings.

The United States Supreme Court has established a two-part test, also adopted by Texas courts, to determine whether the representation of counsel was effective. The defendant must show that (1) counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the results of the proceedings would have been different. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984); Hernandez v. State, 726 S.W.2d 53, 57 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986). Absent a showing of both prongs of the Strickland test, this court cannot conclude that a defendant's conviction resulted from a breakdown in the adversarial process such that it rendered the result unreliable. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. The test carries a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S. Ct. at 2065. An appellate court should not try to second guess trial counsel's tactical decisions which do not fall below the objective standard of reasonableness. Young v. State, 991 S.W.2d 835, 837 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). This is especially true where the decision in question concerns presentation of a defense. Id. at 838.

The appellant bears the burden of proving ineffective assistance of counsel claims by a preponderance of the evidence. Jackson v. State, 973 S.W.2d 954, 956 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel must be supported by the record. See Mercado v. State, 615 S.W.2d 225, 228 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1981).

Necessity has traditionally been a justification for conduct that would otherwise be criminal. Young, 991 S.W.2d at 838. The Penal Code sets out the elements a defendant must satisfy to be entitled to rely on the defense of necessity. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 9.22 (Vernon 1994). However, in order to raise the necessity defense, a defendant must admit to violating the statute under which he is charged and then offer necessity as a justification which weighs against imposing a criminal punishment for the acts which violated the statute. Young, 991 S.W.2d at 838. To be guilty as a party, the defendant must have the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offenses. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 7.02(a)(2) (Vernon 1994).

Appellant pleaded guilty as a party to murder and arson. However, he told the court he thought he was just setting up the victim to be robbed and did not know Curtis and Ray were planning on shooting Jones. Appellant explained that, although he did not know Ray personally, he had heard that Ray had killed a lot of people. He testified that Ray and Curtis shot Jones. He stated that, after the shooting began, he told them not to shoot Jones. Appellant testified that, after the first round of shots, Jones was not dead and Appellant tried to keep Ray from shooting Jones. He told Jones he would not let them kill him and that this was not supposed

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