Blankenship, Brice

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
• Decided: November 1, 2023
• Docket: WR-94,997-01
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS NO. WR-94,997-01

EX PARTE BRICE BLANKENSHIP, Applicant

ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS CAUSE NO. 16-05-15629-A IN THE 506TH DISTRICT COURT FROM WALLER COUNTY

Per curiam.

OPINION

Applicant was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to forty years’

imprisonment. Applicant, through habeas counsel, filed this application for a writ of habeas corpus

in the county of conviction, and the district clerk forwarded it to this Court. See TEX. CODE CRIM.

PROC. art. 11.07.

Applicant claimed that the State failed to disclose material impeachment evidence before the

jury trial and that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. The trial court held an evidentiary

hearing, made oral findings, and memorialized those findings in writing. The trial court recommends

granting a new trial. It finds that the withheld impeachment evidence was material and that trial

counsel should have retained an expert and used other available impeachment evidence. 2

The findings and recommendation are supported by the record. Relief is granted. Brady v.

Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963); Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). The judgment in

cause number 16-05-15629 in the 506th District Court of Waller County is set aside, and Applicant

is remanded to the custody of the Sheriff of Waller County to answer the charges as set out in the

indictment. The trial court shall issue any necessary bench warrant within ten days from the date of

this Court’s mandate.

Copies of this opinion shall be sent to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice–Correctional

Institutions Division and the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Delivered: November 1, 2023 Do not publish