Davis v. State

686 S.W.2d 287, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6136
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Davis v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 4174
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided January 31, 1985·No. No. C14-83-363CR·Published

Opinion

SEARS, Justice.

Appellant was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child pursuant to TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.05 (Vernon 1974), and was sentenced to twenty years’ confinement. He argues that his conviction should be reversed because his plea of nolo contendere was involuntary. We agree and reverse the judgment.

Appellant pled not guilty and demanded and received a trial by jury. The State presented two witnesses, the victim and her brother. After they testified, Appellant’s attorneys called him to the stand in an attempt to persuade him to plead nolo contendere so that the court would conduct a pre-sentence investigation before assessing punishment. Mr. Fry and Mr. Nahas are Appellant’s attorneys. The testimony was as follows:

QUESTIONS BY MR. FRY:
MR. FRY: Mr. Davis, has Mr. Nahas informed you that the State, in exchange for either a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, that you would have a presentence investigation run on your background?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
MR. FRY: And he informed you that the presentence investigation would be forwarded to the Judge and you would have a hearing on your punishment to determine what the punishment would be?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
MR. FRY: And you have refused to go along with that offer?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
MR. FRY: And it is your desire to have the jury trial; is that correct?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
MR. FRY: And you do want the Judge to sentence you after the jury trial if you are found guilty?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, if I’m found guilty.
QUESTIONS BY MR. NAHAS:
MR. NAHAS: I have gone over the facts in the case many times with you, have I not?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
MR. NAHAS: And I have consistently and persistently asked you to take a nolo contendere [sic] and upon which plea the Court will promptly find you guilty and then go for a presentence investigation; isn’t that right?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
MR. NAHAS: And you have fought me and refused to do that. Now today at recess I had a conference with you and also with Mr. Fry, was that correct?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
MR. NAHAS: And I told you, in my opinion, that the evidence adduced thus far is very controverted, did I tell you that?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
MR. NAHAS: And I asked you again today at noon? As a matter fact, I got back here at 1 o’clock; isn’t that right?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
MR. NAHAS: And talked to you some more about reconsidering and taking the case away from the jury and entering a no contest [sic] to the Court, with a presentence investigation; is that right?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir, it is.
MR. NAHAS: And you wanted to talk to Mr. Fry about it? Now, without any encumbrances or coaxing of myself or [289]*289Mr. Fry, what is your wish and desire to do?
THE DEFENDANT: To continue it. I know I’m innocent
MR. NAHAS: Continue before the jury?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
At this point the trial judge intervened:
THE COURT: Mr. Davis, just so you understand wverything [sic], I am not telling you what to do at all. Let’s get that straight. I am just telling you that if the jury does find you guilty, we are not presupposing anything.
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: If they do find you guilty, we will hold a punishment hearing immediately after that and the Court will determine at that time. Do you understand a presentence investigation may or may not be ordered by the Court? It is really up to the Court’s discretion whether one will be ordered or not. Do you understand?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. * ⅝ * * * ⅜
THE COURT: Please feel free to take five minutes, if you want to talk with whomever you want. We do not want to rush anyone into any plea or any decision. It is just that we have a jury waiting back there. I just need to know. I am going to give you five minutes to talk to whomever you want about what to do. Certainly included in that are your attorneys. You hired them for that purpose of advising you. That is all they are doing is advising you. The ultimate decision is yours. Talk with whomever you want in that time and just let the Court know whichever way you want to go. We will go on with the trial. If you want to plead nolo contendere or guilty, you may do that. The Court will follow your wishes at that time. So talk with whomever you want to during this five minutes.
(A short recess.)
THE COURT: What are we going to do?
MR. NAHAS: Plead no contest and set [sic] a PSI [pre-sentence investigation] but I want it in writing.
THE COURT: Dictate what you want to do. You can just ask some questions.

In ground of error one, Appellant alleges that his plea should not have been accepted because it was not freely, knowingly or voluntarily made. In effect, he argues that his attorneys exerted extreme pressure on him to plead nolo in order to receive a PSI. Appellant strenuously resisted their efforts and he changed his plea only after the trial judge intervened and advised him that the court would “follow your wishes” and consider a PSI on a plea, but might not consider it if the jury found him guilty.

After the foregoing testimony the court then accepted the plea and advised Appellant that it would make a determination of punishment after receiving a pre-sentence investigation report and asked Appellant if that was his understanding. Appellant replied, “Yes, sir.” The court then discussed State’s Exhibit One, which outlined the offense, and the trial judge showed Appellant that it included a requirement for a pre-sentence investigation report “to help the court in its determination.” The court asked if Appellant objected to its introduction as evidence and Appellant replied, “No, sir.” The court then set a date for a hearing on punishment at such a time as the court “will have received a pre-sentence investigation report.”

Cases which address the problem of impermissible coercion by defense attorneys are few and far between. In Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970), the Supreme Court addressed the issue of voluntariness in general and reiterated the applicable standard of review:

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Davis v. State, 686 S.W.2d 287, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6136 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

686 S.W.2d 287 (Davis v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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