Ex parte Olvera

394 S.W.3d 572, 2012 WL 2336240, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4896
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 20, 2012
DocketNo. 05-11-01349-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 394 S.W.3d 572 (Ex parte Olvera) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ex parte Olvera, 394 S.W.3d 572, 2012 WL 2336240, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4896 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion By

Justice LANG-MIERS.

Appellant Alfredo Olvera pleaded guilty to assault of a public servant. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the trial court deferred adjudicating Olvera’s guilt, placed him on community supervision for five years, and assessed a $500 fine. Two years later, Olvera filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus asserting that his guilty plea was involuntary. He also sought an out-of-time appeal. The trial judge denied habeas relief and this appeal followed. We reverse the trial court’s order denying ha-beas relief, vacate the underlying judgment, and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

The record shows that after Olvera pleaded guilty to the assault charge and was placed on community supervision, he asked for and got "written permission from his supervision officer to travel outside the United States to Mexico with family for the Christmas holidays. When he attempted to return to the United States, however, he was denied reentry and detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection because he was “identified as an alien who is subject to Removal (Deportation) Proceedings for his/her prior criminal conviction.”

Olvera’s family hired a lawyer to file an application for a writ of habeas corpus. In the application, Olvera alleged, among [574]*574other things, that his guilty plea was involuntary because his trial counsel was ineffective. The trial court conducted three separate hearings on the writ application and denied habeas relief. The court did not make oral or written findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Olvera filed a combined notice of appeal from the judgment rendered following the plea hearing and from the order denying the writ. He asks this Court to allow him to file an out-of-time direct appeal. However, appellant did not file a notice of appeal from the judgment within 30 days after the date his sentence was suspended in open court. See Tex.R.App. P. 26.2. Consequently, we do not have jurisdiction of appellant’s direct appeal. See id. 25.2(a)(2). In addition, the trial court certified that appellant does not have a right to a direct appeal because his case involved a plea bargain, appellant pleaded guilty, and the punishment did not exceed the punishment recommended by the State and agreed to by appellant. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 44.02 (West 2006). We do, however, have jurisdiction to consider the appeal from the denial of the writ application.

Standard of Review

An applicant for habeas corpus relief must prove his claim by a preponderance of the evidence. Kniatt v. State, 206 S.W.3d 657, 665 (Tex.Crim.App.2006). In reviewing a trial court’s order denying a writ application, we view the facts in the light most favorable to the trial court’s ruling and uphold the trial court’s ruling absent an abuse of discretion. See Ex parte Peterson, 117 S.W.3d 804, 819 (Tex.Crim.App.2003) (per curiam), overruled on other grounds by Ex parte Lewis, 219 S.W.3d 335 (Tex.Crim.App.2007). We afford almost total deference to the court’s determination of the historical facts that are supported by the record, especially when those facts are based on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor. Id. If a trial court does not make explicit findings, we grant deference to implicit findings that support the court’s ruling. Id. We will reverse the trial court’s ruling only if we conclude that it is arbitrary, unreasonable, and made without reference to guiding rules or principles. Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 391 (Tex.Crim.App.1990) (op. on reh’g).

Discussion

In issue two, Olvera contends that his trial counsel was ineffective because counsel did not adequately advise him about the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. Because this issue is disposi-tive, we address it first.

We evaluate the effectiveness of trial counsel under the standard enunciated in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). See Hernandez v. State, 988 S.W.2d 770, 770 (Tex.Crim.App.1999). The appellant bears the burden of proving that counsel was ineffective by a preponderance of the evidence. See Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808, 813 (Tex.Crim.App.1999). We indulge a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. See Bone v. State, 77 S.W.3d 828, 833 (Tex.Crim.App.2002). To prevail, the appellant must show (1) counsel’s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness; and (2) a reasonable probability exists that, but for counsel’s errors, the result would have been different. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687-88, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

In the context of a guilty plea, an appellant must show that his counsel’s advice about the guilty plea did not fall within the wide range of competence demanded [575]*575of attorneys in criminal cases and that, but for trial counsel’s errors, there is a reasonable probability he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial. Ex parte Moody, 991 S.W.2d 856, 858 (Tex.Crim.App.1999).

Olvera testified at the habeas hearing that counsel did not advise him at all about the immigration consequences of a guilty plea and, in fact, told him there were no consequences of pleading guilty. On the other hand, counsel testified that he told Olvera that he could be deported at any time after pleading guilty:

Q You told him — what did you tell him regarding immigration consequences in his case?
A A plea of guilty could result in his deportation, denial of reentry into the country.
Q You didn’t tell him that it would result in his deportation?
A I said it could result.
Q Okay. Now what is your understanding of the law when somebody pleads to assault on a public servant even in deferred adjudication?
A If you’re on probation for at least over 11 months it’s considered in the federal system an aggravated felony and for that there can be a deportation.
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Q Okay. What did you tell Alfredo Olv-era regarding the specifics of this charge and what would happen? Did you just give him a standard this will result in your deportation or could result in your deportation as you said earlier?
A I explained to him one year of probation or more is considered in the federal system to be an aggravated felony and for that he could be deported.
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Bluebook (online)
394 S.W.3d 572, 2012 WL 2336240, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4896, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ex-parte-olvera-texapp-2012.