Ex Parte Trahan

781 S.W.2d 291, 1989 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 214, 1989 WL 149734
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 13, 1989
Docket70948
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 781 S.W.2d 291 (Ex Parte Trahan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal 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 Trahan, 781 S.W.2d 291, 1989 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 214, 1989 WL 149734 (Tex. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

MILLER, Judge.

This is an application for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to the provisions of Art. 11.07, § 2, V.A.C.C.P. Applicant was convicted upon his guilty plea of aggravated kidnapping, V.T.C.A. Penal Code § 20.04(a)(4), and his punishment, enhanced by a prior felony conviction, was assessed at fifty years confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections. No direct appeal was taken.

In his writ application, applicant contends his guilty plea was involuntary because it was based on the promise that he would become eligible for parole consideration after serving one-quarter of the time assessed when, in fact, he would not be eligible for such consideration until he had served one-third of his sentence. See and compare Art. 42.18, § 8(b), V.A.C.C.P. (1986), and Art. 42.18, § 8(b)(1), V.A.C.C.P. (1988). The trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law stating applicant had failed to allege facts entitling him to relief and recommended relief be denied. This Court, however, disagreed, held the writ in abeyance and ordered the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing to allow applicant to more fully develop his allegations. 1

The trial court conducted the evidentiary hearing on May 5,1989, which revealed the procedural history of this cause. The initial plea hearing was held August 10, 1987, at which time the State’s punishment recommendation was forty years imprisonment. The plea memorandum reflects applicant would become eligible for parole consideration after having served one-third of his sentence. Applicant agreed to these terms, the trial judge accepted applicant’s guilty plea, and the case was reset for *292 August 31, 1987, for a presentence investigation report.

At the sentencing hearing on August 31, 1987, the trial judge expressed concern over the amount of time applicant would serve in the penitentiary for his conviction in this cause since his forty year sentence was to run concurrently with a parole revocation sentence. 2 The record from this hearing, which was admitted as an exhibit at the evidentiary hearing on this writ, clearly indicates both the State and the trial judge wanted applicant to serve thirteen years (approximately one-third of forty) before being eligible for parole. The trial judge decided to reset the sentencing hearing so that the prosecutor could determine the effect of the concurrent sentences on applicant’s eligibility for parole. The trial judge also rejected the previous plea bargain agreement pending a psychiatric examination of applicant.

A second hearing on applicant’s plea of guilty was held October 5, 1987. The competency report had been tendered to the trial court, and it reflected applicant was sane at the time of the offense, sane at the present time, and competent to stand trial. At this hearing the State recommended a punishment of fifty years confinement which was agreed to by applicant. The trial court accepted applicant’s judicial confession and the guilty plea and sentenced applicant to fifty years confinement in the penitentiary. The plea memorandum from this date reflects that applicant would become eligible for parole when his actual time served equaled one-fourth of his sentence. 3

The record from the evidentiary hearing indicates the reason for the increase in the State’s punishment recommendation from forty years imprisonment to fifty years and applicant’s acceptance thereof. 4 Both applicant and his trial counsel, Thomas Roebuck, Jr., testified at the hearing that the terms of the plea bargain were changed on October 5,1987, because of the amendment to the adult parole law. Roebuck stated the trial judge, the Honorable Leonard Giblin, was concerned that the amended section in Art. 42.18, § 8(b)(1), providing for parole eligibility after one-fourth of the prison sentence is served, would apply to applicant’s cause since he was being sentenced after the effective date of the amendment. According to Roebuck, there may also have been some input from the State that the amended version of the statute was applicable to applicant’s sentence. Roebuck believed, however, that since applicant committed this offense prior to September 1, 1987, 5 the adult parole law in effect at time of commission of the offense would govern applicant’s parole eligibility, i.e., the one-third provision, which opinion he expressed to applicant. Applicant then accepted the terms of the State’s plea bargain. The judgment reflects applicant’s sentence is for fifty years, and the plea memorandum reflects parole eligibility arises after one-fourth of the sentence has been served. Applicant subsequently discovered his parole eligibility was being determined pursuant to the pre-amendment version of Art. 42.18, i.e. the one-third provision, and filed this writ.

*293 Applicant testified at the evidentiary hearing that the District Attorney “insisted” on a fifty year prison term since he believed the amended version of Art. 42.18 was applicable to applicant’s sentencing. Applicant admitted there was confusion as to which version of the adult parole law would apply to his sentence, but stated he would not have agreed to the fifty year sentence and signed the plea memorandum if the fraction relating to parole eligibility had not been changed to one-fourth. In applicant’s mind the fifty year sentence with parole eligibility arising after one-fourth of the sentence served was comparable to the State’s original plea bargain offer of a forty year sentence with parole eligibility arising after one-third of the sentence served. The change in the parole eligibility fraction to one-fourth was the decisive factor in applicant’s decision to accept the State’s plea offer. Regardless of the confusion surrounding the applicability of the adult parole law, applicant expected the fifty year, one-fourth provisions to be fulfilled since all parties agreed to the terms and the trial judge signed the agreement in court.

The trial judge again entered findings of fact and conclusions of law after the evi-dentiary hearing. Most significantly, the trial judge found the new plea bargain of fifty years with the modification of the parole eligibility terms was “to satisfy the Court’s express concern that Applicant should serve as a .minimum approximately 13 years” in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Moreover, the trial judge concluded this plea bargain agreement was “relied upon as part of the quid pro quo for pleading guilty without which Applicant would not have pled guilty.” These findings and conclusions, among the others in the record, are supported by the record and adopted by this Court. We agree with the trial judge’s conclusion that applicant should be granted the requested relief.

This Court has held numerous times that for an applicant to prevail on a claim that erroneous advice of counsel on parole eligibility rendered involuntary his guilty plea, the applicant must show that parole eligibility was an affirmative part or element of the plea bargain. See e.g. Ex parte Hairston, 766 S.W.2d 790 (Tex.Cr.App.1989); Ex parte Stephenson,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Simon Moreno III v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
Moussazadeh, Ex Parte Max
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2012
Ex Parte Mabry
137 S.W.3d 58 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Mabry, Ex Parte Andrew Michael
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004
Scott Arthur Edwards v. State
106 S.W.3d 377 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Ex Parte Moussazadeh
64 S.W.3d 404 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Michael Ray Royal v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001
Wright v. State
936 S.W.2d 704 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Delgado v. State
891 S.W.2d 17 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
781 S.W.2d 291, 1989 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 214, 1989 WL 149734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ex-parte-trahan-texcrimapp-1989.