In re State

489 S.W.3d 24, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2777, 2016 WL 1072504
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 16, 2016
DocketNo. 07-16-00052-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 489 S.W.3d 24 (In re State) 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
In re State, 489 S.W.3d 24, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2777, 2016 WL 1072504 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

Per Curiam

Relator, the State of Texas, acting by and through the Potter County Attorney’s Office, seeks a writ of mandamus directing Respondent, the Honorable Pamela C. Sir-mon, to vacate an order dated October 13, 2015, deferring further proceedings without an adjudication of guilt in a misdemeanor speeding offense case, punishable by fine only, involving the Real Party in Interest, Jimmie Mark White.

White was originally convicted in Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct 3, of Potter County, Texas, of the misdemeanor offense of speeding1 and he was assessed a fine of $116.90, plus costs of court of $100.10. On appeal to the County Court at Law No. 2 of Potter County, Texas, in a de novo trial, White entered a plea of guilty. Having received his plea and having reviewed his motion for deferred adjudication, Judge Sirmon set his fine at “$200.00 and court costs ... deferred.” On October 13, 2015, she signed an order which stated, “[pjursu-ant to the Tex.Code of Crim. Proc. Art. 45.54,”2 the imposition of that sentence [26]*26was deferred “for a period of One Hundred Eighty (180) days,” on the condition that White (1) pay all court costs “at the time the court grants the deferred disposition,” (2) complete an affidavit stating that he “has not been convicted of a criminal or traffic offense during the period of deferral,” (3) commit no criminal offense or traffic offense, except parking violations, during the “period of probation,” and (4) pay a “special expense fee of $200.”3 The order further provided that, “at the conclusion of the deferral period,” upon satisfaction of these conditions, the complaint charging the speeding offense would be dismissed.

The State contends the act of suspending the imposition of sentence and giving assurances of a dismissal of the complaint exceeded the authority of the county court at law judge because the statutory limits placed on a justice of the peace or municipal court judge by article 45.051(f) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (prohibiting the deferral of an adjudication of guilt in a misdemeanor case involving the violation of a state law relating to the control of a motor vehicle by a person holding a commercial driver’s license) apply equally to a county court at law judge through the provisions of article 42.1Í1 of the same code. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 42.111, 45.051(f) (West 2006 & West Supp.2015). Reasoning that Judge Sirmon did not have the statutory authority to defer an adjudication of guilt in this case because White was the holder of a commercial driver’s license,4 the State requests this court to issue a writ of mandamus “to correct [Judge Sirmon’s] abuse of discretion” unless she vacates the order of deferred adjudication issued. In response, White contends article 42.111 is ambiguous and that it does not create a statutory limitation on Judge Sirmon’s authority to defer an adjudication of guilt in this case. Agreeing with the position of the State, we conditionally grant the petition- for writ of mandamus.

Analysis

As applied to the facts of this case, it is well settled that, as the party seeking mandamus relief, the State is not entitled to that relief unless it establishes (1) that it has no other adequate remedy at law to redress the alleged harm and (2) the act sought to be compelled is a ministerial act and not a discretionary or .judicial decision. In re Allen, 462 S.W.3d 47, 49 (Tex.Crim.App.2015). Here, the State seeks mandamus relief to compel Judge Sirmon to set aside an order of-deferred adjudication because it contends she had no legal authority to enter that order. Because the State’s right of appeal is limited by the provisions of article 44.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, it “cannot appeal a grant of deferred adjudication.” In re Watkins, 315 S.W.3d 907, 908 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2010, orig. proceeding). Accordingly, the State has no other adequate remedy at law in this case and it is entitled to mandamus relief if the act it seeks to compel is ministerial. In that regard, a judge has a ministerial duty to follow the law, including any statutory provision that is “definite, unambiguous, and unquestionably [applicable] to the indisputable facts [27]*27of the case.” In re Allen, 462 S.W.3d at 49-60.

Therefore, the issue in this case is not whether county court at law judges have the general authority to defer an adjudication of guilt under any circumstances;5 the issue is whether county court at law judges have the authority to defer an adjudication of guilt in cases appealed from a justice of the peace or municipal court pursuant to the provisions of article 42.111, free from the statutory limitations placed on a justice of the peace and municipal court judge found in article 46.051. To answer that question, we begin our analysis with an examination of article 42.111.

ARTICLE 42.111

Subject to some exceptions discussed herein below, article 42.111 authorizes the deferral of proceedings in cases appealed from a justice of the peace or municipal court to county court. State v. Hollis, 327 S.W.3d 750, 764 (Tex.App.-Waco 2010, no pet.).6 In its entirety (separated into individual sentences for purposes of clarity in our analysis) article 42.111 provides as follows:

If a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor punishable by fine only appeals the conviction to a county court, on the trial in county court the defendant may enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to the offense.
If the defendant enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the court may defer further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt in the same manner as provided for the deferral of proceedings in justice or municipal court under Article 45.051 of this code.
This article does not apply to a misdemeanor case disposed of under Subchap-ter B, Chapter 543, Transportation Code,[7] or a serious traffic violation as defined by Section 522.003, Transportation Code.[8]

The first sentence of article 42.111 merely states the obvious. Upon perfection of an appeal from a justice of the peace or municipal court, the accused has the same right that he had below to enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere. No one disputes the construction of this sen[28]*28tence. It is definite, unambiguous, and clearly applies to the facts of this case.

The first part of the second sentence gives us some indication that the Legislature may have intended the authority of a county court judge to be somewhat more restricted than that of a justice of the peace or municipal court judge. Under article 42.111, a county court judge may defer an adjudication in two instances: (1) on a plea of guilty or (2) on a plea of nolo contendere; whereas, under article 45.051, a justice of the peace or municipal judge may defer an adjudication in three instances: (1) on a plea of guilty, (2) on a plea of nolo contendere, or (3) on a finding of guilt. Here, because White entered a plea of guilty, the implications of this distinction are not an issue in this case.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
489 S.W.3d 24, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 2777, 2016 WL 1072504, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-state-texapp-2016.