Court Opinion

ID: 9676390
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:23:24.381463+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:48.276153
License: Public Domain

TEAGUE, Judge,
dissenting.
Having concluded that the Houston [First] Court of Appeals properly and correctly reversed the conviction of Samuel Douglas West, appellant, see West v. State, 661 S.W.2d 305 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1983), I would place this Court’s “improvidently granted” stamp on the State’s *636petition for discretionary review and dismiss same.
The court of appeals, however, is in error in one respect. It stated the following in its opinion: “Further, trial counsel did not request the court to consider deferring adjudication of guilt until after the court found appellant guilty. At that point, the court was without power to defer adjudication of guilt pursuant to art. 42.12, sec. 3d(a), supra.” (308). The latter statement is incorrect. Although on March 5th the trial judge found appellant guilty, he did not at that time enter an adjudication of guilt. That occurred on April 12th. Thus, the majority correctly states the following: “Moreover, the trial judge did not lose authority to grant deferred adjudication when he stated upon accepting the plea, ‘the Court will find [appellant] guilty.’ ” (At 634).
Nevertheless, given the total circumstances of this cause that related to appellant entering his plea of guilty, the court of appeals correctly held that appellant’s plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered.
Because the majority erroneously reverses the judgment of the court of appeals, I am compelled to dissent.