Court Opinion

ID: 9690560
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 19:23:01.601849+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:59.352613
License: Public Domain

TIM TAFT Justice,
dissenting from denial of en bane review.
This case presents an important issue because it potentially could be raised in more than 90% of all criminal cases, namely, whether a criminal defendant who pleads guilty pursuant to a plea bargain agreement can appeal the voluntariness of his plea without permission of the trial court. The issue is hotly contested: nine courts of appeals have decided it one way; and two courts of appeals have decided it the other way. Therefore, I believe this issue is important enough to merit en banc review by this Court.
There are three reasons why a criminal defendant should not be allowed to appeal the voluntariness of his plea without first obtaining the permission of the trial court: (1) the Texas Legislature did not intend it; (2) the Court of Criminal Appeals has recognized that the Texas Legislature did not intend it in the Court’s enactment of new rule of appellate procedure 25.2(b)(3); and (3) it is unnecessary for a defendant to have a right to appeal voluntariness of his plea where such a defendant received the benefit of being sentenced to a punishment to which he agreed by plea bargain.
The Panel Opinion errs by following those courts of appeals that have applied the Legislature’s limitation on rule-making authority in section 22.108(a) of the Government Code (prohibiting substantive changes) to a change from a rule to a rule, rather than from the original statute to a rule. In my concurring opinion in Williams v. State, 960 S.W.2d 758 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, pet. dism’d), I explained the purpose of the former proviso to article 44.02 of the Code of Criminal Procedure:
A review of the purpose of the former proviso to article 44.02 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is helpful to understanding the scope of appellate review of pleas entered pursuant to plea bargain agreements. Addition of the proviso in 1977 was in response to a rising concern about the large number of appeals from pleas of guilty despite the defendant having agreed to his punishment. See Morgan v. State, 688 S.W.2d 504, 513-14 (Tex.Crim.App.1985) (Onion, P.J., dissenting). As originally written, the legislation called for eliminating such appeals entirely, unless the permission of the trial court was obtained. Id. at 514. A senate floor amendment added an exception giving a right to appeal matters raised by written motion filed prior to trial. Id. The amendment conserved precious judicial resources by encouraging guilty pleas in cases where the only contested issue was some matter raised *699in a pretrial motion. See Morgan, 688 S.W.2d at 507; Ferguson v. State, 571 S.W.2d 908, 910 (Tex.Crim.App.1978).
Thus, the purpose of the proviso was to save judicial resources on two levels: (1) in the trial court by encouraging guilty pleas where the only issue was something other than the guilt of the accused; and (2) at the appellate court by limiting appeals of guilty pleas where the defendant had received the benefit of his bargain. The language of the proviso limited such appeals severely:
A defendant in any criminal action has the right of appeal under the rules hereinafter prescribed, provided, however, before the defendant who has been convicted upon either his plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere before the court and the court, upon the election of the defendant, assesses punishment and the punishment does not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant and his attorney may prosecute his appeal, he must have the permission of the trial court, except on those matters which have been raised by written motion filed prior to trial.
Act of May 28, 1977, 65th Leg. R.S., ch. 351, sec. 1, 1977 Tex.Gen.Laws 940-41. Williams, 960 S.W.2d at 761 (Taft, J., concurring). It is this proviso to which the Legislature’s rulemaking prohibition applies: “The court of criminal appeals is granted rulemaking power to promulgate rules of posttrial, appellate, and review procedure in criminal cases except that its rules may not abridge, enlarge or modify the substantive rights of a litigant.” Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.108(a) (Vernon 1988). In other words, the Court of Criminal Appeals may not make rules that substantively differ from the predecessor statute. See Lyon v. State, 872 S.W.2d 732, 736 (Tex.Crim.App.1994) (court constrained to interpret rule of appellate procedure so as not to modify a defendant’s substantive right of appeal that previously existed under the proviso to article 44.02).
Unfortunately, the Court of Criminal Appeals exceeded the Legislature’s prohibition in Flowers v. State, 935 S.W.2d 131 (Tex.Crim.App.1996) by allowing appeals of the voluntariness of the plea without permission of the trial court. Id. at 134. In Williams, I explained how the Court erred in Flowers by relying on cases not involving involuntary pleas, but rather pleas with conditions that could not be fulfilled. Id. at 761. It now appears that the Court has overruled Flowers by the enactment of rule 25.2(b)(3) of the new rules of appellate procedure. The new rule provides only for the appeal of jurisdictional defects and pretrial motions, in the absence of the trial court’s permission. Tex.R.App. P. 25.2(b)(3). That the Court understood it was overruling Flowers is clearly seen by the statements of Judges Baird and Overstreet accompanying the approval of the rules. See Approval of Revisions to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, 60 Tex. B.J. 408 (May 1997). In Williams, I also explained why it makes sense to so severely limit the right of appeal of one who receives the benefit of his plea bargained sentence. Id. at 761-62 (explaining the difference between pleas with and without agreed recommendations). There simply is no crying need for defendants in this situation to appeal the voluntariness of their pleas. Id.
Accordingly, I respectfully dissent from this Court’s denial of en banc review.
Justice NUCHIA joins this dissent.