Court Opinion

ID: 9773770
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 17:57:59.901559+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:57.147765
License: Public Domain

MEYERS, Judge,
dissenting.
I agree with the majority to the extent it holds the written notice requirement of the State’s intent to seek a deadly weapon finding is waived when such finding is made a condition of a plea bargain agreement. In these circumstances, written notice of the State’s intentions is not necessary since actual notice is memorialized in the plea agreement. But the majority holds that actual notice can be established solely by the disputed affidavit of the assistant district attorney. In my view, the terms of the plea agreement should appear somewhere in the trial record in order to support a finding of actual notice.
A notation on the docket sheet, signed by the trial judge, states: “Deft pleads guilty, admonished, sentencing per plea bargain, affirmative finding use of deadly weapon.” The Written Stipulation and Judicial Confession, initialed by applicant, reads,
That the attorney for the State will recommend to the Court that my punishment be assessed at the following: Five years IDTDCJ. I agree and accept that recommendation and have entered into a “plea-bargain agreement” for such recommendation.
The Judgment and Sentence states, “Terms of Plea Bargain: Five years at IDTDCJ.” *763On a separate line of this form appears, “Findings on Use of Deadly Weapon: True.” The recitation portion of the Judgment and Sentence reads:
... the Court makes the [sic] its ruling in regard to a ‘deadly weapon finding’ as is indicated above. The Court further finds that there was a ‘plea-bargaining agreement’ between the State and the defendant and that the punishment assessed does not exceed the punishment recommended as per the ‘plea-bargain-agreement’.
These references indicate the deadly weapon finding was not part of the terms of the plea agreement, as it is never mentioned in connection with the plea agreement but always appears separate and apart from it. Nothing in the trial record supports a conclusion that the deadly weapon finding was an agreed upon term of the plea bargain.
But the prosecutor says it was. And the majority denies relief based on his affidavit. Applicant’s allegations to the contrary are supported by an affidavit of his trial attorney. In the face of disputed affidavits on the issue, and in the absence of evidence in the trial record, relief should be granted due to the lack of written notice. See Ex parte Lewis, 892 S.W.2d 4, 7 (Tex.Crim.App.l994)(noting “it is well-settled that the defendant is entitled to notice that a deadly weapon affirmative finding will be sought”).
If this case involved a simple allegation of a broken plea bargain agreement, precedent supports denying relief based solely on the disputed testimony or affidavit of the prosecutor. See, e.g., Ex parte Empey, 757 S.W.2d 771, 775 (Tex.Crim.App.l988)(appli-cant’s sworn allegations were not enough to establish plea bargain precluded entry of affirmative finding, where such allegations were denied by state); Ex parte Griffin, 679 S.W.2d 15, 17 (Tex.Crim.App.l984)(where defense attorney and prosecutor’s testimony conflicted as to terms of plea bargain, held there was adequate evidence to support trial court’s conclusion that applicant failed to prove his allegations) but see Ex parte Garcia, 682 S.W.2d 581, 582 (Tex.Crim.App.l985)(applicant established plea bargain induced by promise of no deadly weapon finding by sworn allegations, affidavit of counsel, comments of trial judge during admonishments, lack of evidence to support finding of use of deadly weapon, and failure of State to controvert applicant’s sworn allegations). But this case involves more. We are permitting a written notice requirement to be supplanted by a plea bargain agreement. A finding of actual notice should not be made to turn on a credibility assessment. I would establish a bright-line rule that while the written notice requirement of the State’s intent to seek a deadly weapon finding is waived when such finding is made a condition of a plea bargain agreement, the trial record must reflect the affirmative finding was an agreed upon term. Nothing in the trial record of this case indicates the affirmative finding was an agreed upon term of the plea bargain; if anything, the record indicates otherwise. In the absence of evidence of written or actual notice, applicant is entitled to relief.
BAIRD and OVERSTREET, JJ. join.