Ex parte Lockett, 72761
| Decision Date | 26 November 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 72761,72761 |
| Citation | 956 S.W.2d 41 |
| Parties | Ex parte Freddie Raye LOCKETT. |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
We ordered applicant Freddie Raye Lockett's post-conviction application for writ of habeas corpus filed and set for submission to determine whether, consistent with the double jeopardy provisions in the United States and Texas constitutions, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts may collect a drug tax assessed against applicant. 1 We will dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
The record before us reveals the following facts relevant to applicant's claim:
On March 15, 1991, Brazos County law enforcement officers searched applicant's home in Bryan pursuant to a search warrant. During the search, the officers found approximately 528 grams of cocaine. The officers also found $585 in cash and several items of personal property, which they seized as contraband. On May 13, 1991, at the conclusion of a civil forfeiture proceeding brought under Chapter 59 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the 85th District Court of Brazos County rendered judgment against applicant forfeiting the cash and property to the State.
On May 21, 1991, the Comptroller sent applicant a notice of tax due in the amount of $105,800. Evidently, it was the Comptroller's position that applicant owed the tax on account of his possession of the cocaine. See Tex. Tax Code § 159.101. Applicant contested this tax liability, however, and requested an administrative hearing, to which he was entitled. See 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 1.1, et seq.
On May 23, 1991, the Brazos County grand jury indicted applicant for aggravated possession of cocaine. See Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.115. On July 25, 1991, an administrative law judge in the Comptroller's Office ordered the administrative hearing continued until resolution of the criminal charges against applicant.
On April 2, 1992, the 272nd District Court of Brazos County found applicant guilty of aggravated possession of cocaine following his plea of nolo contendere. The district court assessed applicant's punishment at imprisonment for 38 years plus a $1,000 fine. 2 On June 27, 1995, after the conclusion of the administrative hearing, the Comptroller notified applicant that the drug tax, plus penalty and interest, was due immediately.
On November 2, 1995, applicant filed a pro se application for writ of habeas corpus in the convicting district court, arguing (1) that his forfeiture of cash and personal property amounted to "punishment" under the double jeopardy provisions in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 14, of the Texas Constitution and, therefore, his conviction and punishment for possession of cocaine was a second punishment for the same offense and thus jeopardy-barred, 3 and (2) that, under the same constitutional provisions, the Comptroller's collection of the drug tax would amount to a third punishment for the same offense and thus was also jeopardybarred. With respect to his drug-tax claim, applicant relied upon the decision in Dept. of Revenue of Montana v. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. 767, 114 S.Ct. 1937, 128 L.Ed.2d 767 (1994).
On November 20, 1995, the State filed an answer to applicant's application, arguing, inter alia, that the Comptroller's collection of the drug tax would not amount to punishment for the same offense under the constitutional provisions concerning double jeopardy. But see Stennett v. State, 941 S.W.2d 914 (Tex.Crim.App.1996).
On November 30, 1995, the convicting court recommended that we deny relief. On April 30, 1997, we ordered applicant's application filed and set for submission as to his drug-tax claim only. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. art. 11.07, § 5.
At the outset, we are confronted with the threshold question of whether applicant's drug-tax claim may be raised and pursued under the authority of Article 11.07.
Convicted felony defendants may utilize Article 11.07 to challenge jurisdictional defects in the convicting court or...
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Post-Trial Issues
...bargaining defendant can challenge the trial court’s jurisdiction through an application for writ of habeas corpus. Ex parte Lockett, 956 S.W.2d 41 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). A defendant may challenge the trial court’s decision to grant deferred adjudication. Dillehey v. State, 815 S.W.2d 623 ......
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Post-Trial Issues
...bargaining defendant can challenge the trial court’s jurisdiction through an application for writ of habeas corpus. Ex parte Lockett, 956 S.W.2d 41 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). A defendant may challenge the trial court’s decision to grant deferred adjudication. Dillehey v. State, 815 S.W.2d 623 ......
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Post-Trial Issues
...bargaining defendant can challenge the trial court’s jurisdiction through an application for writ of habeas corpus. Ex parte Lockett, 956 S.W.2d 41 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). A defendant may challenge the trial court’s decision to grant deferred adjudication. Dillehey v. State, 815 S.W.2d 623 ......
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Post-Trial Issues
...bargaining defendant can challenge the trial court’s jurisdiction through an application for writ of habeas corpus. Ex parte Lockett, 956 S.W.2d 41 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). A defendant may challenge the trial court’s decision to grant deferred adjudication. Dillehey v. State, 815 S.W.2d 623 ......