State v. Collazo

• Decision Date: 01 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 01-06-01076-CR.,01-06-01076-CR.
• Citation: 264 S.W.3d 121
• Parties: The STATE of Texas, Appellant, v. Eusebio COLLAZO Jr., Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

264 S.W.3d 121

The STATE of Texas, Appellant, v. Eusebio COLLAZO Jr., Appellee.

No. 01-06-01076-CR.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.).

November 1, 2007.

Rehearing Overruled January 8, 2008.

Discretionary Review Refused August 20, 2008.

Charles A. Rosenthal, Jr., District Attorney-Harris County, William J. Delmore III, Assistant District Attorney, Houston, TX, for Appellant.

Glenn Gotschall, Houston, TX, for Appellee.

Panel consists of Justices TAFT, HANKS, and HIGLEY.

OPINION

TIM TAFT, Justice.

The State of Texas challenges an order issued by County Criminal Court at Law No. 11, granting appellee, Eusebio Collazo Jr., relief on his application for writ of habeas corpus. We address five issues: (1) whether the county court at law lacked jurisdiction to grant the application for writ of habeas corpus absent a showing of confinement; (2) whether the county court at law erred in granting the application for writ of habeas corpus without a showing that appellee's original guilty plea was involuntary; (3) whether the county court at law erred in granting the application for writ of habeas corpus because appellee did not suffer consequences from an ex post facto law; (4) whether the county court at law erred in granting habeas corpus relief because the remedy for an impermissible ex post facto law does not require or authorize the court to vacate appellee's lawfully obtained conviction; and (5) whether the county court at law's actions in granting habeas corpus relief amounted to an impermissible exercise of the clemency powers assigned exclusively to the executive branch of state government. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.09 (Vernon 2005). We vacate the county court's order granting appellee the relief sought, and order the application dismissed. See TEX. R.APP. P. 43.2(e).

Background

In 1998, appellee pleaded guilty to the Class A misdemeanor offense of burglary of a motor vehicle. The court assessed punishment at confinement for one year, suspended, and ordered appellee to be placed on community supervision for two years and to pay a $500 fine. Appellee's community supervision was modified twice before he was ultimately successfully discharged on June 3, 2000. The court exercised its discretion to allow appellee to withdraw his plea and dismissed the complaint and information. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 42.12, § 20 (Vernon 2006).

Appellee was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 2005 and, upon his return to Harris County, enrolled in the University of Houston Downtown Criminal Justice Training Center. Prior to his graduation, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education ("TCLEOSE") ordered appellee's expulsion from the program because, by having a prior conviction for burglary of a motor vehicle, he failed to meet the minimum standards for admission into the program and for obtaining a Texas peace officer license.

Appellee sought relief by filing an application for writ of habeas corpus in the court in which he had originally pleaded guilty and been convicted of the Class A offense that stood as a barrier between him and the peace officer license he sought. Appellee alleged that he is "suffering unlawful, illegal restraint" from "an unforeseeable legal disability and consequence" of his guilty plea. Appellee alleged that he did not understand the consequences of his plea and it was thereby rendered involuntary.

Appellee's writ application prayed for the "discharge and the ab initio dismissal of his original Class A misdemeanor criminal case to which he entered a plea of guilty without fully understanding the consequences of his plea." The trial court granted the relief requested, ordered the judgment vacated, and ordered "applicant discharged and released without delay." The State appealed this order.

Background

TCLEOSE sets the minimum standards for enrollment, examination, and licensure relevant to becoming a Texas peace officer. 37 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §§ 211.1, 215.15, and 217.1 (2007). In order for an individual to enroll in a police academy, the academy must have on file documentation that the applicant "has never been on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of a Class B misdemeanor" and "has never been convicted of an offense above the grade of a Class B misdemeanor." Id. § 215.15. An applicant for licensure must meet the same requirements. Id. § 217.1. The Texas Administrative Code defines "conviction" in such a way as to disqualify anyone who "has been adjudged guilty of or has had a judgment of guilt entered in a criminal case that has not been set aside on appeal, regardless of whether . . . the charging instrument is dismissed and the person is released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense. . . ." Id. § 211.1(19).

At the time of appellee's plea, TCLEOSE rules did not create an automatic and unwavering bar for those previously convicted of a Class A misdemeanor who sought Texas peace officer status. Rather, a person in appellee's position could have become a peace officer under a more discretionary standard.¹

Relevant Law

A defendant convicted of a misdemeanor offense may attack the validity of the conviction by way of habeas corpus if he is either (1) confined or restrained as a result of a misdemeanor charge or conviction, or (2) is no longer confined, but is subject to collateral legal consequences resulting from the conviction. See TEX. CONST. art. V, § 8; TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.09, 11.21, 11.22 (Vernon 2005). An applicant for a writ of habeas corpus bears the burden of proving his allegations by a preponderance of the evidence. Ex Parte Thomas, 906 S.W.2d 22, 24 (Tex. Crim.App.1995).

Our review of a trial court's habeas corpus ruling should be based upon the court's application of the law to the facts. Ex parte Cherry, 232 S.W.3d 305, 307 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2007, pet. ref'd). In reviewing the trial court's ruling, we view the facts in the light most favorable to the ruling, and we afford almost total deference to the trial court's determination of historical facts that are supported by the record, especially when the fact findings are based on an evaluation of credibility. Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85, 89 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). We afford the same amount of deference to the trial court's rulings on "application of law to fact questions" that involve an evaluation of credibility. Id. If resolution of those ultimate questions turns on an application of legal standards, we review those determinations de novo. Id.

Jurisdiction

In its first issue, the State argues that an applicant must be actually confined before a court may consider an application for writ of habeas corpus. The State acknowledges that case law from this Court is contrary to this argument, but nevertheless urges us to reconsider the issue.²

To be entitled to habeas corpus relief, an applicant must establish that he was either "confined" or "restrained" unlawfully at the time that the application was filed. See Dahesh v. State, 51 S.W.3d 300, 302 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, pet. ref'd) (citing Rodriguez v. Court of Appeals, Eighth Supreme Judicial Dist., 769 S.W.2d 554, 558 (Tex.Crim.App. 1989)). The terms "confinement" and "restraint" encompass incarceration, release on bail or bond, release on community supervision or parole, or any other restraint on personal liberty. Ex parte Davis, 748 S.W.2d 555, 557 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1988, pet. ref'd).

The Court of Criminal Appeals has held, "[I]f a misdemeanor judgment is void, and its existence may have detrimental collateral consequences in some future proceeding, it may be collaterally attacked, whether or not a term of probation was successfully served out."³ Tatum v. State, 846 S.W.2d 324, 327 (Tex.Crim.App.1993). Thus, the fact that appellee is not physically confined does not preclude his application or deprive the trial court of jurisdiction to consider it.

In Ex parte Davis, this Court held that an applicant denied entry into the military as a result of his prior misdemeanor conviction was sufficiently confined to authorize his application for writ of habeas corpus. Ex parte Davis, 748 S.W.2d at 557. Appellee is likewise "confined" because he is denied the opportunity to obtain a Texas peace officer license. We hold that the trial court had jurisdiction to consider appellee's application for writ of habeas corpus.⁴ We overrule the State's first issue.

Involuntary Plea

In its second issue, the State complains that the trial court erred in granting appellee's application because he failed to show that his guilty plea was involuntary.

A guilty plea constitutes a waiver of three constitutional rights: the right to a jury trial, the right to confront one's accusers, and the right not to incriminate oneself. Kniatt v. State, 206 S.W.3d 657, 664 (Tex.Crim.App.2006) (citing Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 243, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1712, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969)). Accordingly, a guilty plea, to be consistent with due process of law, must be entered knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. Id. To be "voluntary," a guilty plea must be the expression of the defendant's own free will and must not be induced by threats, misrepresentations, or improper promises. Id. (citing Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 755, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 1472, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970)). A defendant's sworn representation that his guilty plea is voluntary "constitute[s] a formidable barrier in any subsequent collateral proceedings." Id. (citing Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63, 74, 97 S.Ct. 1621, 1629, 52 L.Ed.2d 136 (1977)).

If a plea is not entered knowingly and voluntarily, it has been obtained in violation of due process and is void. Houston v. State, 201 S.W.3d 212, 221 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, no pet.) (citing McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 466, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 1171, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969)). The voluntariness of...