Roberts, Reed Lewis ( 2016 )

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
OF TEXAS
NOS. WR-84,648-01 & -02 & -03
EX PARTE REED LEWIS ROBERTS, Applicant
ON APPLICATIONS FOR WRITS OF HABEAS CORPUS
CAUSE NOS. 4909-A & 4954-A & 4953-A
IN THE 216TH DISTRICT COURT FROM KENDALL COUNTY
Per curiam. A LCALA, J., filed a concurring opinion.
ORDER
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the
clerk of the trial court transmitted to this Court these applications for writs of habeas corpus. Ex
parte Young, 418 S.W.2d 824, 826 (Tex. Crim. App. 1967). Applicant was convicted of three counts
of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to eighty years’, ten years’, and eighty years’
imprisonment. The ten year sentence in Cause No. 4954 was ordered to run consecutively to the
eighty year sentences in Cause No. 4909 and Cause No. 4953.
Applicant contends, among other things, that his plea was involuntary, and that counsel
rendered ineffective assistance by failing to investigate Applicant’s mental health issues, failing to
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request a competency evaluation, and failing to file a motion to suppress Applicant’s coerced
confession. Applicant also alleges that counsel failed to timely convey a plea offer of forty years.
Applicant also alleges, in the -02 application, that in Cause No. 4954, he pled guilty to committing
the offense alleged in the indictment: indecency with a child. See TEX . PENAL CODE § 21.11(a)(1).
However, the judgment reflects that Applicant was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Applicant has alleged facts that, if true, might entitle him to relief. Strickland v. Washington,
466 U.S. 668 (1984); Ex parte Patterson, 993 S.W.2d 114, 115 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999); Ex parte
Axel, 757 S.W.2d 369 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988). In these circumstances, additional facts are needed.
As we held in Ex parte Rodriguez, 334 S.W.2d 294, 294 (Tex. Crim. App. 1960), the trial court is
the appropriate forum for findings of fact. The trial court shall order counsel to respond to
Applicant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court may use any means set out in
TEX . CODE CRIM . PROC. art. 11.07, § 3(d).
If the trial court elects to hold a hearing, it shall determine whether Applicant is indigent.
If Applicant is indigent and wishes to be represented by counsel, the trial court shall appoint an
attorney to represent Applicant at the hearing. TEX . CODE CRIM . PROC. art. 26.04.
The trial court shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether Applicant’s
plea was involuntary. The trial court shall also make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to
whether counsel failed to expand his investigation into Applicant’s mental illness, failed to file any
motions regarding Applicant’s competency or request a competency evaluation, and failed to file a
motion to suppress Applicant’s confession. The trial court shall make findings of fact and
conclusions of law as to whether the performance of Applicant’s trial counsel was deficient and, if
so, whether counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced Applicant. The trial court shall also make
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findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether the State offered forty years for these offenses
and, if so, whether counsel failed to timely convey this offer. The trial court shall also determine
whether Applicant was prejudiced under the standard set out in Missouri v. Frye, 132 S. Ct. 1399
(2012). The trial court shall also make findings as to whether the judgment in Cause No. 4954
contains a clerical error. The trial court shall also make findings as to whether the State would be
prejudiced by Applicant’s delay in presenting any of these claims under the doctrine of laches. The
trial court shall also make any other findings of fact and conclusions of law that it deems relevant
and appropriate to the disposition of Applicant’s claim for habeas corpus relief.
These applications will be held in abeyance until the trial court has resolved the fact issues.
The issues shall be resolved within 90 days of this order. A supplemental transcript containing all
affidavits and interrogatories or the transcription of the court reporter’s notes from any hearing or
deposition, along with the trial court’s supplemental findings of fact and conclusions of law, shall
be forwarded to this Court within 120 days of the date of this order. Any extensions of time must
be requested by the trial court and shall be obtained from this Court.
Filed: October 5, 2016
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