IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
OF TEXAS
NOS. WR-83,895-01 AND WR-83,895-02
EX PARTE ROBERT KARL NUNLEY, Applicant
ON APPLICATIONS FOR WRITS OF HABEAS CORPUS
CAUSE NOS. 21,494-2011 A AND 21,657-2012 A IN THE 402ND DISTRICT COURT
FROM WOOD COUNTY
Per curiam.
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 charged with indecency
with a child by contact in the -01 case, continuous sexual abuse in the -02 case. He pleaded guilty
pursuant to a plea agreement in the -01 case in exchange for a twenty-year sentence. Applicant
entered an open plea of guilty in the -02 case to the lesser offense of aggravated sexual assault of a
child, and was sentenced to life imprisonment, to run concurrently. He did not appeal his
convictions.
2
Applicant contends that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance because counsel
failed to investigate and interview witnesses. Applicant also alleges that trial counsel coerced him
into pleading guilty in both cases, and gave him erroneous assurances that he would receive no more
than twenty years’ imprisonment if he entered an open plea of guilty in the -02 case.
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). 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 trial counsel to respond to Applicant’s claims 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 supplement the habeas record with copies of the written plea papers from
both cases. The trial court shall also supplement the habeas record with transcripts of the plea and
sentencing hearings in the -02 case. 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 make findings of fact
and conclusions of law as to whether Applicant’s guilty pleas were knowingly and voluntarily
entered. 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.
3
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 shall
be obtained from this Court.
Filed: October 14, 2015
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