In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
____________________
NO. 09-13-00041-CR
____________________
BEULAH JOHNSON, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
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On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 3
Jefferson County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 296066
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
We withdraw our opinion of November 4, 2015, and substitute this opinion
in its place. Beulah Johnson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft, and the trial
court sentenced Johnson to 180 days in jail. Johnson appealed, contending that her
prosecution was statutorily barred and her right to counsel was violated. Johnson v.
State, No. 09-13-00041-CR, 2014 WL 1857694, at *1 (Tex. App.—Beaumont May
7, 2014), vacated, Johnson v. State, No. PD-0748-14, 2015 WL 1954102, at *1
(Tex. Crim. App. Apr. 29, 2015) (not designated for publication). This Court
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overruled Johnson’s contention that her right to counsel had been violated, but
found that Johnson’s prosecution was barred by the applicable statute of limitations
because the information did not contain tolling language. Id. Upon appeal by the
State from our judgment, the Court of Criminal Appeals noted that this Court had
issued its opinion without the benefit of Ex parte Heilman, 456 S.W.3d 159 (Tex.
Crim. App. 2015), vacated our judgment, and remanded the cause for this Court
“to consider the effect of Heilman, if any, on [our] reasoning and analysis in this
case.” Johnson, 2015 WL 1954102, at *1. We now undertake to do so.
EX PARTE HEILMAN
In Heilman, the defendant pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tampering with a
governmental record after the applicable two-year statute of limitations had
expired. Heilman, 456 S.W.3d at 160. Heilman signed a written waiver that stated,
“I hereby waive all statute of limitations[,]” [sic] and he also signed a deferred
adjudication order that stated, “DEFENSE WAIVES STATUTE [OF]
LIMITATIONS[.]” Id. at 161. “In return for Heilman’s plea, the State agreed not
to pursue indictment for state-jail felony tampering with a governmental record.”
Id. at 160. Heilman subsequently filed an application for writ of habeas corpus, in
which he argued that his statute of limitations defense was a category-one absolute
right. Id. at 160-61. The habeas court granted relief, and this Court affirmed the
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habeas court’s decision. Id. at 161. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that “the
right at issue is a category-three forfeitable right[.]” Id. at 161. In so holding, the
Court of Criminal Appeals noted:
[i]t would be easy to misinterpret a statute-of-limitations defense as a
uniquely fundamental right, given that when it is properly raised, it
leads to only one result: dismissal. But its true nature -- a mere
legislative “act of grace” -- is modest, especially when compared to
weightier, constitutionally based rights that we have nonetheless
deemed forfeitable.
Id. at 166.
APPLICATION OF HEILMAN
An information or indictment for a Class B misdemeanor may be presented
within two years from the date of the commission of the offense, but not afterward.
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 12.02(a) (West 2015). In this case, the information
was presented on January 9, 2013, more than two years after the theft was
committed. As we noted in our previous opinion, the record suggests that the
original felony charge of forgery against Johnson was dismissed, followed by a
new charge for misdemeanor theft. Johnson, 2014 WL 1857694, at *1. The plea
admonishments signed by Johnson contain the following language: “I give up all
rights given to me by law, whether of form, substance[,] or procedure.” In this
case, as in Heilman, Johnson received a benefit from pleading guilty to a
misdemeanor offense. See Heilman, 456 S.W.3d at 160, 168. Johnson had every
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right to waive her limitations defense as part of her plea agreement, and we hold
that she did so by signing the written plea admonishments which included a waiver
of “all rights given . . . by law, whether of form, substance[,] or procedure.” See id.
at 169. Accordingly, because Johnson waived her statute of limitations defense as
part of her plea bargain agreement, we affirm the trial court’s judgment of
conviction.1
AFFIRMED.
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STEVE McKEITHEN
Chief Justice
Submitted on July 28, 2015
Opinion Delivered November 5, 2015
Do Not Publish
Before McKeithen, C.J., Kreger and Johnson, JJ.
1
The portion of our previous opinion which overruled Johnson’s issue
regarding an alleged violation of her right to counsel is unaffected by either the
Court of Criminal Appeals’s opinion or this opinion.
4