Joyner v. State

OVERSTREET, Judge,

dissenting.

We granted appellant’s petition for discretionary review on the ground which claims:

The Court of Appeals erred in holding that the failure of the trial judge to admonish Appellant of the consequences of violation of his deferred adjudication probation did not retroactively render Appellant’s guilty plea involuntary.

The court of appeals concluded that the trial judge did not provide the admonishments as is required by Article 42.12, § 5, VAC.C.P., but that such did not render his guilty plea involuntary. Joyner v. State, 882 S.W.2d 59, 60-61 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994).

Recently in Ray v. State, 919 S.W.2d 125, 127 (Tex.Cr.App.1996), a majority of this Court held that Art. 42.12, § 5:

does not require, either in felonies or misdemeanors, that the defendant entering an open plea of guilty or nolo contendere be informed prior to his plea of the possible consequences under Sec. 5(b) of a probation violation [and] [therefore the failure to provide the information does not render such a plea involuntary.

I dissented to that holding because I believe that Art. 42.12, § 5’s required admonishments must be given prior to the plea. Ray, supra, (Overstreet, J., dissenting). I likewise respectfully dissent to the majority’s continued refusal to uphold the requirements of Art. 42.12, § 5 which have been passed by our Legislature.