Opinion

Cevilla v. State

  • 515 S.W.2d 676
  • 1974 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1941
Court
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Filed
Nov 13, 1974
Status
Published
Author
Roberts
On the bench
Roberts, Douglas
Cited by
5 cases
Authority
More cited than 87.7%

The opinion

OPINION

ROBERTS, Judge.

The appellants plead guilty before the court to the offense of possession of marihuana. Punishment in each case was assessed at five years’ imprisonment.

At the outset, we are faced with a matter not raised in the appellants’ brief, but which requires our review in the interests of justice. See Art. 40.09, Sec. 13, Vernon’s Ann.C.C.P.

It appears that these appellants and two other co-defendants entered their pleas at the same time. Thereafter, the court admonished them as a group regarding their waivers of their various constitutional and statutory rights. The record reflects a proper statement to them of the range of punishment which might be imposed, and an inquiry geared to determining their respective mental conditions.

However, the record does not reflect

any

attempt to properly comply with

*677

the requirements of Art. 26.13, V.A.C.C.P., regarding considerations of fear, persuasion, or delusive hope of pardon which might prompt them to confess their guilt. There was no inquiry whatsoever as to any of the listed matters. We have repeatedly held that inquiries as to force or fear and promises or persuasion are absolute requisites for minimum compliance with Art. 26.13, supra. See Jefferson v. State, 486 S.W.2d 782 (Tex.Cr.App.1972); Ex parte Watson, 508 S.W.2d 399 (Tex.Cr.App.1974) and Pigg v. State, 508 S.W.2d 652 (Tex.Cr.App.1974) and cases there cited. Absent the required minimal compliance with Art. 26.13, supra, the convictions cannot stand; the judgments must be reversed and the causes remanded.

With regard to the sentences imposed in these cases, in the event of a retrial, we call the court’s attention to our decisions in Milligan v. State, 465 S.W.2d 157 (Tex.Cr.App.1971); Vale v. State, 486 S.W.2d 370 (Tex.Cr.App.1972), and Ex parte Brown, 477 S.W.2d 552 (Tex.Cr.App.1972).

The judgments are reversed, and the causes remanded.

DOUGLAS, J., concurs in the result.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.