Adelanke Samuel Alake v. State
05-13-01606-CR
| Tex. App. | Jan 21, 2015Background
- Alake pleaded no contest under a plea cap for aggravated sexual assault of a child under fourteen.
- The trial court deferred adjudication and later sentenced Alake to twelve years, within the agreed cap.
- Voir dire discussed the statutory punishment range (probation to up to 99 years; up to $10,000 fine) before trial.
- The panel was dismissed after jurors could not consider probation; the State later offered a 15-year sentence for a guilty plea, which Alake rejected.
- At a September 2013 hearing, the State and defense agreed to a plea no contest with an agreed range of probation to twenty years, and the court sentenced within that range.
- The judgment initially did not reflect the no contest plea or the cap terms; the Court modified the judgment to reflect no contest and the cap of twenty years.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admonishment of punishment range under Art. 26.13 | Alake | State | Harmless error; record shows knowledge of range and cap; no reversible harm. |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel for misadvice on range | Alake | State | Record inadequate to establish deficient performance; no reasonable probability of different result. |
| Judgment incorrect about plea as guilty/not guilty | Alake | State | Judgment corrected to reflect no contest and the cap; affirmed as modified. |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. Supreme Court 1984) (ineffective-assistance standard)
- Hernandez v. State, 988 S.W.2d 770 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) (reasonable-strict standard for counsel conduct)
- Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) (presumption of reasonable assistance; strategy considerations)
- Rylander v. State, 101 S.W.3d 107 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (harmless-error framework for non-constitutional errors)
- Lopez v. State, 343 S.W.3d 137 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (trial strategy considerations; record-based analysis)
- Andrews v. State, 159 S.W.3d 98 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005) (standard for ineffective-assistance review in silent-record cases)
- Goodspeed v. State, 187 S.W.3d 390 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005) (outrageous conduct standard in some ineffective-assistance contexts)
- Garcia v. State, 57 S.W.3d 436 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001) (counsel performance and strategic decisions)
- Asberry v. State, 813 S.W.2d 526 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1991) (authority to correct judgments to reflect truth under Rule 43.2)