Cooper v. State, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 10265

Cooper was indicted in Sept. 2007 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, unlawful firearm possession after a felony DWI, and fleeing from a peace officer, plus enhancements and habitual offender counts.
Evelyn Cooper reported threats to the Hood County Sheriff's Office; she was told to seek a protective order.
Evelyn was beaten and injured on or about June 15, 2007; witnesses described facial injuries and injuries consistent with beating.
Cooper fled from officers after an assault, and deputies found a rifle in the back seat of his vehicle.
In Oct. 2007 a trial court found Cooper incompetent and ordered hospitalization; he later regained competency according to a February 2008 evaluation; he pleaded guilty to counts 1 and 2 and the jury sentenced 60 years for count 1 and 25 years for count 2, to run concurrently.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Competency prerequisite to guilty plea	Cooper argues trial court failed to determine competency before plea	State contends competency determination occurred and was sufficient	Competency determined; no error in plea
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to review file and allowed guilty plea while incompetent	Counsel adequately examined file; no deficiency	No ineffective assistance established; claim overruled

Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389 (1993) (competence to plead must be present for valid guilty plea)
Schaffer v. State, 583 S.W.2d 627 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979) (must have judicial determination of competency; evidentiary reports cannot substitute)
Bradford v. State, 172 S.W.3d 1 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2005) (abate/remand to determine competency when record lacking)
Montoya v. State, 291 S.W.3d 420 (Tex.Crim.App. 2009) (standard of review for competency determinations is abuse of discretion)
Fuller v. State, 11 S.W.3d 393 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2000) (compels judicial inquiry when competency is in doubt)