James Cody Jarvis v. State
02-15-00318-CR
| Tex. App. | Sep 29, 2016Background
- In 2012 Jarvis pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation and received deferred-adjudication community supervision for five years pursuant to a plea bargain.
- In 2015 the State filed a motion to revoke Jarvis’s probation and adjudicate him guilty; Jarvis pled true to the allegations in that motion.
- The trial court adjudicated Jarvis guilty and sentenced him to eight years’ confinement.
- Jarvis’s trial counsel did not object to the sentence, and his appellate counsel did not raise a due-process challenge in the timely motion for new trial.
- Jarvis appealed, arguing the eight-year sentence violated his Fourteenth Amendment due-process rights; the State argued Jarvis had waived his right to appeal by the original plea bargain.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Jarvis waived the right to appeal the adjudication and sentence | Jarvis contended the adjudication and sentence could be appealed because his plea to the motion to adjudicate was an unbargained open plea | State argued Jarvis waived appeals when he agreed to an appeal waiver in the original plea-bargain for deferred adjudication | Waiver in the original plea did not bar appeal of the later unbargained adjudication; appellate review permitted |
| Whether the eight-year sentence violated due process | Jarvis argued the sentence violated his Fourteenth Amendment due-process rights | State defended sentence; also asserted procedural default because Jarvis did not raise the claim at trial | Court held Jarvis failed to preserve the due-process claim by not raising it in trial court and overruled the point |
Key Cases Cited
- Hargesheimer v. State, 182 S.W.3d 906 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (deferred-adjudication plea bargain completes when defendant enters guilty plea; Rule 25.2(a)(2) limits appeals only from the original placement on deferred adjudication)
- Jones v. State, 488 S.W.3d 801 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016) (a bargained-for waiver can preclude appeal even if not labeled a plea bargain)
- Ex parte Broadway, 301 S.W.3d 694 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (defendant can waive entire appeal via a bargained-for open plea)
- Ex parte Cruzata, 220 S.W.3d 518 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (noting no trial-court permission required to appeal after open plea of true to motion to adjudicate)
- Mercado v. State, 718 S.W.2d 291 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986) (failure to raise complaint in trial court forfeits appellate review)
- Laboriel-Guity v. State, 336 S.W.3d 754 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2011) (pet. ref’d) (same preservation rule for appellate review)