Juan Leal, Jr. v. State
03-15-00095-CR
| Tex. App. | Dec 10, 2015Background
- Leal pleaded guilty to felony assault family violence and received deferred-adjudication community supervision for three years.
- The State filed a second amended motion to proceed with adjudication, alleging 23 violations of the supervision terms, including drug offenses and additional family-violence acts.
- During a hearing the district court found the allegations true, stated some reasons orally, adjudicated Leal guilty, and sentenced him to 18 years’ imprisonment.
- Leal appealed asserting the judgment should delete two violations not mentioned orally; he claimed the oral pronouncement should control.
- The court held there is no conflict between oral pronouncement and written judgment; written order revoking supervision controls, and the district court’s findings at the hearing do not negate the written findings.
- The judgment adjudicating guilt is affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the written judgment conflict with the oral pronouncement? | Leal argues the oral pronouncement controls. | State argues no conflict; written judgment governs. | No conflict; written judgment controls. |
Key Cases Cited
- Sanchez v. State, 603 S.W.2d 869 (Tex. Crim. App. 1980) (any one finding can support revocation)
- Joseph v. State, 3 S.W.3d 627 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1999) (evidence sufficiency for revocation)
- Coffey v. State, 979 S.W.2d 326 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998) (standard for written vs. oral findings)
- Clapper v. State, 562 S.W.2d 250 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978) (revocation procedures and findings)
- Ablon v. State, 537 S.W.2d 267 (Tex. Crim. App. 1976) (prior revocation principles)
- Balli v. State, 530 S.W.2d 123 (Tex. Crim. App. 1975) (procedural standards for revocation)
- Taylor v. State, 131 S.W.3d 497 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (oral vs. written sentence controls when applicable)
