Thomas v. State
2017 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 373
| Tex. Crim. App. | 2017Background
- Appellant Cody Lang Thomas was indicted for engaging in organized criminal activity (based on underlying state-jail felony theft). The State orally notified it would seek prior-conviction enhancements.
- Parties negotiated a charge-bargain: the State would accept a guilty plea to state-jail felony theft (a lesser-included offense) and Thomas would plead true to two enhancements; both parties believed those enhancements produced a second-degree felony punishment range (2–20 years).
- The trial judge accepted the plea, found the enhancements true, and sentenced Thomas to 20 years’ imprisonment.
- On appeal the court of appeals held the sentence illegal because Texas law did not permit combining the specific prior convictions to enhance the state-jail felony to a second-degree range; it remanded for a new punishment hearing.
- The State sought review, arguing that because the plea bargain was premised on an illegal punishment range, the proper remedy is to set aside the guilty plea and return parties to their pre-plea positions (i.e., new trial). The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed and ordered the plea set aside and the case remanded for trial.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proper remedy when a charge-bargained guilty plea produces an illegal sentence | State: where plea bargain was premised on an illegal punishment range, the plea should be set aside and parties restored to pre-plea positions (new trial). | Thomas: sentence range was not a binding term of the agreement; remedy should be remand for new punishment hearing while preserving conviction. | Court: set aside the guilty plea and remand for new trial because the punishment range was a material element of the bargain and specific performance was impossible. |
| Whether prior convictions could be combined to enhance a state-jail felony to second-degree | Not contested at review: State previously argued enhancement available (but later acknowledged mistake). | Thomas: enhancement combination was improper under Tex. Penal Code §12.425; thus sentence exceeded statutory range. | Court of Appeals and CCA: enhancement combination was impermissible; sentence illegal. |
| Applicability of sentence-bargain remedies to charge bargains | State: plea bargains are contractual; remedies from sentence-bargain cases apply to charge bargains that effectively cap punishment. | Thomas: charge-bargain only changed the charged offense, not necessarily punishment element binding the parties. | Court: contractual and functional similarity means precedents about sentence-bargain remedies apply; material punishment term requires undoing plea. |
| Whether specific performance or withdrawal is appropriate when part of plea is unenforceable | State: when a bargained punishment term is unenforceable, withdrawal is proper to avoid unfairly binding one party. | Thomas: insisted preservation of conviction and resentencing is adequate. | Court: withdrawal (setting aside plea) is required where specific performance is impossible and enforcing plea would unfairly bind the State. |
Key Cases Cited
- Shannon v. State, 708 S.W.2d 850 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986) (when bargained sentence is illegal, plea must be set aside to restore parties)
- Ex parte Adkins, 767 S.W.2d 809 (Tex. Crim. App. 1989) (courts should not create a new bargain or alter mutual obligations of plea agreements)
- Moore v. State, 295 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (plea bargain is contractual and interpreted using contract principles)
- Ex parte Moussazadeh, 64 S.W.3d 404 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001) (use written agreement and record to determine plea terms; imply terms only to effectuate parties’ intent)
- Ex parte De Leon, 400 S.W.3d 83 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (appellate courts look to written agreement and formal record to determine plea terms)
- Ex parte Rich, 194 S.W.3d 508 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (remedy considerations where sentence found illegal)
- Thomas v. State, 481 S.W.3d 685 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2015) (court of appeals decision holding sentence illegal and remanding for punishment hearing)