William Vangerald Gordwin v. State, 09-15-00066-CR

Appellant William Vangerald Gordwin was convicted by a jury of felony possession of a controlled substance and, pursuant to a plea bargain, sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Gordwin claims trial counsel was ineffective for failing to communicate a prior State plea offer of 5 years.
At trial the State stated it had previously offered 5 and 15 years; counsel told the court he had communicated the 5-year offer and it was rejected by Gordwin.
When the court asked Gordwin, he said he did not remember whether the 5-year offer had been communicated but confirmed the 15-year offer had been communicated and rejected; Gordwin initially rejected a 20-year offer but later accepted it after conviction.
Gordwin did not raise ineffective-assistance in a motion for new trial; the appellate record contains no affirmative evidence that counsel failed to convey the 5-year offer.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to communicate a 5-year plea offer	Gordwin: counsel never told him about the 5-year offer, depriving him of the chance to accept a favorable plea	State: record shows counsel told court he communicated the 5-year offer; Gordwin’s failure to recall is not affirmative proof of ineffective assistance	Court: Overruled — appellant failed to show deficient performance or prejudice; record does not affirmatively demonstrate counsel failed to communicate the offer

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance: deficient performance and prejudice)
Perez v. State, 310 S.W.3d 890 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (applying Strickland standard in Texas criminal appeals)
Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) (ineffective-assistance allegations must be firmly founded in the record)
Bone v. State, 77 S.W.3d 828 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002) (appellate review presumes counsel’s actions fall within wide range of reasonable professional assistance)