Opinion
WR-95,190-01
02-14-2024
EX PARTE MONIQUE YOLANDA DAVIS, Applicant
Do not publish
ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS CAUSE NO. 1171765-A IN THE 174TH DISTRICT COURT FROM HARRIS COUNTY
ORDER
Per curiam
Applicant was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to confinement. Through habeas counsel, Applicant filed this application for a writ of habeas corpus in the county of conviction, and the district clerk forwarded it to this Court. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 11.07.
Applicant contends that her guilty plea was involuntary because she did not know about the bad acts of the police officer who implicated her in this alleged offense. Applicant has contended that she never sold drugs from her home and that the officer's assertion in a search warrant that she sold drugs to a confidential informant was false. An item of evidence that might back up such a claim is the officer's expense report for the month covering the time the officer alleged that the drugs were sold. That expense report does not include any reference to payouts to a confidential informant. In a disclosure notice dated October 30, 2023, the State asserted that "[t]he State provided the report to opposing counsel." But the disclosure notice does not say which of Applicant's attorneys (trial or habeas) was provided the report or when it was provided.
Consequently, we conclude that more information is needed. We remand this case to the trial court to solicit evidence and to make findings on the following questions:
1. Did Applicant know what the search warrant affidavit said before she pled guilty?
2. Did Applicant know that there was no offense report for the supposed undercover buy that the warrant was based on?
3. Did Applicant know there was no expense report corresponding to the undercover buy?
4. To which of Applicant's attorneys did the State first provide the monthly expense report from Goines that covered the time period for the supposed undercover buy, and when was this monthly expense report provided?
5. What was Applicant's criminal history?
6. How long would it have taken to get a hearing on a motion to suppress or a trial setting?
The trial court may make any other findings it deems necessary. These findings shall be due 60 days from the date of this order. Any extensions of time must be requested by the trial court and obtained from this Court.