Opinion
WR-95,479-01
08-21-2024
EX PARTE PAUL NATHAN DELEON, Applicant
Do not publish
ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS CAUSE NO. 1184038-A IN THE 179TH DISTRICT COURT FROM HARRIS COUNTY
ORDER
PER CURIAM.
Applicant pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, weighing one gram or more and less than four grams. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. 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 his 2008 guilty plea was involuntary because a 2021 lab report establishes that he possessed less than one gram of cocaine. This application was remanded to the trial court for development of the record and for the trial court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court found that the evidence irrefutably demonstrated that Applicant was not guilty of the offense of conviction, and therefore the conviction violated due process.
We disagree. Applicant has not overcome the presumption of regularity of the judgment by showing that there is substantial evidence to the contrary. In re Medina, 475 S.W.3d 291, 303 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015); Ex parte Mines, 26 S.W.3d 910, 914 & n.25 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). He has not proven facts which, if true, entitle him to relief. Ex parte Maldonado, 688 S.W.2d 114, 116 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985); see also Ex parte Tovar, 901 S.W.2d 484, 486 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995).
The record does not show that the State would have been unable to prove that Applicant possessed one gram or more of cocaine if the case had gone to trial. See Ex parte Palmberg, 491 S.W.3d 804, 807, 811-12 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016) (overestimating the State's ability to prove guilt did not mean that a guilty plea was not knowing and intelligent or that it violated due process). The 2021 HCIFS Supplemental Drug Chemistry Report provides the weights of three tested items and margins of error. Applicant arrives at a weight of 0.911 grams by adding the three numbers after "Net Weight:" 0.371, 0.253, and 0.287. However, in light of the margin of error, the aggregate weight could be as high as 1.040 grams.
Applicant has not established that his guilty plea was involuntary or that it violated due process. Relief is denied.