Opinion
WR-92,804-01
02-22-2023
EX PARTE VICTOR SANTANA, Applicant
Do not publish
ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS CAUSE NO. 1312173-A IN THE 174TH DISTRICT COURT FROM HARRIS COUNTY
ORDER
PER CURIAM
A jury convicted Applicant of aggravated assault. The trial court assessed a forty-year, habitual-felon sentence. The Fourteenth Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. Santana v. State, No. 14-14-00130-CR (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.]) del. Nov. 6, 2014. Applicant, through habeas counsel, 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.
The trial court has entered findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court recommends that this Court grant habeas relief based on trial counsel's alleged ineffective assistance at Applicant's trial. The State objects. This Court has made an independent review of the record. The trial court's findings and recommendation to grant habeas relief are not supported by the record.
In making his ineffective assistance of counsel claims, Applicant fails to convince this Court that trial counsel was deficient in representing Applicant at trial and that the alleged deficiency harmed Applicant. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984); Ex parte Reed, 271 S.W.3d 698, 727 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (stating "Therefore, in most circumstances, we will defer to and accept a trial judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law when they are supported by the record. When our independent review of the record reveals that the trial judge's findings and conclusions are not supported by the record, we may exercise our authority to make contrary or alternative findings and conclusions"). Applicant's application for a writ of habeas corpus is denied.