Opinion
No. 05-16-00439-CR No. 05-16-00440-CR No. 05-16-00441-CR No. 05-16-00442-CR No. 05-16-00443-CR No. 05-16-00444-CR No. 05-16-00445-CR No. 05-16-00446-CR No. 05-16-00447-CR
05-09-2016
MICHAEL LEWIS FORNEY, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. F15-24583-S, F15-24615-S, F15-34462-S, F15-34463-S, F15-34464-S, F15-34465-S, F15-41375-S, F15-41383-S, F15-41437-S
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Myers, Stoddart, and Whitehill
Opinion by Justice Whitehill
Michael Lewis Forney pleaded guilty before a jury to nine offenses: credit card abuse; two third-degree felony thefts; evading arrest or detention in a motor vehicle; fraudulent possession of identifying information; burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony other than theft; and three state-jail felony thefts. He also pleaded true to one enhancement paragraph in each of the third-degree felony theft, evading arrest or detention, and fraudulent possession of identifying information cases. He pleaded true to two enhancement paragraphs in each of the credit card abuse and state-jail felony theft cases. The State dropped the enhancement paragraph in the burglary of a habitation case as part of a plea agreement. The jury assessed punishment at ten years' imprisonment on the credit card abuse and three state-jail felony theft cases. The jury assessed punishment at twenty years' imprisonment on the two third-degree felony theft, the evading arrest or detention, and the fraudulent possession of identifying information cases. The jury assessed punishment at forty-five years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine on the burglary of a habitation case. We conclude we lack jurisdiction over the appeals.
The two basic types of plea-bargaining are charge-bargaining and sentence-bargaining. Shankle v. State, 119 S.W.3d 808, 813 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). Charge-bargaining involves questions of whether a defendant will plead guilty to the offense that has been alleged or to a lesser or related offense, and of whether the State will forgo prosecution of other charges. See id.
Sentence-bargaining may be for a binding or non-binding recommendation to the court on sentences, including a recommended cap on sentencing and a recommendation for deferred adjudication community supervision. Id.
At a hearing before the cases proceeded to the jury, the parties set out an agreement by which the State would drop the enhancement paragraph on the burglary of a habitation case; the enhancement paragraph would have raised the minimum punishment from five years' imprisonment to fifteen years' imprisonment. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. §§ 12.32, 12.42(c), 30.02(a)(3), (d) (West 2011 and Supp. 2015). Without the enhancement paragraph, the jury could have sentenced appellant to the minimum of five years' imprisonment. In exchange for the State foregoing the higher minimum punishment on the burglary of a habitation charge, appellant agreed to waive his right to appeal all of the cases. See Shankle, 119 S.W.3d at 813-14; Blanco v. State, 18 S.W.3d 218, 219-20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). The trial court certified that appellant waived his right to appeal these cases. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a), (d); Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
We therefore dismiss the appeals for want of jurisdiction.
/Bill Whitehill/
BILL WHITEHILL
JUSTICE Do Not Publish
TEX. R. APP. P. 47
160439F.U05
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-24583-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-24615-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-34462-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-34463-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-34464-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-34465-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-41375-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill. Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-41383-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F15-41437-S.
Opinion delivered by Justice Whitehill, Justices Myers and Stoddart participating.
Based on the Court's opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Judgment entered May 9, 2016.