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Woods v. State

Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
Mar 18, 2021
No. 06-20-00109-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 18, 2021)

Opinion

No. 06-20-00109-CR

03-18-2021

DAVEON DEMONTA WOODS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee


On Appeal from the 202nd District Court Bowie County, Texas
Trial Court No. 19F0648-202 Before Morriss, C.J., Burgess and Stevens, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION

On May 20, 2019, Daveon Demonta Woods pled guilty to burglary of a habitation. After a presentence investigation report was prepared, the trial court deferred the adjudication of Woods's guilt, placed him on community supervision for ten years, and assessed a $1,000.00 fine, $234.00 in court costs, and $800.00 in restitution. On September 30, 2020, Woods pled not true to the State's allegations contained in its motion to revoke community supervision, and after an evidentiary hearing, the trial court revoked his community supervision and sentenced Woods to ten years' incarceration. The written judgment adjudicating guilt also included an assessment of a $1,000.00 fine, $234.00 for court costs, and $800.00 in restitution. A certified bill of costs, fines, and restitution showed a total of $2,034.00 for the court costs, fine, and restitution. In addition, the trial court entered an order to withdraw funds from Woods's inmate trust account in the amount of $2,034.00 for the court costs, fine, and restitution.

Woods's appellate counsel filed a brief that outlined the procedural history of the case, provided a detailed summary of the evidence elicited during the trial court proceedings, and stated that counsel found no meritorious issues to raise on appeal. Meeting the requirements of Anders v. California, counsel has provided a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds to be advanced. Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 743-44 (1967); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 406 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (orig. proceeding); Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 509-10 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812-13 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978).

Woods's counsel filed a motion with this Court seeking to withdraw as counsel in this appeal and provided Woods with a copy of the brief, the motion to withdraw, and the appellate record. His counsel also informed Woods of his right to file a pro se response. On January 4, 2021, this Court notified Woods that his pro se brief was due on February 3, 2021. By letter dated February 23, 2021, this Court notified Woods that this cause would be set for submission on the briefs on March 16, 2021. We received neither a pro se response, nor a motion requesting an extension of time in which to file such a response, from Woods.

We have reviewed the entire appellate record and have independently determined that no reversible error exists. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). However, in Anders cases, appellate courts "have the authority to reform judgments and affirm as modified in cases where there is non reversible error." Ferguson v. State, 435 S.W.3d 291, 293-94 (Tex. App.—Waco 2014, pet. struck) (comprehensively discussing appellate cases that have modified judgments in Anders cases).

In this case, the order of deferred adjudication included the assessment of a $1,000.00 fine and $800.00 in restitution. However, when the trial court adjudicated Woods's guilt and revoked his community supervision, it did not orally pronounce any fine or restitution when it sentenced him. Nevertheless, the written judgment adjudicating guilt assessed court costs of $234.00, a fine of $1,000.00, and $800.00 in restitution, and the certified bill of costs, fine, and restitution included itemized entries of $1,000.00 for "Fine," $800.00 for "Restitution," $2,034.00 for "TOTAL," and $2,034.00 for "Total fines, Restitution, and Court Costs." The order to withdraw funds also set forth an amount of $2,034.00 for the court costs, fine, and restitution set forth in the certified bill of costs, fine and restitution.

In a deferred adjudication order, no sentence is imposed on the defendant. See Taylor v. State, 131 S.W.3d 497, 502 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004). When the defendant's guilt is later adjudicated, the judgment adjudicating guilt sets aside the order deferring adjudication, including any fine or restitution imposed in that order. Id.; see Burt v. State, 445 S.W.3d 752, 756-57 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (restitution, like his sentence, must be pronounced in the defendant's presence). Consequently, when a trial court adjudicates the defendant's guilt, his sentence, along with any fine or restitution, must be pronounced in his presence. See Burt, 445 S.W.3d at 756-57; Taylor, 131 S.W.3d at 502. When there is a conflict between the oral pronouncement of a sentence and the written judgment, the oral pronouncement controls. Taylor, 131 S.W.3d at 500. Since no fine or restitution was pronounced when Woods was sentenced, we will delete the entries of $1,000.00 for "Fine" and $800.00 for "Restitution" from the judgment adjudicating guilt and the certified bill of costs, fine and restitution, change the amount for "TOTAL" and "Total fines, Restitution, and Court Costs" in the certified bill of costs, fine, and restitution to $234.00, and change the amount set forth in the order to withdraw funds to $234.00.

The judgment adjudicating guilt also has an entry under "Terms of Plea Bargain" that recites "TEN (10) YEARS TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL DIVISION WITH CREDIT FOR TIME SERVED; $1000 FINE; $234 COURT COSTS; $800 RESTITUTION; TO RUN CONSECUTIVELY WITH 19F1714-202." However, there was no plea bargain with regard to the judgment adjudicating guilt. Consequently, we will modify the judgment adjudicating guilt by changing the entry under "Terms of Plea Bargain" to "N/A."

Accordingly, we modify the judgment adjudicating guilt and the certified bill of costs, fine, and restitution by deleting the entries of $1,000.00 for "Fine" and $800.00 for "Restitution." We further modify the certified bill of costs, fine, and restitution by changing the amount for "TOTAL" and "Total Fines, Restitution, and Court Costs" to $234.00. We modify the order to withdraw funds by changing the amount set forth therein to $234.00. We further modify the judgment adjudicating guilt by changing the entry under "Terms of Plea Bargain" to "N/A."

In the Anders context, once we determine that the appeal is without merit, we must either dismiss the appeal or affirm the trial court's judgment. See Anders, 386 U.S. 738. We, therefore, affirm the judgment of the trial court, as modified.

Since we agree that this case presents no reversible error, we also, in accordance with Anders, grant counsel's request to withdraw from further representation of appellant in this case. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744. No substitute counsel will be appointed. Should appellant desire to seek further review of this case by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, appellant must either retain an attorney to file a petition for discretionary review or file a pro se petition for discretionary review. Any petition for discretionary review (1) must be filed within thirty days from either the date of this opinion or the date on which the last timely motion for rehearing was overruled by this Court, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.2, (2) must be filed with the clerk of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.3, and (3) should comply with the requirements of Rule 68.4 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.4. --------

Scott E. Stevens

Justice Date Submitted: March 16, 2021
Date Decided: March 18, 2021 Do Not Publish


Summaries of

Woods v. State

Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
Mar 18, 2021
No. 06-20-00109-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 18, 2021)
Case details for

Woods v. State

Case Details

Full title:DAVEON DEMONTA WOODS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

Court:Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

Date published: Mar 18, 2021

Citations

No. 06-20-00109-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 18, 2021)