Jones, Rudy Valley v. The State of Texas--Appeal from Crim Dist Ct 3 of Dallas Co of Dallas County

COURT OF APPEALS

EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

EL PASO, TEXAS

RUDY VALLEY JONES, )

) No. 08-01-00285-CR

Appellant, )

) Appeal from the

v. )

) Criminal District Court #3

THE STATE OF TEXAS, )

) of Dallas County, Texas

Appellee. )

) (TC# F-0001426-J)

)

O P I N I O N

Appellant Rudy Valley Jones appeals from his punishment assessed by the trial court at 5 years= confinement for the offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He brings a single issue contending he suffered ineffective assistance of counsel during the punishment phase of his trial. We affirm.

SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE

Under a plea agreement, Appellant plead guilty to aggravated assault and was placed under community supervision for five years in November 2000. Four months later on March 9, 2001, the State filed a motion to revoke the probation. Appellant plead true to the allegations and the punishment hearing was held before the trial court. After hearing the Appellant=s testimony that he had failed to satisfy the conditions for his community supervision for lack of transportation, the trial sentenced Appellant to five years= imprisonment.

DISCUSSION

Under the familiar Strickland test, a defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must show by preponderance of evidence that (1) the counsel acted deficiently, and (2) the counsel=s deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984). Whether counsel rendered effective assistance depends on the facts of each case, and a strong presumption exists that a counsel=s action was within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808, 813 (Tex.Crim.App. 1999); Jackson v. State, 877 S.W.2d 768, 771 (Tex.Crim.App. 1994). The record must definitely and affirmatively support any allegations of ineffective assistance. Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 813. This Court has stated that A[i]neffective assistance of counsel cannot be established by isolating or separating out one portion of the trial counsel=s performance for examination. Consequently, allegations of ineffectiveness of counsel must be firmly founded in the record.@ Perrero v. State, 990 S.W.2d 896, 899 (Tex.App.--El Paso 1999, pet. ref=d).

In the absence of a fully developed record, we cannot determine the reasons underlying Appellant=s trial counsel=s actions during the trial. Before we reach the question of whether the trial counsel=s actions fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, the appellate record must establish the reasons behind trial counsel=s actions. See Thompson, 9 S.W.3d at 813-14. We overrule Appellant=s sole issue.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

July 25, 2002

DAVID WELLINGTON CHEW, Justice

Before Panel No. 1

Larsen, McClure, and Chew, JJ.

(Do Not Publish)