Ray Anthony Hunter v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 290th Judicial District Court of Bexar County

No. 04-97-00939-CR
Ray Anthony HUNTER,
Appellant
v.
The STATE of Texas,
Appellee
From the 290th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 95-CR-5779
Honorable Sharon MacRae, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Tom Rickhoff, Justice

Sitting: Phil Hardberger, Chief Justice

Tom Rickhoff, Justice

Catherine Stone, Justice

Delivered and Filed: October 30, 1998

AFFIRMED

Ray Anthony Hunter pled guilty to possession of cocaine in an amount greater than 4 grams but less than 200 grams. He also pled true to a repeater allegation. The trial court sentenced him to eight years in prison in accordance with a plea agreement. Hunter appeals, arguing that his plea was involuntary because the trial court failed to admonish him properly. Finding no error, we affirm.

Discussion

Before accepting a guilty plea, the trial court must admonish the defendant regarding the range of punishment attached to the offense and of the fact that a noncitizen who pleads guilty may be deported, excluded from admission to the country, or denied naturalization. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 26.13(a)(1), (a)(4) (Vernon 1989). The court may provide these admonishments either orally or in writing. See id. art. 26.13(d). If the court makes the admonishments in writing, it must receive a statement signed by the defendant and the defendant's attorney stating that the defendant understands the admonishments and is aware of the consequences of his plea. See id. Hunter asserts that the trial court failed to provide these admonishments to him.

At the plea hearing, the trial court asked Hunter whether his guilty plea was voluntary, and he responded that it was. The court did not orally admonish Hunter in accordance with article 26.13(a). However, the record contains a document entitled "Court's Admonishment and Defendant's Waivers and Affidavit of Admonitions" (hereinafter "the waiver"). The waiver correctly sets forth the range of punishment for Hunter's offense as being 5-99 years. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. 12.32(a), 12.42(b) (Vernon 1994); Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. 481.115(d) (Vernon Supp. 1998). It also informs Hunter that if he is not a United States citizen, his plea of guilty may result in deportation, exclusion, or denial of naturalization.(1) The waiver contains the sworn statement "I understand the Court's admonishments as contained in this waiver." Both Hunter and his attorney signed the waiver. Attached to the waiver is another document signed by the trial judge, in which the judge approves the waiver and accepts the plea. The waiver and its attachment are sufficient to comply with article 26.13. See Hancock v. State, 955 S.W.2d 369, 371 (Tex. App.--San Antonio 1997, no pet.).

Conclusion

Because the record reflects that the trial court provided Hunter the admonishments in writing and received a statement signed by Hunter and his attorney stating that Hunter understood the admonishments, we conclude that the trial court complied with article 26.13. Accordingly, we affirm the conviction.

Tom Rickhoff, Justice

DO NOT PUBLISH

1. Additionally, the record reflects that Hunter was born in Arkansas. While there are distinctions between Arkansas and the rest of the country, a person born in Arkansas is nevertheless a United States citizen. Thus, even if the written admonishment had been insufficient, Hunter would be unable to establish that he was harmed by the insufficient admonishment. See Cain v. State, 947 S.W.2d 262, 264 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). Hunter criticizes Cain and requests that we reexamine its holding. As an intermediate appellate court, we are duty bound to follow the law as pronounced by the court of criminal appeals on matters pertaining to criminal law. See Contreras v. State, 915 S.W.2d 510, 522 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1995, pet. ref'd). Accordingly, we decline Hunter's invitation to reexamine Cain.

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