Opinion
NO. WR-44,786-06
04-14-2021
EX PARTE RICHARD ANTHONY RIVERS, Applicant
ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS CAUSE NO. 710442-D IN THE 178TH DISTRICT COURT FROM HARRIS COUNTY
Per curiam. ORDER
Applicant was convicted of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft and sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment. The Fourteenth Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction. Rivers v. State, No. 14-97-00260-CR (Tex. App.—Houston [14th], Jan. 21, 1999). Applicant 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.
Applicant contends that the Board of Pardon and Parole improperly treats his 35-year sentence as his "holding conviction," resulting in a release date of May 4, 2020, but uses his 10-year sentence to find that he is not eligible for mandatory supervision release. We order that this application be filed and set for submission to determine: (a) whether the policy of not releasing an inmate to mandatory supervision on one concurrent sentence until the inmate is eligible for release on all concurrent sentences is legal; and (b) whether the Court's decisions in Ex parte Forward, 258 S.W.3d 151 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) and Ex parte Williams, 257 S.W.3d 711 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) are applicable. The parties shall brief these issues. Oral argument is not permitted.
The trial court shall determine whether Applicant is indigent. If Applicant is indigent and wants to be represented by counsel, the trial court shall appoint counsel to represent him. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 26.04. Within sixty days from the date of this order, the trial court shall send to this Court a supplemental transcript containing the order appointing counsel or a statement that Applicant is not indigent or does not want to be represented by counsel. All briefs shall be filed with this Court within ninety days from the date of this order. Filed: April 14, 2021
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