The State of Texas, ex rel. Travis B. Bryan, Iii, Applicant v. the Honorable W.t. McDonald, Jr., Respondent

Summary

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that a district judge lacks statutory authority to review pre‑sentence investigation reports before a finding of guilt and that such review, as well as the issuance of a proposed assessment of punishment prior to a plea, violates due‑process guarantees under the Texas Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment. Accordingly, the Court prohibited the judge from continuing the August 27, 1982 procedure, set aside the proposed assessment in the Darr case, and conditionally granted the writ of mandamus and prohibition.