Ex Parte Richardson

Linda Richardson was charged with unlawful distribution of marijuana, a controlled substance. She entered into a plea agreement with the Dallas County district attorney; pursuant to that agreement she entered a guilty plea and was convicted. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed, without opinion. We granted certiorari review to consider (1) whether the State provided adequate notice of its intent to seek sentence enhancement when it entered into the agreement with Richardson and (2) whether the State met the burden of proof required to allow imposition of the enhancement.

The facts establish…