Article 12.45: What is a 12.45 and what does it mean to you?
Texas Penal Code 12.45 reads:
“Sec. 12.45. ADMISSION OF UNADJUDICATED OFFENSE. (a) A person may, with the consent of the attorney for the state, admit during the sentencing hearing his guilt of one or more unadjudicated offenses and request the court to take each into account in determining sentence for the offense or offenses of which he stands adjudged guilty.
(b) Before a court may take into account an admitted offense over which exclusive venue lies in another county or district, the court must obtain permission from the prosecuting attorney with jurisdiction over the offense.
(c) If a court lawfully takes into account an admitted offense, prosecution is barred for that offense.”
What does this mean?
In practice, what this means is that if you have multiple pending charges, one or more of these could be “12.45’d” into one offense to which you actually plead guilty and are sentenced. This would mean that you would not be punished for the offenses that are “12.45’d” and those charges would essentially be discharged. They would remain unadjudicated and you would never again be prosecuted for them.
You are not pleading guilty to the offenses that are “12.45’d”. You are pleading guilty and are being punished for one of your other charges but these are basically being folded into the charge to which you are pleading.
Some issues with 12.45:
The state has to recommend a 12.45 in your case. The judge cannot do it on his/her own. A defense attorney cannot ask a judge for a 12.45. It absolutely requires the state’s recommendation and approval.
A 12.45 disposition on a case is not a dismissal. Your record will not reflect a dismissal. You will not be able to tell employers that the case was dismissed. Your record will reflect that these are unadjudicated.
This means that you are not eligible for an expunction of a 12.45 disposition case. Because the charge will remain unadjudicated, and not dismissed, it does not fall within the parameters of cases that can be expunged.
One great thing about a 12.45 is that the case cannot be used for enhancement purposes. If a DWI is “12.45’d” your next DWI will not be enhanced with the DWI that is “12.45’d” for example.
Lastly, a case cannot be “12.45’d” into a case in which you are getting deferred adjudication. You can only 12.45 a case into a final conviction.
If you have multiple charges, a 12.45 of some of the charges may be possible. Call me today for a consultation on how a 12.45 might be best in your case.