His lawsuit stems from a long legal battle that began in 2011 when he was charged in federal court with 37 counts related to the work he undertook for BISD.
BEUMONT, Texas — The Texas Court of Appeals has confirmed a lower court’s decision to refuse post-conviction relief against a former Beaumont Independent School District contractor convicted of securing the execution of documents in 2019 by a deception.
On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the opinion filed in the Texas 9th Court of Appeals supported the rejection of Calvin Gary Walker’s popular corpus warrant application, which alleged inefficient support from his attorney.
(Editor’s note: The above video first aired on February 28, 2025.)
Walker allegedly said his attorneys did not raise a due process violation in relation to a promise made by former Jefferson County District Attorney Tom Manes. Court documents stated that the state would not pursue accusations against him unless new evidence emerged.
His lawsuit stems from a long legal battle that began in 2011 when he was charged in federal court with 37 counts related to the work he undertook for BISD. After a false statement in federal court, Walker accepted a plea deal in 2012 for failing to pay taxes and was on five years of probation.
Two years later, in 2014, the Jefferson County large ju judge charged Walker with six felony charges, including four counts and two money laundering, which unfairly secured the execution of the document. By this time, Manes had retired and Corey Crenshaw was serving as Jefferson County District Attorney.
In a Habeas Corpus application filed in January 2024, Walker argued that his trial lawyer, Dick Deguerin, was ineffective because the state did not seek to enforce a suspected promise from Maness that the state would not sue. Walker said he was “reluctant to accept a second judicial agreement” because he feared that the state would prosecute him for the same conduct allegedly in the federal complaint.
Court documents alleged that Walker “discussed the concerns with Jefferson County District Attorney Tom Manes,” and that “Manes informed Deguerin that he was aware of Walker’s federal plea offer and showed that Manes had assured that there was no new or additional evidence.
However, in his affidavit, Manes said he “has no personal recollection of talking to Deguerin about his case during his tenure as a district attorney,” and “will not provide any assurances regarding the state’s charges against Walker.”
Written in court, Secretary W. Scott Golemon said Walker’s federal judiciary agreement specifically stated that “it only holds US attorneys’ offices for the Eastern District of Texas, and not other federal, state or district attorneys.”
In rejecting Walker’s claim, the Court of Appeal held that the Court did not abuse its discretion that Walker had not demonstrated the existence of an enforceable agreement with the state. The court also ruled that there was no need for a hearing to resolve a dispute of evidence, as section 11.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure does not require evidence hearings.
“The trial court was able to review the affidavit statement in the attached article to determine whether Manes had promised or agreed not to indict Walker,” the opinion stated.
Walker was eventually convicted in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was suspended and placed him as community supervision for 10 years.
He shows that he heard a motion to revoke his probation before Judge John Stevens in Jefferson County Criminal District Court on May 13, 2025.
A three-judicial panel of judges, consisting of Judge Golemon and judges Johnson and Chambers, confirmed the court’s order unanimously.
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