OPINION
delivered the opinion of the Court, in which
KELLER, P.J., and KEASLER, HERVEY, and COCHRAN, JJ., joined.
Applicant was charged with impersonating a public servant under Section 37.11(a) of the Texas Penal Code.1 He pled guilty in *613exchange for a sentence of ten years’ confinement. Applicant filed a pro se application for writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his plea was involuntary because his attorney was ineffective for failing to investigate the facts of his offense. The trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that relief be denied. We filed and set this application for writ of habeas corpus. We will hold that Counsel was not ineffective, and we will deny relief.
I. FACTS
Applicant was operating a small display booth in the parking lot of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Teague, Texas. He spoke with shoppers and distributed fliers to promote the sale of raffle tickets and to raise money for a charity benefit-ting firefighters and the families of soldiers serving in Iraq. Due to a complaint from the mayor about Applicant’s activities,2 Officer Shawn Solly approached Applicant to investigate whether he had the permit required to operate his table. Applicant explained that he had permission from the store manager to sell raffle tickets in the parking lot. After discussing the charity, Applicant asked the officer if she would like to buy a ticket. In response, she requested Applicant’s identification. As he was presenting his driver’s license, a Grandview Volunteer Fire Department badge attached to his wallet became visible. Officer Solly asked to see the identification card for the badge, which Applicant displayed.3 She then asked if Applicant was a fireman, and he said, “Yes.”4
Applicant was subsequently arrested and charged with the felony offense of impersonating a public servant under Section 37.11(a)(1) of the Texas Penal Code, enhanced by six prior convictions.5 Notably, the indictment alleged that Applicant
did then and there impersonate a public servant, namely, a fireman, with intent to induce [Officer] Shawn Solly to submit to the pretended official authority of the defendant or to rely on the pretended official acts of the defendant by showing a badge and identification to induce the purchase of raffle tickets for fire fighter fund.
Applicant was appointed counsel. During their initial meeting, Applicant described the events and explained his relationship with the Grandview Volunteer *614Fire Department. A month later, Counsel contacted Applicant, provided him with a copy of the police incident report, and informed him that the county attorney had offered a 15-year plea deal. Applicant rejected the offer because Counsel told him that he had not yet examined the State’s case or the law related to the charge.6 The following month, Counsel again contacted Applicant, this time presenting a 10-year plea deal. Counsel advised Applicant that the State’s case was “rock solid,” that he was “sure” Applicant would be convicted, and that, with his prior record, Applicant would receive a sentence of 25 years to life. Relying on these statements, Applicant pled guilty to the offense in exchange for 10 years in the Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division.
Applicant filed a pro se application for writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his guilty plea was involuntary due to Counsel’s failure to investigate the facts of his offense. The trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, recommending that relief be denied. We ordered that this application be filed and set for submission to determine whether Counsel was ineffective for failing to properly investigate whether the facts of this case would support a conviction for impersonating a public servant, and we requested that both parties brief these issues. The trial court then appointed an attorney to represent Applicant in all proceedings thereafter.
In his memorandum of law and brief in support of the writ application, Applicant alleges Counsel’s deficient conduct to be as follows:
(1). Counsel coached a guilty plea, when a reasonably competent lawyer would have known that Applicant’s claim of being a volunteer fireman was not a false personation within the meaning of Sec. 37.11(a) Tex.Pen.Code.
(2). Counsel coached a guilty plea, when a reasonably competent lawyer would have known that a “... Fireman. ..” is not a public servant withing [sic] the meaning of Sec. 37.11(a) Tex. Pen.Code.
(3). Counsel coached a guilty plea, when a reasonably competent lawyer would have known, that the promotion of a sale of raffle tickets is not an official act within the meaning of Sec. 37.11(a) Tex.Pen.Code.
(4). Counsel coached a guilty plea, when a reasonably competent lawyer would have known that the indictment failed to alleged [sic] that the claim of being a volunteer fireman was in any way levied to compel the purchase of a raffle ticket, as required by Sec. 37.11(a) Tex.Pen.Code.
Applicant asserts that had he known that the indictment failed to allege a set of facts that amounted to a criminal act or that promoting the sale of raffle tickets was not illegal, he would not have pled guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.
II. CASELAW
A defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel in plea proceedings. U.S. Const. amend. VI; Ex parte Harrington, 310 S.W.3d 452, 458 (Tex.Crim.App.2010). “No plea of guilty or plea of nolo contende-re shall be accepted by the court unless it appears that the defendant is mentally competent and the plea is free and voluntary.” Tex.Code CRÍM. Proc. Ann. art. 26.13(b). A guilty plea is not considered *615knowing and voluntary if it is made because of ineffective assistance of counsel. Ex parte Burns, 601 S.W.2d 370, 372 (Tex.Crim.App.1980) (en banc).
To determine whether to grant habeas corpus relief for ineffective assistance of counsel, Texas courts apply the standard set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), which requires the applicant to establish two components. First, the applicant must show that his attorney’s performance was deficient, meaning it “fell below an objective standard of reasonableness” under prevailing professional norms and according to the necessity of the case. Id. at 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052; Ex parte Morrow, 952 S.W.2d 530, 536 (Tex.Crim.App.1997) (en banc) (asking “whether counsel’s advice was within the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases”). Because there “are countless ways to provide, effective assistance in any given case,” a reviewing court must be highly deferential and “indulge a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance; that is, the defendant must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action might be considered sound trial strategy.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (quotations omitted).
Second, the applicant must demonstrate that he was prejudiced by his attorney’s performance — “there is a reasonable probability7 that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. For claims related to the entering of a plea, the applicant satisfies the prejudice prong by showing a “reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.” Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 58-59, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985). Still, the applicant “need not show that his case would have received a more favorable disposition had he gone to trial.” Johnson v. State, 169 S.W.3d 223, 231 (Tex.Crim.App.2005).
Counsel’s function “is to make the adversarial testing process work in the particular case.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Accordingly, competent advice requires that an attorney conduct independent légal and factual investigations sufficient to enable him to have a firm command of the case and the relationship between the facts and each element of the offense. Id. at 691,104 S.Ct. 2052; see Ex parte Briggs, 187 S.W.3d 458, 467 (Tex.Crim.App.2005).
III. ANALYSIS
The applicant has the burden to prove ineffective assistance of counsel by a preponderance of the evidence. Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808, 813 (Tex.Crim.App.1999). Allegations of ineffectiveness must be based on the record, and the presumption of a sound trial strategy cannot be overcome absent evidence in the record of the attorney’s reasons for his conduct. Bushy v. State, 990 S.W.2d 263, 269 (Tex.Crim.App.1999). The reviewing court must look to the totality of the representation, and its decision must be based on the facts of the particular case, viewed at the time of counsel’s conduct so as to eliminate hindsight bias. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052. The findings of the trial court do not bind this Court in a habeas corpus proceeding, and this Court may make contrary findings when the record will not support the trial court’s *616findings. Ex parte Reed, 271 S.W.3d 698, 727 (Tex.Crim.App.2008); Ex parte Morrow, 952 S.W.2d at 534.
For the first prong of the Strickland test, Applicant argues that Counsel’s performance was deficient because Counsel persuaded him to enter a plea of guilty when a reasonably competent attorney would have recognized that the indictment failed to allege an offense for which Applicant could be prosecuted.
An attorney advises a client based upon an evaluation of numerous factors and considerations. Here, Counsel had to balance, inter alia, two important issues: the uncertainty of trial and the possible range of punishment. Counsel could not have known for certain what facts would be developed at trial. The record here is relatively undeveloped. Also, the key documents that would be offered at trial (the police incident report and Applicant’s affidavit) dispute the facts of the case. And Counsel’s affidavit indicates that there was no way to further investigate the facts because it is essentially a “policeman said, defendant said” case. Although many of the disputed facts are seemingly minor details of the encounter between Applicant and Officer Solly, these facts could play an important role for both sides in this case. For example, the order and manner in which Applicant’s driver’s license, badge, and identification card were presented or became visible are important to establishing whether there was an official or overt act and whether there was a connection between the person impersonated and the official act. Yet, because they cannot be recreated or investigated more, both Counsel and the State would have to rely on the conflicting recounts of Applicant and Officer Solly for these facts. In such fact-based circumstances, an attorney cannot know what specifics will develop at trial or how the jury will decide.
In contrast, Counsel knew for certain that the state would enhance Applicant’s sentence to a minimum of 25 years upon conviction. As provided in the indictment, Applicant had six prior felony convictions, some of which were sequential. Thus, per the habitual offender provision of the Penal Code, if he was found guilty of impersonating a public servant and findings of true were made as to the habitual enhancement paragraphs, Applicant would be punished by imprisonment for 25 years to life. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 12.42(d).8 Given these two important factors, we believe that it was reasonable for Counsel to determine it prudent to advise a guilty plea in exchange for 10 years’ imprisonment, ,15 years less than the minimum sentence that could be imposed if he was found guilty at trial.
Further, the record supports that Applicant was agreeable to Counsel’s plea advice and voluntarily followed the advice. When the trial court admonished him regarding the consequences of his plea, Applicant affirmatively responded that he understood the charges against him and Counsel’s explanation of his rights and that he was satisfied with Counsel’s representation. Applicant also told the trial court that he was pleading guilty because he was “guilty and for no other reason,” that he was doing so of his “own free will,” and that no threats or promises were forcing him to plead guilty.
*617An argument could be made that, before advising a guilty plea, Counsel should have attacked the indictment because it failed to allege an offense for which Applicant could be prosecuted. Applicant raises several possible issues that could have been addressed in a motion to quash the indictment: the indictment may have failed to allege an act that was an impersonation,9 failed to allege that a public servant was’ being impersonated,10 failed to allege any act accompanying the impersonation that could be considered an official act,11 and failed to allege that the claim of being a volunteer fireman was in any way used to compel the purchase of a raffle ticket.12 But to hold Counsel ineffective in this case for failure to attack the indictment would be inconsistent with our decision in Benoit v. State, 561 S.W.2d 810 (Tex.Crim.App.1977), overruled on other grounds by Harrison v. State, 187 S.W.8d 429 (Tex.Crim.App.2005).13
In Benoit, the appellant entered pleas of guilty to four separate indictments charging delivery of controlled substances and entered a true plea to the same offenses in a probation revocation proceeding. The appellant faced the possibility of receiving two life sentences, two ten-year sentences, and a five-year sentence, but the defense counsel negotiated a plea agreement for five concurrent five-year sentences. We determined that two indictments for delivery of codeine were fatally defective because they did not allege the amount or penalty group involved and that the indictment for delivery of diazepam did not charge an offense under the laws of Texas because it was not until after the time of the offense that diazepam by name could be dispensed by prescription only. None*618theless, even though three of the four indictments were defective, we held that the attorney’s failure to challenge the indictments before advising a plea was not ineffective under the legal duty test or the reasonably effective assistance standard, the precursors to the Strickland standard. To explain, we stated,
Even if counsel had advanced the argument that the indictments were defective on the grounds assigned in these appeals, the State could have re-indicted correcting the defects.14 Counsel may well have considered this factor when he evaluated appellant’s situation and determined to accept the plea bargain of five concurrent five years. This may have been the wiser course than facing the uncertainty of three re-indictments and the punishments that could then be inflicted.
Id. at 818.
Here, Counsel theoretically could have objected to the indictment. However, as we acknowledged in Benoit, the State would have likely responded by re-indicting Applicant, correcting the defects. Counsel could have filed a motion to quash on the ground that the raffle ticket sale was not an official act. Given the unsettled nature of the relevant law, it is uncertain how the court would have ruled on the motion.15 If the court granted the motion, *619then the indictment would have failed to allege a crime, like the Benoit indictments for delivery of diazepam. And if the court denied the motion, the prosecution would have likely continued, and the 10-year plea agreement might not have been available to Applicant, meaning that he would be facing the possibility of 25 years to life imprisonment upon conviction. Like the attorney in Benoit, Counsel could have considered these factors and reasonably decided to advise Applicant to enter a guilty plea.
Accordingly, we believe that Counsel’s performance fell within the range of professional competence. Applicant has not overcome the strong presumption that counsel’s conduct might be sound strategy and has, therefore, failed to prove ineffective assistance of counsel pursuant to Strickland. Because Applicant has failed to demonstrate error, we need not discuss whether Applicant was prejudiced by Counsel’s performance.
IY. CONCLUSION
We conclude that Applicant has not proven by a preponderance of the evidence that Counsel’s representation fell below the objectively reasonable standard. Therefore, Applicant failed to demonstrate that his plea of guilty was unknowingly or involuntarily made because of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Relief is denied.
WOMACK, J., filed a concurring opinion.
PRICE, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which JOHNSON, J., joined.
JOHNSON, J., filed a dissenting opinion.