Carson v. State

161 So. 3d 153, 2014 WL 6433500
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedNovember 18, 2014
DocketNo. 2013-CP-01586-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 161 So. 3d 153 (Carson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carson v. State, 161 So. 3d 153, 2014 WL 6433500 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

LEE, C.J.,

for the Court:

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 1. On June 6, 2011, Monica Carson pleaded guilty in the Madison County Circuit Court to robbery. Carson was sentenced to fifteen years to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). She also pleaded guilty to robbery in two other related cause numbers, and received suspended sentences of fifteen years each, to run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the first sentence. Carson was sentenced to five years of supervised probation. On June 26, 2018, Carson filed a motion for post-conviction relief (PCR). The trial court denied Carson’s motion. Carson now appeals, asserting (1) ineffective assistance of counsel, (2) disparate sentencing, (3) error in the trial court’s acceptance of her plea, (4) error in the trial court’s denial of an evidentiary hearing, (5) error in the trial court’s denial of her motion for PCR, and (6) cumulative error.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 2. When reviewing a trial court’s denial or dismissal of a PCR motion, we will only disturb the trial court’s decision if it is clearly erroneous; however, we review the trial court’s legal conclusions under a de novo standard of review. Hughes v. State, 106 So.3d 836, 838 (¶4) (Miss.Ct.App.2012).

DISCUSSION

I. INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL

¶ 3. Carson argues her counsel was ineffective because he failed to advise her about the law of robbery and accessory after the fact, inform her of the consequences of her plea, and investigate the case and interview witnesses. In order to succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the defendant must prove that counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 [156]*156L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). “In the context of guilty pleas, this means the defendant must show that, were it not for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.” Burrough v. State, 9 So.3d 368, 375 (¶ 22) (Miss.2009) (citing Coleman v. State, 483 So.2d 680, 683 (Miss.1986)). Furthermore, “[a] petitioner must produce ‘more than conclusory allegations on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.’ ” McCray v. State, 107 So.3d 1042, 1045 (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.2012) (quoting Carpenter v. State, 899 So.2d 916, 921 (¶23) (Miss.Ct.App.2005)). “In cases involving post-conviction collateral relief, ‘where a party offers only his affidavit, then his ineffective assistance of counsel claim is without merit.’ ” Watts v. State, 97 So.3d 722, 726 (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.2012) (citation omitted) (citing Vielee v. State, 653 So.2d 920, 922 (Miss.1995)).

¶ 4. Carson’s motion for PCR rests entirely on her own bare assertions. She offers no additional proof to support her claim that her trial counsel’s assistance was deficient and that she would not have pleaded guilty had it been otherwise. We therefore affirm the trial court’s decision to deny relief based on this issue.

¶ 5. While we affirm based on the above grounds, we also address Carson’s assertion that the facts only support' a conviction of accessory after the fact. Carson argues that had counsel advised her of this, she would not have pleaded guilty to the greater offense of robbery. It is well settled that “[a] guilty plea will be found valid if it is shown to have been voluntarily and intelligently made by the criminal defendant before the trial court.” Burrough, 9 So.3d at 373 (¶ 11) (citation omitted). “To determine whether the plea is voluntarily and intelligently given, the trial court must advise the defendant of his rights, the nature of the charge against him, as well as the consequences of the plea.” Id. (citation omitted).

¶ 6. During the plea hearing, Carson was given the opportunity to disagree with the factual basis of her plea in this case. She did not. She read and signed a petition to enter a guilty plea and stated that she understood what she read. She stated that she, after discussions with her attorney regarding the facts and circumstances of the case, decided to plead guilty and that her admission of guilt was freely and voluntarily made. She said counsel advised her as to the elements of and the defenses to the crime. The trial court reviewed Carson’s rights with her, which she waived, and the consequences of the plea, including the minimum and maximum periods of incarceration that could be imposed for each cause number. Carson said that she was pleading guilty because she was in fact guilty of committing these crimes and that she was satisfied with her attorney’s representation. As this Court has stated numerous times, “[s]tatements made in open court under oath ‘carry a strong presumption of veracity.’ ” Cane v. State, 109 So.3d 568, 571 (¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.2012) (quoting Nichols v. State, 955 So.2d 962, 965 (¶6) (Miss.Ct.App.2007)). To rebut this presumption, she must offer more than her own bare assertions that her trial counsel was ineffective. She failed to do so; thus, this issue is without merit.

II. DISPARATE SENTENCING

¶ 7. Carson argues that her co-defendant received a lesser sentence; thus, her due-process rights were violated. “Sentencing is within the complete discretion of the trial court and not subject to appellate review if it is within the limits prescribed by statute.”. Wall v. State, 718 So.2d 1107, 1114 (¶ 29) (Miss.1998) (quotations omitted). “As a general rule, a sen[157]*157tence that does not exceed the maximum period allowed by statute will not be disturbed on appeal.” White v. State, 742 So.2d 1126, 1135 (¶ 35) (Miss.1999) (citing Wallace v. State, 607 So.2d 1184, 1188 (Miss.1992)). Carson’s sentence was within the statutory limits. See Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-75 (Rev. 2014).

¶ 8. Furthermore, a trial court is not required to impose the same sentence on coconspirators. Buckley v. State, 119 So.3d 1171, 1174 (¶ 11) (Miss.Ct.App.2013) (citing Collins v. State, 822 So.2d 364, 366 (¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App.2002)). Carson alleges that she and Ashley Brown, one of three codefendants, committed the same crime and pleaded guilty to the same crime, but that Brown was sentenced to probation while Carson received a fifteen-year sentence. She offers no proof to support these allegations. Regardless, the trial court acted within its discretion when imposing a sentence on Carson that was within the statutory guidelines. This issue is without merit.

III. FACTUAL BASIS FOR GUILTY PLEA

¶ 9. Carson argues that the factual basis for her guilty plea does not support robbery and constitutes a denial of due process of law. According to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-79 (Rev. 2014):

Every person who shall feloniously take or attempt to take from the person or from the presence the personal property of another and against his will by violence to his person or by putting such person in fear of immediate injury to his person by the exhibition of a deadly weapon shall be guilty of robbery....

¶ 10.

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Bluebook (online)
161 So. 3d 153, 2014 WL 6433500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carson-v-state-missctapp-2014.