Clifford E. Porter v. State of Missouri

480 S.W.3d 455, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 54
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 26, 2016
DocketWD77422
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 480 S.W.3d 455 (Clifford E. Porter v. State of Missouri) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clifford E. Porter v. State of Missouri, 480 S.W.3d 455, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 54 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Joseph M. Ellis, Judge

Clifford Porter appeals from the Circuit Court of Clay County’s denial of his Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief following an evidentiary hearing. For the following reasons, the motion court’s ruling is affirmed.

Appellant was charged by information with one count of burglary in the first degree, § 569.160, 1 and one count of robbery in the second degree, § 569.030, related to an incident occurring on February 19, 2011, in Liberty, Missouri. On January 6, 2012, Appellant appeared before the court and, pursuant to a plea agreement with the State, entered a plea of guilty to both counts. In exchange for his plea, the State agreed to "argue for no more than consecutive sentences of ten years on the two counts. Defense counsel was free to argue for a lesser sentence. After questioning Appellant about his understanding of the plea agreement and the'rights he would be waiving, the plea court found that Appellant’s plea was ' knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered and accepted the plea.

At the sentencing hearing, in conformance with the plea agreement, the State argued for consecutive sentences of ten years on each count. Defense counsel argued for the imposition of concurrent sentences. Ultimately, the trial court sentenced Appellant to consecutive terms of ten years on the burglary count and five years on the robbery count.

Subsequently, Appellant filed a timely motion for post-conviction relief under Rule 24.035. An amended motion was later filed by appointed counsel. In relevant part, Appellant contended that plea counsel had been ineffective for convincing him that he would receive a* maximum sentence of concurrent terms of ten years on each count. He claimed that, had he known he could receive a total sentence greater than ten years, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on proceeding to trial;

Following an evidentiary hearing, the motion court entered its findings of fact and conclusions of law denying Appellant’s motion. It found that Appellant’s claim that counsel told him he would receive no more than ten years ■ imprisonment was refuted by the record and testimony elicited at the: evidentiary hearing. Appellant challenges that determination on appeal.

Appellate review of the motion court’s denial of a Rule 24.035 motion is limited to a determination of whether the findings and conclusions of the trial court are clearly erroneous. Hastings v. State, 308 S.W.3d 792, 795-96 (Mo.App. W.D. 2010) (quoting Rule 24.035(h)). “A motion court’s findings and conclusions are clearly erroneous only if the Court, after reviewing the entire record,' is left with the definite and firm impression that a mistake has been made.” Gehrke v. State, 280 S.W.3d 54, 56-57 (Mo. banc 2009). “We presume that the motion court’s findings and conclusions are correct, and defer to the motion court’s determinations of credibility.” Nichols v. State, 409 S.W.3d 566, 569 (Mo.App. E.D.2013).

In his sole point on appeal, Appellant argues that the motion court clearly erred in overruling his motion because the evidence established that plea counsel pro *458 vided ineffective assistance of counsel by assuring him that he would receive concurrent sentences if he pleaded guilty. He further contends that, had he been informed he might receive a longer total sentence, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.

“To prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, a movant ... must show that (1) counsel failed to exercise the customary skill and diligence that a reasonably competent attorney would exercise under similar circumstances and (2) he was prejudiced thereby.” Thornton v. State, 456 S.W.3d 435, 438-39 (Mo.App. W.D. 2014). “If the movant fails to satisfy either the performance prong or the prejudice prong of the test, the appellate court need not consider the other, and the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must fail.” Id. at 439.

By pleading guilty, a defendant “waive[s] any claim that counsel was ineffective except to the extent that the conduct affected the voluntariness and knowledge with which the plea was made.” Miller v. State, 260 S.W.3d 393, 394 (Mo. App. W.D.2008). Accordingly, “[wjhen a movant pleads guilty, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are relevant only to the extent they affect the voluntariness with which a plea was made.” Jones v. State, 211 S.W.3d 210, 213 (Mo.App. S.D. 2007).

“Neither a disappointed expectation of a lesser sentence, nor a mere prediction as to sentencing by counsel that proves incorrect, is sufficient to render a guilty plea involuntary.” Lynn v. State, 417 S.W.3d 789, 801 (Mo.App. E.D.2013) (internal quotation omitted). A mistaken belief about sentencing will only be found to have affected a movant’s ability to knowingly enter a guilty plea if (1) the mistake is reasonable and (2) is based upon a positive representation upon which the movant was entitled to rely. Id.

At the evidentiary hearing, plea counsel testified that he told Appellant that he would try to argue for concurrent sentences and that there were a couple of strong arguments that could be made. He stated that he told Appellant that he might get concurrent time but that he did not make any promise to Appellant regarding the sentence he would receive. The motion court found counsel’s testimony credible.

Counsel’s testimony clearly refuted Appellant’s contention that counsel promised him that he would receive concurrent sentences and would not receive a total sentence of more than ten years imprisonment. “[A] motion court does not clearly err in denying a claim that the movant was misled about his sentence where the attorney testifies at an evidentiary hearing the alleged misadvice was never given.” Id. (internal quotation omitted).

At most, the comments made by counsel to Appellant amounted to a mere prediction regarding what sentence the plea court might impose and could not be deemed sufficient to render the plea involuntary. “[A]n errant prediction or advice of counsel does not render a plea involuntary, nor does an expectation of a lighter sentence than actually received.” Glover v. State, 477 S.W.3d 68, 76, 2015 WL 3759425 at *5 (Mo.App. E.D.2015).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

CALEB Z. ECCHER v. STATE OF MISSOURI
Missouri Court of Appeals, 2021
Perkins v. State
569 S.W.3d 426 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2018)
Rodney simmons v. State of Missorui
502 S.W.3d 739 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2016)
Richard E. Robertson v. State of Missouri
502 S.W.3d 32 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2016)
Deante L. Harris, Movant/Appellant v. State of Missouri
494 S.W.3d 647 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
480 S.W.3d 455, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clifford-e-porter-v-state-of-missouri-moctapp-2016.