Coleman v. State

222 N.W.2d 497, 1974 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1130
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 16, 1974
Docket2-56923
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 222 N.W.2d 497 (Coleman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coleman v. State, 222 N.W.2d 497, 1974 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1130 (iowa 1974).

Opinion

HARRIS, Justice.

Two indictments were brought against Ethel Gene Coleman (petitioner) resulting from acts claimed to have occurred February 1, 1968. A charge of robbery with aggravation resulted in a jury conviction and subsequent 25 year sentence. Defendant thereafter entered a guilty plea to a separate charge of rape and was sentenced to a concurrent 25 year term. Nearly five years later petitioner brought this postcon-viction proceeding claiming errors in both cases. We affirm.

Taking the evidence offered at trial in 1968 in the light most consistent with the verdict it was shown a lady, with her baby, was about to enter her car parked in the driveway of her home. Petitioner accosted her, displayed a knife, and forcibly entered the car. He then ordered the victim to drive about a rural area on roads apparently selected at random. Petitioner several times threatened his victim. At one point he said, “[y]ou do as I say or I will kill you and that baby.” At another point he said: “I will cut your guts out and I will cut your baby’s guts out and I will cut the baby’s head off.”

During a part of the time an accomplice of the petitioner was also in the car but left prior to the time petitioner forced his victim to drive to a secluded spot. At the spot petitioner took his victim from the car, directed her to place her baby on a towel he placed on the ground, forced removal of her clothing and raped her. After returning to the car it became stuck and petitioner left.

Petitioner was indicted, tried and convicted of robbery with aggravation in violation of.§ 711.2, The Code, as a result of commandeering the victim’s family car. Several of his complaints stem from admission of evidence of rape in the robbery with aggravation trial. He also complains of overruling his motion for change of venue for a sanity hearing. He complains further of a failure to comply with our court rule which requires the sentencing judge to advise of appeal rights.

*499 Following the robbery with aggravation trial petitioner entered a guilty plea to rape in violation of § 698.1, The Code. He claims the plea should not have been accepted and believes he had inadequate counsel.

I. On July 10, 1967 we adopted court rule 15.1 which requires a trial court, immediately after imposing criminal sentence, to advise the defendant of his appeal rights. The rule specifies the trial court must inform of the right of indigents to apply for appointment of counsel and for furnishing of transcript and printing costs at public expense. See §§ 775.5 and 793.8, The Code.

Petitioner was sentenced on both charges October 7, 1968. The trial court advised him generally of his appeal rights but omitted informing him of the right to pursue such an appeal at public expense. On the record the trial court referred petitioner to his counsel expressing the expectation counsel would explain appellate procedure to him.

At the postconviction proceeding the State offered affidavits of petitioner’s trial counsel asserting they informed him his appeal could be undertaken at public expense. Petitioner testified he had not been so informed.

We need not resolve the conflict. Neither need we decide whether a failure to comply with rule 15.1 can be ignored when actual knowledge of appeal rights is shown. Petitioner’s counsel conceded upon oral submission of this appeal he raised in this proceeding and appeal every question which might have been presented on direct appeal.

Under the peculiar circumstances stemming from failure to fully comply with rule 15.1 we treat this appeal also as a delayed appeal of the original conviction and plea. It is unaffected by factual findings of the trial court in the postconviction proceeding below. Only legal questions are presented. We reject petitioner’s suggestion his conviction should be set aside by reason of noncompliance with rule 15.1 because he is in no way prejudiced.

II. Before and during petitioner’s trial for robbery with aggravation he sought to exclude evidence of rape. A motion in li-mine to exclude this evidence was overruled. Testimony of the rape was objected to when offered. Finally, petitioner moved for mistrial because of its admission. Although petitioner separately raises the rulings admitting rape testimony we consider them together. We believe the evidence of rape was properly admitted.

We recently had occasion to consider admissibility of rape testimony in a trial for another crime in State v. Garren, 220 N.W.2d 898 (Iowa 1974). We said:

“ * * * [Ejvents and circumstances which immediately surround an offense may be shown even though they may incidentally show commission of another crime.”

On occasion each of two criminial acts are inseparable parts of a whole deed so that proof of one tends to prove the other. In such a case evidence of either criminal act is admissible upon trial for the other. State v. Lyons, 210 N.W.2d 543, 546 (Iowa 1973).

We believe the rape and robbery with aggravation were inseparable parts of the whole deed so related that proof of one tended to prove the other.

Petitioner's trial counsel could not escape the interrelationship of the two crimes even after he had sought repeatedly to exclude rape evidence. At time of sentence, trial counsel was invited to speak in behalf of petitioner. He began his remarks with the concession: “It is hard to talk about one without the other and you may consider my statements in both.” We agree. The intention to perpetrate a rape may well have been petitioner’s motive in robbing his victim of the family car. There was no error in admitting evidence of rape upon petitioner’s trial for robbery with aggravation.

III. Petitioner believes his plea of guilty should not have been accepted. He *500 shows the proceedings upon his plea did not comply with the standards later adopted in State v. Sisco, 169 N.W.2d 542 (Iowa 1969). He specifically complains of the acceptance of the plea in view of his simultaneous profession of innocence.

In a number of cases, beginning with State v. Vantrump, 170 N.W.2d 453, 454 (Iowa 1969), we held Sisco guidelines should not be applied retrospectively. Under the standards existing prior to our Sisco holding there was nothing in the proceedings at which the guilty plea was entered offensive to due process. Pre-Sisco standards even tolerated variations from the statutory procedure prescribed in § 777.12, The Code. Herold v. Haugh, 259 Iowa 667, 145 N.W.2d 657; Parrott v. Haugh, 158 N.W.2d 766 (Iowa 1968). We reject petitioner’s complaint he was not sufficiently advised of his rights and that the record insufficiently shows his plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered.

Another of petitioner’s arguments would not avail even under Sisco standards.

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Related

State v. Cuevas
282 N.W.2d 74 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1979)
State v. Brewer
247 N.W.2d 205 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1976)

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222 N.W.2d 497, 1974 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coleman-v-state-iowa-1974.