Drennan v. State

695 So. 2d 581, 1997 WL 295922
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJune 5, 1997
Docket96-KP-00021-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by86 cases

This text of 695 So. 2d 581 (Drennan v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drennan v. State, 695 So. 2d 581, 1997 WL 295922 (Mich. 1997).

Opinion

695 So.2d 581 (1997)

Martin Monroe DRENNAN
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 96-KP-00021-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 5, 1997.

*582 Martin Monroe Drennan, Sumrall, pro se.

Michael C. Moore, Atty. Gen., Jolene M. Lowry, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before PRATHER, P.J., and BANKS and SMITH, JJ.

SMITH, Justice, for the Court:

On February 23, 1995, Martin Drennan pled guilty to felony DUI in violation of Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30. After entry of his guilty plea, Drennan was sentenced to *583 serve three years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to pay a fine of $2,000.00 and all court costs.

On October 17, 1995, Drennan filed a Motion to Vacate Conviction and Sentence alleging that his guilty plea was not knowing, intelligent, or voluntary because the indictment returned by the grand jury was flawed in that it failed to allege that Drennan had been previously convicted of a second offense. Drennan also argues that defense counsel was ineffective due to the failure to advise him of the defect. Drennan asks this Court to reverse and remand for sentencing or alternatively to vacate the guilty plea and order a new trial. After thorough review, we find no error in the proceedings below and therefore affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On November 1, 1994, Martin Drennan was arrested by Officer Kevin Crawford of the Hattiesburg Police Department for driving under the influence. Drennan's blood alcohol level was .116%. Because Drennan had two prior convictions for driving under the influence within the past five years, he was charged with a felony.

On February 14, 1995, Drennan was indicted by the Forrest County Grand Jury for felony DUI in violation of Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30. The indictment specifically alleged that Drennan had been previously convicted of two separate and distinct counts of driving under the influence within a five year period.

On February 23, 1995, Drennan pled guilty to felony DUI before Circuit Court Judge Richard W. McKenzie. Drennan, represented by counsel, affirmatively stated that he understood the nature of the charges against him and admitted guilt. The trial judge accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Drennan to serve three years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, to pay a $ 2,000.00 fine and all court costs.

On October 17, 1995, Drennan filed a post-conviction Motion to Vacate Conviction and Sentence alleging that the indictment returned by the grand jury was fatally defective in that it failed to allege that Drennan had been convicted of a second offense. Drennan therefore argued that the indictment was insufficient to charge the crime of felony DUI and his guilty plea was involuntary. Drennan also argued that his counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him of the defects and for advising Drennan to plead guilty. Judge McKenzie denied the motion, specifically finding:

The Court finds, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant had previously been convicted of two (2) separate and distinct crimes of D.U.I. within the past five (5) years, and the defendant in fact acknowledged the same during his entry of guilty plea and judgment of court, even though the convictions as alleged in the indictment did not reflect D.U.I. First Offense and D.U.I. Second Offense, but reflected D.U.I. First Offense and D.U.I. Third Offense, and the offense for which [he is] presently incarcerated would numerically be a D.U.I. Fourth within the period of five (5) years; however, there is sufficient basis in law and in fact as reviewed by this record, for the conviction to stand.

From the denial of the post-conviction motion, Drennan appeals to this Court, raising the following issues:

I. WHETHER THE GUILTY PLEA WAS KNOWING, INTELLIGENT, AND VOLUNTARY.
II. WHETHER DRENNAN RECEIVED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL.

DISCUSSION OF LAW

I. WHETHER THE GUILTY PLEA WAS KNOWING, INTELLIGENT, AND VOLUNTARY.

Drennan first argues that his guilty plea was not knowing, intelligent, or voluntary because he was not advised by his counsel or the trial court that the indictment was insufficient to charge the offense of felony DUI. Specifically, Drennan argues that the indictment failed to allege that Drennan had been convicted of a second offense.

In Banana v. State, 635 So.2d 851, 854 (Miss. 1994), this Court held:

*584 A guilty plea will only be binding upon a criminal defendant if it is voluntarily and intelligently entered. Alexander v. State, 605 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss. 1992). See Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969); Myers v. State, 583 So.2d 174, 177 (Miss. 1991); Wilson v. State, 577 So.2d 394, 397 (Miss. 1991). In order to be voluntarily and intelligently entered, a defendant must be advised about the nature of the crime charged against him and the consequences of the guilty plea.

Id.

Moreover, "a valid guilty plea ... admits all elements of a formal charge and operates as a waiver of all non-jurisdictional defects contained in an indictment [or information] against a defendant." Conerly v. State, 607 So.2d 1153, 1155 (Miss. 1992) (quoting Brooks v. State, 573 So.2d 1350, 1352 (Miss. 1990)). Specifically, this Court held:

Outside the constitutional realm, the law is well-settled that with only two exceptions, the entry of a knowing and voluntary guilty plea waives all other defects or insufficiencies in the indictment. Jefferson v. State, 556 So.2d 1016, 1019 (Miss. 1989). A plea of guilty does not waive (1) the failure of the indictment to charge a criminal offense or, more specifically, to charge an essential element of a criminal offense, and a plea of guilty does not waive (2) subject matter jurisdiction.

Conerly, 607 So.2d at 1155.

Drennan argues that he was not advised about the nature of the crime charged because the trial court and his attorney failed to advise him that the indictment was insufficient. Therefore, Drennan argues that if he had been advised that the indictment failed to properly charge felony DUI he would have proceeded to trial.

In arguing that the indictment was defective, Drennan relies on Page v. State, 607 So.2d 1163 (Miss. 1992) and Ashcraft v. City of Richland, 620 So.2d 1210 (1993). In Page, this Court held that an indictment charging the defendant with a fourth offense felony DUI was insufficient because it failed to charge a felony offense. This Court held that "each subparagraph of § 63-11-30(2) represents a separate crime with separate penalties." Id. at 1168. Therefore, "each prior conviction is an element of the felony offense, and each must be specifically charged." Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
695 So. 2d 581, 1997 WL 295922, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drennan-v-state-miss-1997.