Dunlap v. State

894 P.2d 134, 126 Idaho 901, 1995 Ida. App. LEXIS 26
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 1, 1995
Docket20777
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 894 P.2d 134 (Dunlap v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dunlap v. State, 894 P.2d 134, 126 Idaho 901, 1995 Ida. App. LEXIS 26 (Idaho Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

LANSING, Judge.

Cary K. Dunlap appeals from the summary dismissal of his application for post-conviction relief. He contends that genuine issues of material fact precluded the granting of such a dismissal and that an evidentiary hearing is required to enable the district court to resolve these factual issues. With respect to one of Dunlap’s claims, we agree that summary dismissal was improper. We therefore vacate the dismissal order in part and remand the ease for further proceedings.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Dunlap was charged in 1988 with one count of grand theft by possession of stolen property, one count of possession of a controlled substance, one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and one count of manufacturing a controlled substance. These charges arose out of a search of Dunlap’s residence pursuant to a warrant, during which substantia] amounts of marijuana and hashish and a hashish processing machine were found. In addition, the police found a box containing stolen firearms in a storage shed adjacent to the residence.

The search warrant had been issued on the basis of information provided by Cindy Crawford, who was allegedly Dunlap’s common-law wife. Dunlap’s attorney filed a motion to suppress all of the physical evidence seized during the search, to suppress Dunlap’s statements to the police following his arrest and to preclude Crawford’s testimony at trial. Dunlap’s attorney also sought dis *904 missal of all charges on the ground of insufficiency of the evidence at the preliminary hearing. The basis of these motions was that Crawford, as Dunlap’s common-law wife, was incompetent to testify against him and that her testimony at the preliminary hearing violated the privilege against disclosure of confidential marital communications. For the same reason, defense counsel argued, the warrant issued on the basis of information given by Crawford was invalid, and Dunlap’s statements to police were “fruit of the poisonous tree.” See Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). The district court conducted a hearing on the motions but reserved its ruling until the trial, which was set to begin several days later. Dunlap, however, absconded from the jurisdiction and failed to appear at trial. Over one year later Dunlap was returned to Idaho and, after plea negotiations, pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft by possession and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The district court therefore never ruled upon Dunlap’s suppression motion. Dunlap was sentenced to two concurrent terms of not less than five nor more than ten years’ incarceration.

Dunlap appealed the judgment of conviction and also filed an application for postconviction relief which alleged that his sentence on the charge of possession of a controlled substance was illegal. The district court, in ruling on this first post-conviction application, granted relief and amended Dunlap’s sentence for possession of a controlled substance to a term of confinement of not less than two nor more than five years. Dunlap appealed from this partial relief, and that appeal, as well as the direct appeal from Dunlap’s conviction, was denied by this Court in a previous opinion, State v. Dunlap, 123 Idaho 396, 848 P.2d 454 (Ct.App.1993).

Acting pro se, Dunlap filed a second application for post-conviction relief which initiated the present action. This second application asserts numerous instances where his attorney in the criminal case allegedly rendered ineffective assistance and thereby caused Dunlap’s guilty plea to be involuntary. Dunlap’s second application also alleges that the attorney who represented him in filing the first post-conviction application provided ineffective assistance in that he ignored Dunlap’s instruction to file a motion for withdrawal of the guilty plea and instead filed an application for post-conviction relief challenging only Dunlap’s sentence.

The district court gave notice to Dunlap that the court intended to summarily dismiss his application within twenty days pursuant to I.C. § 19-4906(b). Dunlap then filed an amended application and supporting affidavits. After considering this amended application and documentation, the district court dismissed the application without an evidentiary hearing.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

An action for post-conviction relief is civil in nature. State v. Bearshield, 104 Idaho 676, 678, 662 P.2d 548, 550 (1983). The burden is cast upon the applicant to prove his or her allegations by a preponderance of the evidence. I.C.R. 57(c); Russell v. State, 118 Idaho 65, 67, 794 P.2d 654, 656 (Ct.App.1990). Summary dismissal of an application pursuant to I.C. § 19-4906(b) is the equivalent of summary judgment under I.R.C.P. 56. Ramirez v. State, 113 Idaho 87, 89, 741 P.2d 374, 376 (Ct.App.1987). To avoid summary dismissal, the applicant must present facts showing he is entitled to relief, and this presentation must be made in the form of competent, admissible evidence, Paradis v. State, 110 Idaho 534, 536, 716 P.2d 1306, 1308 (1986); Roman v. State, 125 Idaho 644, 873 P.2d 898 (Ct.App.1994). On appeal from the summary dismissal of a post-conviction application, we examine the entire record and construe all factual allegations in favor of the applicant to determine if a genuine issue of material fact exists which, if resolved in the applicant’s favor, would entitle him to the requested relief. Noel v. State, 113 Idaho 92, 94, 741 P.2d 728, 730 (Ct.App.1987). Although the applicant’s uncontroverted factual allegations are assumed to be true, we do not give evidentiary value to mere eonclusory allegations that are unsupported by admissible evidence. Phillips v. State, 108 Idaho 405, 407, 700 P.2d 27, 29 *905 (1985); Roman, 125 Idaho at 647, 873 P.2d at 901.

Dunlap alleges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during the process of determining whether to plead guilty. In Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985), the United States Supreme Court defined the appropriate analysis for a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel following a guilty plea. First, the criminal defendant must show that his or her counsel’s performance “fell below an objective standard of reasonableness.” Hill, 474 U.S. at 57, 106 S.Ct. at 369. Second, the defendant must demonstrate that prejudice resulted from counsel’s deficient performance by showing that, “there is a reasonable probability that but for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.” Id. at 59,106 S.Ct. at 370.

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Bluebook (online)
894 P.2d 134, 126 Idaho 901, 1995 Ida. App. LEXIS 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dunlap-v-state-idahoctapp-1995.