Evans v. State of Alabama

722 So. 2d 778, 1997 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 412, 1997 WL 520274
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 22, 1997
DocketCR-96-0758
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 722 So. 2d 778 (Evans v. State of Alabama) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Evans v. State of Alabama, 722 So. 2d 778, 1997 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 412, 1997 WL 520274 (Ala. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

BASCHAB, Judge.

On February 22,1995, the appellant, Thaddeus Trenau Evans, pled guilty to receiving stolen property in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-8-17, Ala.Code 1975. On March 31, 1995, the appellant was sentenced to a term of ten years imprisonment, with the sentence split to three years in custody and five years on probation. Two of the three years in custody were ordered to be served concurrently with a previous conviction, and the third year was ordered to be served consecutively to that previous sentence. The State had agreed to recommend a straight ten year sentence to run concurrently with the appellant’s previous sentence, but at the [779]*779time the appellant entered his plea and again at sentencing the trial court indicated that it would not necessarily follow the State’s recommendation.

On April 27, 1995, the appellant filed a notice of appeal to this court, along with a motion for the trial judge to recuse himself from the case. On May 1, 1995, counsel was appointed to represent the appellant on appeal, and this court affirmed the conviction without opinion on October 23, 1995. On April 9, 1996, the appellant filed a Rule 32 petition, and the trial judge recused himself from the case. The case was subsequently assigned to another judge. The appellant filed several motions asking for a “default” judgment in his favor due to the State’s failure to respond to his petition. The State finally filed its response on August 22, 1996.

In his pro se petition to the trial court, the appellant argued that the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of Alabama required a new trial, a new sentencing proceeding, or other relief. As grounds for his petition, he alleged that: (1) his plea of guilty was unlawfully induced or was not made voluntarily with an understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea because he thought he was receiving a straight ten-year sentence, not a split sentence; (2) his trial counsel failed to file a motion requesting that the trial judge recuse from this case because the judge was the District Attorney when the appellant was indicted; (3) he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to investigate his ease, thereby causing the appellant to enter a guilty plea rather than proceed to trial; (4) he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney told him he would receive a straight ten-year sentence, instead of the split sentence that was actually imposed; and (5) he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney allowed him to be sentenced in a manner that violated the Double Jeopardy clause in that he was subjected to multiple punishments for the same offense. The State denied the appellant’s allegations, and further argued that his claims were precluded by Rule 32.2 because they could have been raised at trial or on appeal.

Without a hearing, the trial court issued an order denying the petition and stating that (1) the appellant had indicated during the plea colloquy that he understood the charge and the possible consequences of the plea and that he indicated he entered the plea voluntarily (but the trial court did not make a finding that the plea was in fact made knowingly and voluntarily); (2) the appellant was not convicted or sentenced twice for the same offense; and (3) the appellant could not be given relief under Rule 32 on any ground which could have been but was not raised on appeal unless the ground arose under Rule 32.1(b).

The appellant argues to this court the same issues he presented to the trial court, and additionally argues that the trial court erred in failing to grant him an evidentiary hearing on his Rule 32 petition. The State, while asserting that the appellant’s substantive claims are without merit, responded in its brief that this case should be remanded to the trial court for a ruling on the merits of the allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel and on the merits of the voluntariness of the guilty plea. We agree that the trial court erred in failing to rule on the merits of the appellant’s petition. Therefore, we remand this case to the trial court for a ruling on the merits of the appellant’s claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and for a ruling on the merits of whether his plea was made voluntarily.

The trial court denied the appellant’s claims on the basis of Rule 32.2(a)(5), Ala. R.Crim. P., which precludes relief under Rule 32 for any ground “[wjhich could have been but was not raised on appeal, unless the ground for relief arises under Rule 32.1(b).” In order for the appellant to have raised on direct appeal his claims of the ineffective assistance of his counsel or of the involuntariness of his plea, he would have first had to file with the trial court a motion for a new trial alleging ineffective assistance of counsel or a motion to withdraw his guilty plea on the grounds that the plea was not voluntary. Either motion had to be filed with the trial court no later than thirty days after imposition of his sentence in order for the trial court to have jurisdiction to review the mer[780]*780its of the claim. Rule 24.1, Ala. R.Crim. P.; Ward v. State, 527 So.2d 780 (Ala.Cr.App.1988). After the trial court ruled on the appellant’s motions, this court would be in a position to address the claims on appeal. Cantu v. State, 660 So.2d 1026 (Ala.1995).

In this ease, counsel was not appointed to represent the appellant until more than thirty days after he entered his plea of guilty, making it impossible for him to file a timely motion to withdraw his plea or for a new trial. The appellant’s counsel, upon being appointed to the case, filed a “Motion for Suspension of Time to File Motion for New Trial” on May 8, 1995, pursuant to Ex parte Jackson, 598 So.2d 895 (Ala.1992).1 The trial court granted the motion that same day, but counsel never filed a new trial motion. However, since the trial court did not have jurisdiction to grant a Jackson motion filed more than thirty days after sentencing, this court would not have reviewed the appellant’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal even if the untimely new trial motion had been filed. Ex parte Ingram, 675 So.2d 863, 866 (Ala.1996). Since the appellant could not have presented his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal, they are not procedurally barred by Rule 32.2(a)(5), Ala. R.Crim. P.

Likewise, the appellant’s claims concerning the voluntariness of his plea are not barred by Rule 32.2(a)(5), Ala. R.Crim. P., because he had to make a motion to withdraw his guilty plea no later than thirty days after sentencing to present the issue on direct appeal. Ward v. State, 527 So.2d 780 (Ala.Cr.App.1988). In Cantu v. State, 660 So.2d 1026 (Ala.1995), the Alabama Supreme Court held that the voluntariness of a guilty plea can be raised in a timely filed post-conviction motion, stating:

“We hold that even though a defendant could file a motion under the provisions of Rule 14 to withdraw a plea of guilty and could appeal a trial court’s ruling on that motion, the defendant would not be precluded from raising, in a timely filed post-conviction proceeding, the question of the voluntariness of the guilty plea. That was the holding in [Ex parte ] Rivers, [597 So.2d 1308 (Ala.1991) ], and the only holding in Rivers. Gordon v. Nagle [647 So.2d 91 (Ala.1994) ].

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Related

Cornelison v. State
137 So. 3d 937 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
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794 So. 2d 1210 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
722 So. 2d 778, 1997 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 412, 1997 WL 520274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-state-of-alabama-alacrimapp-1997.