Hoyt v. State

952 So. 2d 1016, 2007 WL 824024
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 20, 2007
Docket2006-CP-00928-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 952 So. 2d 1016 (Hoyt v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoyt v. State, 952 So. 2d 1016, 2007 WL 824024 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

952 So.2d 1016 (2007)

Michael Wayne HOYT, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-CP-00928-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

March 20, 2007.

*1018 Michael Wayne Hoyt, appellant, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., IRVING, BARNES and CARLTON JJ.

CARLTON, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. This is an appeal from the decision of the Circuit Court of Lamar County summarily dismissing Michael Wayne Hoyt's motion for post-conviction relief. Finding no error, we affirm.

*1019 FACTS

¶ 2. On May 8, 2003, Hoyt was charged by criminal information for the offense of conspiracy to manufacture the controlled substance, methamphetamine, cause number 2003K-397E (2003K). On the same day, Hoyt signed a waiver of indictment, a petition to enter a plea of guilty, and, thereafter, entered a plea of guilty to the charge in the Circuit Court of Lamar County. The trial judge accepted the plea of guilty as valid and sentenced him to serve a term of fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with one year of participation in drug and alcohol treatment, and upon successful completion of the treatment program, one year of supervised house arrest, and upon the successful completion of house arrest, the remaining thirteen years to be suspended pending successful completion of a five-year period of post-release supervision.

¶ 3. In April 2006, Hoyt filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief in the Circuit Court of Lamar County claiming that he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel which rendered his plea involuntary. Specifically, he alleged that his attorney mistakenly told him that he was pleading guilty to cause number 2002K-500P (2002K), a separate charge of conspiracy to manufacture the controlled substance, methamphetamine, on which Hoyt had been indicted in 2001 but not yet been convicted. Hoyt claimed that at the time of his plea hearing for 2003K, the cause under which he pled guilty and was sentenced, he was under the impression that he was pleading guilty to 2002K.[1] He also claimed that his attorney coerced him to plead guilty.

¶ 4. On May 12, 2006, the Circuit Court of Lamar County summarily dismissed Hoyt's motion without an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-11(2) (Rev.2000).

¶ 5. Hoyt filed a notice of appeal on May 23, 2006. He argues on appeal that the circuit court erred in dismissing his motion for post-conviction relief without holding an evidentiary hearing and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel which rendered his plea involuntary.

DISCUSSION

1. Standard of Review

¶ 6. "In reviewing a trial court's decision to deny a petition for post-conviction relief a court will not reverse such a denial absent a finding that the trial court's decision was clearly erroneous." Kirksey v. State, 728 So.2d 565, 567(8) (Miss.1999). However, where questions of law are raised the applicable standard of review is de novo. Brown v. State, 731 So.2d 595, 598(6) (Miss.1999).

2. Involuntary Plea

¶ 7. For a guilty plea to be valid it must be made "voluntarily and intelligently." Alexander v. State, 605 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss.1992). "A plea is deemed `voluntary and intelligent' only where the defendant is advised concerning the nature of the charge against him and the consequences of the plea." Id. (citing Wilson v. State, 577 So.2d 394, 396-97 (Miss.1991)). Specifically, a defendant must be advised of the maximum and minimum sentences that may be imposed and "that a guilty plea involves a waiver of the right to a trial by jury, the right to confront adverse witnesses, *1020 and the right to protection against self incrimination." Id. (citation omitted).

¶ 8. The record does not support Hoyt's claim that his guilty plea was involuntary. "Great weight is given to statements made under oath and in open court during sentencing." Gable v. State, 748 So.2d 703, 706(11) (Miss.1999) (citing Young v. State, 731 So.2d 1120, 1123(12) (Miss.1999)). A review of the record reveals prior sworn statements made by Hoyt which directly contradict the claims he now advances.

¶ 9. Hoyt claims that his plea was not voluntary because his attorney mistakenly represented to him that he was pleading guilty to 2002K instead of 2003K, and that, as a result, he was under the impression that he was pleading guilty to 2002K. Hoyt claims that he is innocent of 2003K and wanted a jury trial. This assertion is without merit. The record contains prior sworn statements made by Hoyt which directly contradict his argument. Hoyt signed a waiver of indictment to 2003K, in which the cause number was clearly contained in the heading. The waiver plainly stated the charge, conspiracy to manufacture the controlled substance, methamphetamine. It also contained the date on which the crime was alleged to have been committed. Hoyt also signed a petition to enter a plea of guilty which contained the cause number 2003K in its heading. He acknowledged in his petition to plead guilty to 2003K that the State had agreed to nolle prosse 2002K. The transcript of the plea hearing reflects that the trial judge, prosecution, and defense attorney took notice of the agreement at the plea hearing.

¶ 10. Hoyt argues, for the first time on appeal, that his attorney mistakenly advised him that if he pled guilty, he would only receive house arrest. Hoyt contends that he relied on this advice when he entered his plea, therefore rendering his plea involuntary. This claim is also without merit as it is refuted by sworn statements in the record. We first note that Hoyt did in fact receive house arrest which he subsequently violated.[2] Additionally, Hoyt signed a petition to enter a plea of guilty in which he represented "I understand and recognize that if I have been told by my lawyer that I might receive probation or a light sentence, this is merely his prediction and is not binding on the court." He also stated in the petition that "no one has predicted or estimated how much time if any, of any sentence received I must serve before I become eligible for any type of release." Hoyt's sworn petition also correctly stated that the maximum sentence was twenty years. The transcript of the plea hearing reflects that when asked by the trial judge what the maximum penalty in his case was, Hoyt answered "twenty years."

¶ 11. Hoyt claims next that his guilty plea was not voluntary because he was allegedly coerced by his attorney with threats to sign the waiver of indictment and the petition to plead guilty, and to enter his plea of guilty. While Hoyt himself provides no explanation as to the nature of the alleged threats in his original motion or in his appellate brief, he did attach the affidavits of his mother and niece to his motion for post-conviction relief. The affidavits of Hoyt's mother and niece each represent that the respective affiant was present at a meeting on the day of Hoyt's plea hearing, that Hoyt's attorney cursed and told him he better plead guilty or he would get fifty to eighty *1021

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Bluebook (online)
952 So. 2d 1016, 2007 WL 824024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoyt-v-state-missctapp-2007.