Jeffrey Dane Murray v. State

321 P.3d 709, 156 Idaho 159, 2014 Ida. LEXIS 89, 2014 WL 1053308
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 19, 2014
Docket39400
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 321 P.3d 709 (Jeffrey Dane Murray v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jeffrey Dane Murray v. State, 321 P.3d 709, 156 Idaho 159, 2014 Ida. LEXIS 89, 2014 WL 1053308 (Idaho 2014).

Opinion

HORTON, Justice.

Jeffrey Dane Murray appeals from the district court’s order dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief after he pleaded guilty to felony domestic violence and was sentenced to three years fixed followed by seven years indeterminate. Murray’s petition for post-conviction relief argued, among other things, that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective-an argument that he reasserts now on appeal. We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Murray’s petition for post-conviction relief.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On June 1, 2009, Murray was charged with felony attempted strangulation and misdemeanor battery. Subsequently, the district court held a pretrial conference on July 13, 2009. At the hearing, the State and Murray’s trial counsel, Jared Martens, entered into plea negotiations. After a short discussion, Martens represented to the court that the parties had reached an agreement. Under the parties’ agreement, Murray agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of domestic violence and to submit to a domestic violence evaluation. In exchange, the State agreed to dismiss a felony charge of attempted strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of battery and recommend a sentence of three years fixed followed by seven years indeterminate, suspended, and 120 days in jail. After hearing the parties’ proposed agreement, the district judge questioned the parties:

The Court: Okay, is there an Estrada waiver?
Ms. Buttram: I believe so.
The Court: Well, I think there would have to be. I am not going to [accept the plea agreement] without an Estrada waiver.
Mr. Martens: Just a moment, let me talk to the prosecutor.
(Brief delay.)
Mr. Martens: Yes, that’s fine. He will waive, Your Honor.
The Court: Is that what you want to do, Mr. Murray?
The Defendant: Yes, ma’am.

The district court then took a recess to allow Murray to complete the court’s Guilty Plea Advisory Form. Murray, with the help of Martens, then executed the Guilty Plea Advisory Form.

The Guilty Plea Advisory Form signed by Murray expressly references the rights outlined by this Court in Estrada v. State, 143 Idaho 558, 149 P.3d 833 (2006), stating:

I understand that by pleading guilty I am waiving my right to remain silent about the charge I am pleading guilty to both before and after trial.
The waiver of your right to remain silent only applies to your plea of guilty to the crimes(s) in this case unless you are waiving your rights under State v. Estrada [sic]. Unless you waive your rights under Estrada, even after pleading guilty, you will still have the right to refuse to answer any question or to provide any information that might tend to show you committed some other crime(s). You can also refuse to answer or provide information that might tend to increase the punishment for the crime(s) to which you are pleading.
I understand that by pleading guilty to the crimes(s) in this ease, I still have the right to remain silent with respect to any other crimes(s) and with respect to answering questions or providing information that may increase my sentence.

Murray initialed each of the above paragraphs, “J.M.” on the Guilty Plea Advisory Form. The Guilty Plea Advisory Form also stated:

I understand that my plea agreement is a non-binding plea agreement. This means *163 that the court is not bound by the agreement or any sentencing recommendations, and may impose any sentence authorized by the law, up to the maximum sentence for any offense.

After the Guilty Plea Advisory Form was executed, the court reconvened. The court asked Martens, “You went over the guilty plea advisory form with [Murray]?” Martens responded, “[Y]es, we just did.” The court then questioned Murray about his decision to plead guilty:

[The Court]: Have you had any trouble understanding your lawyer?
[Murray]: No, ma’am.
[The Court]: Did he tell you to your satisfaction what your rights and defenses are?
[Murray]: Yes, ma’am.
[The Court]: And you understand that you are giving up your rights under State versus Estrada, and that means that you cannot refuse to answer any question or provide any information that might tend to show you committed some other crime? You need to talk freely and openly with the presentence investigator and with any domestic violence evaluator about any problems that you might have that might have a bearing upon sentencing.
[Murray]: Yes, ma’am.
[The Court]: And you are aware of that? [Murray]: Yes, ma’am.

Thereafter, the district court accepted Murray’s guilty plea and ordered a domestic violence evaluation.

Murray’s sentencing hearing was held on September 8, 2009. Based on Murray’s domestic violence evaluation and his presentence report, the district court found that Murray was not manageable on probation and that he presented a high risk of re-offense. Because the district court did not feel that the recommended sentence adequately protected society, it chose not to follow the State’s recommendation and instead sentenced Murray to prison for ten years, with three years fixed. Murray did not appeal his sentence. Instead, he filed a motion to reduce his sentence pursuant to I.C.R. 35. The district court denied this motion. Murray appealed the district court’s denial of his I.C.R. 35 motion to the Idaho Court of Appeals, which affirmed the district court. See State v. Murray, No. 37482, 2010 WL 9590129 (Ct.App. Nov. 1, 2010).

On October 27, 2010, Murray filed a petition for post-conviction relief. In his petition, Murray argued that his guilty plea should be vacated because: (1) it was not knowing, voluntary, and intelligent; (2) his counsel at the plea and sentencing hearings was constitutionally ineffective; and, (3) his counsel during post-trial proceedings was constitutionally ineffective. An evidentiary hearing on Murray’s petition was held on May 31, 2011. At the hearing, Murray stated that had he known that the domestic violence evaluation could be used to increase his sentence he would have “discussed it with an attorney at the time [and] probably would have not taken it or received my own personal evaluation.” The district court issued its decision on October 20, 2011, and dismissed Murray’s petition after concluding that Murray failed to meet his burden to show that he was entitled to post-conviction relief.

On November 11, 2011, Murray filed his notice of appeal from the district court’s dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to I.A.R. 11(a)(1).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
321 P.3d 709, 156 Idaho 159, 2014 Ida. LEXIS 89, 2014 WL 1053308, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jeffrey-dane-murray-v-state-idaho-2014.