Martin v. State of Maine

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedSeptember 30, 2013
DocketCUMcr-11-8472
StatusUnpublished

This text of Martin v. State of Maine (Martin v. State of Maine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martin v. State of Maine, (Me. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

b0 5 5 7 8 STATE OF MAINE r ST.'· T::: 0 ~.~ :~ lt·l E SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss. CUM 3ERLAND. SS DOCKET NO. CR-11-8 4-7- ~ CLERK'S OFFICE •. )1 (j- CW\ ~~r•:jJ )'7! CHRISTOPHER R. MARTIN I ZDlJ SEP 30 Arl 9 55 v. ORDER ON POST-CONVICTION REVIEW

STATE OF MAINE

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Christopher R. Martin filed a petition for post-conviction review of a judgment of

conviction for burglary (Class B). 1 He pled guilty on April29, 2011. On June 24, 2011

the court sentenced him to a five-year period of incarceration with the Department of

Corrections on three burglary counts, concurrent with each other and concurrent with

sentences on lesser charges. This sentence was consecutive to sentences received in 2006

in the Androscoggin County Court. His probation was revoked in the Androscoggin cases

at the time of his plea in the Cumberland County cases. He appealed his sentence to the

Law Court, which appeal was denied on October 3, 2011.

GROUNDS ALLEGED

The petitioner filed the motion now before the court alleging ineffective

assistance of counsel during his plea, imposition of an excessive sentence, and undue

pressure to enter a guilty plea. He argued that he was told by his plea counsel that he

would receive a lesser sentence than that which the court actually imposed, and he

1 Christopher R. Martin was indicted for three counts of burglary (Class B), three counts of theft by unauthorized taking (Class C), one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon (Class C), two counts of attempted burglary (Class C), as well as four counts of misdemeanors (Class E). He pled guilty to all counts in the indictment, with the exception to the reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, which the prosecutor dismissed. See CUMCD-CR-2010-8565. On the same day, he admitted to a probation revocation arising out of Androscoggin County. asserted in his petition that "I did not understand anything about what was going on."

Subsequent to receiving a court-appointed attorney in the post-conviction matter, Martin

amended his petition to allege his plea counsel was further ineffective in failing to review

discovery and determine whether there was a factual basis for the plea entered. He asserts

in his amendment that counsel did not in fact review discovery with defendant; therefore,

the plea was not knowing and voluntary. By the time of the PCR hearing, Martin asserted

that counsel did not provide him with copies of discovery. At Martin's PCR hearing, his

attorney articulated Martin's arguments to be two fold, first was ineffective assistance of

counsel, as a result of counsel's failures around discovery, and second, the

involuntariness ofhis plea.

At the hearing on his petition, Petitioner presented the transcript of the plea and

sentencing proceedings, his own testimony, the testimony of Henry Griffin, his

appointed-counsel at the trial level, and the testimony of Stephen Brochu, the attorney

who filled in for Griffin during the plea.

DISCUSSION

1. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Standard

To determine whether Martin received constitutionally ineffective assistance of

counsel, this court must examine:

[F]irst, whether there has been serious incompetency, inefficiency, or inattention of counsel amounting to performance ... below what might be expected from an ordinary fallible attorney; and second, whether any such ineffective representation likely deprived the defendant of an otherwise available substantial ground of defense.

Alexandre v. State, 2007 ME 106, ~ 43, quoting Aldus v. State, 2000 ME 47, ~ 12,748

A.2d 463, 467. "[T]he federal and state guarantees are virtually identical." McGowan v.

2 State, 2006 ME 16, ~ 12, 894 A.2d 493, 497. 2 "The burden is on the defendant to prove

both prongs." !d. However, the court "begin[s] with the second prong regarding

prejudice because if it is determined that there was no prejudice, there is no need to

address the first prong regarding whether counsel's performance was deficient." Francis

v. Maine, 2007 ME 148, ~ 4.

To demonstrate prejudice at a plea proceeding, a petitioner has to show that there

was a reasonable possibility that he would have insisted on going to trial but for his

attorney's performance. Laferriere v. State, 1997 ME 169, ~ 8, 697 A. 2d 1301, 1305.

"A reasonable probability means a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the

outcome." Aldus v. State, 2000 ME 47, ~ 13 (citation and quotation marks omitted).

Thus, Martin has to demonstrate that (1) the performance of his plea counsel fell below

that of an ordinary fallible attorney; and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for

his attorney's error, he would not have entered a guilty plea and would have insisted on

going to trial. !d.

2. The Court's Factual Findings Following the PCR Hearing

At the PCR hearing, Martin testified that there were two Christopher Martins in

the criminal justice system at the same time and Henry Griffin represented both of them.

Christopher R. Martin, the petitioner in the pending matter, was charged with a number

of crimes, including burglary, attempted burglary, theft, reckless conduct with a

2 The test, as articulated by the United States Supreme Court is: First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the "counsel" guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Stricklandv. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,687 (1984).

3 dangerous weapon and driving to endanger. Christopher N. Martin, the other Christopher

Martin, was charged with domestic violence and was involved in a child protection

matter. Martin argues that his attorney confused him with the other Christopher Martin,

resulting in Griffin not sending to him and his not receiving or reviewing the discovery in

his case. Rather, Griffin sent him the discovery related to a Christopher N. Martin, who

was held in Androscoggin County Jail. With respect to the Christopher Martin mix up,

Griffin had the right street name but the wrong street number. Griffin mailed discovery

to 3 5 Allen A venue, when the actual address was care of his father's home at 55 Allen

Road, Pownal. Mr. Martin was incarcerated in the Cumberland County Jail during the

entirety of this case; therefore, the proper place to send him his correspondence and

discovery was the Cumberland County Jail.

Martin argues that Griffin's errors were complicated by Stephen Brochu, an

attorney who stood in for Griffin at the plea proceeding, because Brochu said at the plea

that he had not reviewed the discovery but believed that Griffin reviewed the discovery

with Martin. (Tr. 18.) And, the plea proceeding was further complicated by more

confusion when the plea judge asked a question, according to Martin's PCR counsel,

using a "double negative." (Tr. 12.)

According to Griffin, he was aware that there were two Christopher Martins, they

were both his clients, but he had not thought about the other Christopher Martin and the

consequences of confusing them.

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Francis v. State
2007 ME 148 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2007)
Lang v. Murch
438 A.2d 914 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1981)
State v. Comer
584 A.2d 638 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1990)
State v. Jurek
594 A.2d 553 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1991)
Aldus v. State
2000 ME 47 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2000)
McGowan v. State
2006 ME 16 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2006)
Laferriere v. State
1997 ME 169 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1997)
State v. Dafoe
463 A.2d 770 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1983)
Alexandre v. State
2007 ME 106 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2007)

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Martin v. State of Maine, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-state-of-maine-mesuperct-2013.