McCullen v. State

786 So. 2d 1069, 2001 WL 508368
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 15, 2001
Docket2000-CP-00478-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 786 So. 2d 1069 (McCullen 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
McCullen v. State, 786 So. 2d 1069, 2001 WL 508368 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

786 So.2d 1069 (2001)

Antonio McCULLEN, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2000-CP-00478-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 15, 2001.

*1072 Antonio McCullen, Pro Se, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Charles W. Maris Jr., Jackson, Attorney for Appellee.

Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., BRIDGES, and LEE, JJ.

LEE, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. McCullen pled guilty to one count of escape, one count of armed carjacking, and three counts of armed robbery. Subsequently, McCullen filed a petition for post-conviction collateral relief which was denied by the trial judge without a hearing. On appeal, McCullen has filed a pro se brief and asserts the following four issues for our review: (1) whether McCullen's plea of guilty was voluntarily and intelligently entered, (2) whether the bill of information denied McCullen due process, (3) whether the multi-count bill of information is in violation of Miss.Code Ann. § 99-7-2 (Rev.2000), and (4) whether McCullen was denied adequate assistance of counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article 3 section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution. We find all of these issues are without merit.

FACTS

¶ 2. The record of the guilty plea hearing reveals that McCullen waived indictment, and pled guilty to numerous crimes stated in a bill of information. The bill of information and McCullen's hearing on the entry of his guilty pleas reveal that Count I charged McCullen with escape from the Yazoo County jail which occurred on August 12, 1997. Count II was titled "carjacking"; however, during the hearing of the entry of the guilty pleas the State clarified the charge as armed carjacking which occurred on July 12, 1997. McCullen's attorney also acknowledged that it was the charge of armed carjacking that he had discussed with McCullen. Counts III, IV, and V each charged McCullen with armed robbery which took place on July 13, 1997.

¶ 3. It was not disputed that on August 12, 1997, the day McCullen escaped from jail, he was being held there for the *1073 charges of armed carjacking and armed robbery listed in the bill of information as counts II through V. Additional facts will be addressed as needed in our discussion of the issues.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 4. Mississippi Code Annotated. § 99-39-11(2) (Rev.2000) addresses the judicial examination of the original post-conviction collateral relief motion and states:

If it plainly appears from the face of the motion, any annexed exhibits and the prior proceedings in the case that the movant is not entitled to any relief, the judge may make an order for its dismissal and cause the prisoner to be notified.

In Par Industries, Inc. v. Target Container Co., the applicable standard of review was stated:

"A circuit court judge sitting without a jury is accorded the same deference with regard to his findings as a chancellor," and his findings are safe on appeal where they are supported by substantial, credible, and reasonable evidence. Where the trial court failed to make any specific findings of fact, this Court will assume that the issue was decided consistent with the judgment and these findings will not be disturbed on appeal unless manifestly wrong or clearly erroneous. The reviewing court must examine the entire record and must accept, "that evidence which supports or reasonably tends to support the findings of fact made below, together with all reasonable inferences which may be drawn therefrom and which favor the lower court's findings of fact." That there may be other evidence to the contrary is irrelevant.

Par Indus., Inc. v. Target Container Co., 708 So.2d 44, 47 (¶ 4) (Miss.1998) (citations omitted).

Preliminary Matter

¶ 5. In the case at bar, McCullen waived indictment and pled guilty to the charges under a bill of information. The Mississippi Constitution Article 3, Section 27 addresses the waiver of an indictment:

Section 27. Proceeding by indictment or information.
No person shall, for any indictable offense, be proceeded against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or the military when in actual service, or by leave of the court for misdemeanor in office or where a defendant represented by counsel by sworn statement waives indictment; but the legislature, in cases not punishable by death or by imprisonment in the penitentiary, may dispense with the inquest of the grand jury, and may authorize prosecutions before justice court judges, or such other inferior court or courts as may be established, and the proceedings in such cases shall be regulated by law.

(emphasis added). Therefore, we find that the guilty pleas being entered pursuant to the charges in the bill of information were proper since McCullen waived indictment.

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER MCCULLEN'S PLEA OF GUILTY WAS VOLUNTARILY AND INTELLIGENTLY ENTERED.

¶ 6. McCullen alleges that his guilty plea was not voluntarily and intelligently entered because his attorney had informed him that if he entered pleas of guilty he would receive less than a thirty-year sentence.

¶ 7. The question of whether a plea was voluntarily and knowingly made is a question of fact. McCullen bears the *1074 burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he is entitled to relief. McClendon v. State, 539 So.2d 1375, 1377 (Miss.1989). If the defendant is informed of the nature of the charge against him and the consequences of the entry of the plea, it is considered "voluntary and intelligent." Alexander v. State, 605 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss.1992); see also Wilson v. State, 577 So.2d 394, 396-97 (Miss.1991). The defendant must be instructed that a guilty plea waives his rights to a jury trial, to confront adverse witnesses, and to protection against self-incrimination. Alexander, 605 So.2d at 1172. Additionally, the Mississippi Supreme Court in Roland v. State, 666 So.2d 747, 751 (Miss.1995), relied on the holding in Alexander, 605 So.2d at 1172, for the premise that an evidentiary hearing regarding voluntariness to a guilty plea becomes necessary if the plea hearing fails to show that the petitioner was advised of the rights of which he allegedly asserts ignorance.

¶ 8. A review of the guilty plea hearing shows that the trial judge specifically informed McCullen of the maximum sentence for each charge. McCullen was informed that for the armed carjacking charge alone he could be sentenced to thirty years. Additionally, the charge of escape could bring forth a sentence of two years and each of the armed robbery charges could result in a term of years less than his life. The trial judge also notified McCullen that she was not bound to accept any recommendation regarding sentencing from either the State or his attorney. McCullen stated that he understood the charges and possible sentences. Additionally, McCullen confirmed that he had not been promised anything and that he was satisfied with the advice of counsel. Furthermore, McCullen signed a petition to enter pleas of guilty which stated that the maximum sentence that could be imposed was life.

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Bluebook (online)
786 So. 2d 1069, 2001 WL 508368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccullen-v-state-missctapp-2001.