Mills v. State

986 So. 2d 345, 2008 WL 2714640
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 24, 2008
Docket2007-CA-00038-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 986 So. 2d 345 (Mills 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
Mills v. State, 986 So. 2d 345, 2008 WL 2714640 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

986 So.2d 345 (2008)

Billy MILLS, Jr., Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2007-CA-00038-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

June 24, 2008.

*346 Billy Mills, Jr., pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, for attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Billy Mills, Jr., appeals the Lee County Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his motion for post-conviction relief. We find no error and affirm the trial court's dismissal of Mills's motion for post-conviction relief (PCR).

FACTS

¶ 2. On April 18, 2006, Mills was separately indicted in cause numbers CR05-504 and CR05-526 for selling cocaine on two occasions within fifteen hundred feet of a church. The State offered him a plea deal that he rejected. Mills then entered open pleas to each charge. Upon the entry of his guilty plea petition, the trial court conducted a plea qualification hearing and thereafter accepted Mills's pleas. The court then sentenced Mills to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on each offense, with twelve years suspended and five years of post-release supervision, with the sentences running concurrently.

¶ 3. Four months after being sentenced, Mills filed a motion for post-conviction relief, challenging the validity of his two guilty pleas. He claimed that his pleas were involuntary for several reasons: (1) he received ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) he pleaded guilty out of fear of the narcotics officers; and (3) he was not read his Miranda rights upon arrest. Attached to the motion was an affidavit from Mills's sister, Phyllis Baldwin. The affidavit stated that Mills's attorney promised him that he would receive a maximum sentence of twenty-four months. After considering the motion, the trial court summarily dismissed it pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-11 (Rev.2007). In its order of dismissal, the trial court specifically referenced Mills's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel and stated, "Petitioner cannot make a valid claim for ineffective assistance [of counsel] if the only proof he has concerning deficient performance of his counsel is his own statement." The trial court failed to mention anything about the attached affidavit from Baldwin.

¶ 4. Aggrieved by the summary dismissal of his motion for post-conviction relief, Mills appeals.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

¶ 5. Essentially, Mills makes three allegations of error on appeal: (1) whether excessive force was used during his arrest, (2) whether his plea was involuntary due to ineffective assistance of counsel, and (3) whether the arresting police officers failed to inform him of his Miranda rights.

I. Whether excessive force was used during Mills's arrest

¶ 6. Mills's first allegation of error is that the arresting police officers used excessive force. It appears that this particular allegation of error is essentially a tort claim and should not be placed in a PCR motion. A similar tort was defined in City of Jackson v. Powell, 917 So.2d 59, 72(¶ 47) (Miss.2005) (citing Williams v. Lee County Sheriff's Dep't., 744 So.2d 286, 297 (¶¶ 30-31) (Miss.1999)). There, the arresting officers continued to use force against the plaintiff after he had been subdued and handcuffed. Powell, 917 So.2d at 71(¶ 46). *347 Therefore, this allegation of error is without merit.

II. Whether Mills received ineffective assistance of counsel

¶ 7. Mills's second allegation of error is that his guilty plea was involuntary because his counsel promised him that he would receive a maximum sentence of twenty-four months imprisonment, which is a substantially lighter sentence than the one that he received. He goes on to state that had his attorney not made that promise, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have proceeded on to trial.

¶ 8. The our supreme court has held that "[t]o be enforceable, a guilty plea must emanate from the accused's informed consent." Myers v. State, 583 So.2d 174, 177 (Miss.1991). "An allegation that the defendant pled guilty in response to counsel's mistaken advice may vitiate the plea, because it indicates the defendant may not have been fully aware of the consequences of the plea." Readus v. State, 837 So.2d 209, 212(¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.2003). Specifically, "counsel's representation to [a] defendant that he will receive a specified minimal sentence may render a guilty plea involuntary." Myers, 583 So.2d at 177.

¶ 9. A review of the plea colloquy reveals that Mills's allegations in his PCR motion are belied by his sworn statements made during the plea colloquy. The trial court specifically asked Mills, "Has anyone forced you in any way, put any pressure on you, or promised you anything in order to get you to enter a plea of guilty?" Mills responded, "No, sir." Further, when the trial court asked if he was satisfied with the performance of his counsel, Mills responded, "Yes, sir." The record also reflects the following pertinent exchanges between the court and Mills:[1]

Q. Do you understand what you are charged with in this case?
A. Yes, Your Honor.
Q. Did you in fact commit that crime?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In Cause No. CR05-526 it is alleged that you sold, transferred or distributed on April 11, 2005, a quantity of cocaine within fifteen hundred feet of a—the Skyline Church building, Church of Christ.
Did you in fact commit this crime?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Mr. Mills, in each case the maximum sentence, ordinarily, that could be imposed on you for selling cocaine is a term of 30 years and a one million dollar fine.
Do you understand that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In each of these cases you are charged under the enhancement statute, which enhances the maximum penalties that can be imposed by doubling those penalties if you are charged with the sale of a controlled substance, or in your case, cocaine, within fifteen hundred feet of a church building.
Do you understand that the charge as you have been indicted on is under the enhancement statute, and under that statute, the maximum sentence doubles to a term of 60 years in the penitentiary and a two million dollar fine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That is in each of these cases. Do you understand that?
A. (Defendant Mills nods).
*348 Q. Do you understand that the maximum sentence on each case is a term of 60 years in the penitentiary and a two million dollar fine?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you understand the Court could sentence you to the maximum sentence of 60 years in each case and order those sentences to run consecutive, in other words, one after the other, and in effect give you a sentence of 120 years to serve?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Mr. Mills, your plea of guilty is what is known as an open plea. There has been no recommendation by the State, by the district attorney, in your cases that you receive any particular sentence. Do you understand that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q.

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Bluebook (online)
986 So. 2d 345, 2008 WL 2714640, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mills-v-state-missctapp-2008.