People v. Dixson

242 N.W.2d 820, 68 Mich. App. 505, 1976 Mich. App. LEXIS 1023
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 6, 1976
DocketDocket 24187-24188
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 242 N.W.2d 820 (People v. Dixson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Dixson, 242 N.W.2d 820, 68 Mich. App. 505, 1976 Mich. App. LEXIS 1023 (Mich. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Defendant was charged with breaking and entering an unoccupied dwelling house with intent to commit larceny therein, contrary to MCLA 750.110; MSA 28.305, and assault with intent to commit murder, contrary to MCLA 750.83; MSA 28.278. He pled guilty on June 28, 1974, to the breaking and entering charge, but that plea was vacated on July 15, 1974, upon motion of the prosecutor. A bench trial was held on December 16, 1974, and defendant was found guilty of both of the originally charged crimes. The judge imposed concurrent prison terms of 10 to 15 years and 30 to 45 years upon defendant, respectively.

At the guilty plea proceedings, defense counsel represented to the court that the plea was the result of a bargain between the defendant and the prosecutor’s office, and that the assault with intent to murder charge would be dropped pursuant to the plea agreement. The assistant prosecutor stated that he was not informed of the exact details of the plea agreement. The following exchange occurred before the plea was accepted:

"Mr. Mazer [Defense Counsel]: * * * he desires at this time to ask the court to permit him to waive his constitutional rights and to plead guilty to that specific charge. The condition being plea bargaining, it was agreed that the charge of assault with any intent to murder would be dismissed at a proper time.
"The Court: Let me say first, I don’t know the facts and circumstances of this case except what counsel told me over the bench here in open court hearings.
"Mr. Dixson, is everything that Mr. Mazer said here true?
"Defendant Dixson: Yes, it is.
*508 "The Court: You do want to plead guilty to the crime of breaking and entering an occupied dwelling?
"Defendant Dixson: Yes.
"The Court: And you have heard his statement as to the plea bargain proposed here?
"Defendant Dixson: Yes.
"The Court: Is that your understanding of the whole bargain?
"Defendant Dixson: Yes.
"The Court: Is that the whole bargain, Mr. Jones?
"Mr. Jones [Assistant Prosecutor]: That is my understanding of it, your Honor. The specific nature of it is based on my conversations with Mr. Mazer and I am also informed by my office that, in fact, there is bargaining. No one informed me of the details of it when I came up here this morning, I am sorry to say, but I haven’t any doubt to dispute that is what it is.
"The Court: All right. Mr. Dixson, whose idea is it that you plead guilty?
"Defendant Dixson: It is my idea, your Honor.
"The Court: Other than the plea bargain made here, has anyone made you any promises to get you to plead guilty?
"Defendant Dixson: No.”

The trial judge then completed the plea-taking proceedings and accepted the guilty plea.

The county prosecutor subsequently moved to vacate the guilty plea before sentencing on grounds that the plea agreement had been incorrectly stated. He indicated that the prosecutor’s office had never agreed to drop the assault charge. Defense counsel conceded that there had in fact been no final plea agreement:

"Mr. Rostash [Prosecutor]: Yes, your Honor. In this matter, the defendant appeared before this court and pled guilty to the charge of breaking and entering an occupied dwelling. There is another charge pending of *509 assault with intent to murder arising out of the same facts and circumstances as the first charge of burglary.
"At the time of the plea, I believe there was a misunderstanding by Mr. Mazer that there was a plea bargain involved. This was a misunderstanding; that is correct; and there was no plea bargain involved. It had been discussed along these lines, but the plea bargain that was mentioned was that if the plea were accepted on the burglary charge in File No. 15276 that the charge of assault with intent to murder, File No. 15436 would be nolle prossed or at least the people would file a petition requesting same. This is not the case.
"The Court: You mean that plea bargain was not discussed?
"Mr. Rostash: That plea bargain was discussed but there was never an agreement arrived at.
"The Court: All right.
"Mr. Mazer: May it please the court, my name is John Mazer and the defendant is present here in court and the prosecutor is correct with regard to his statement maybe that there was a misunderstanding as I was of the opinion that we had arrived at an understanding. That is not the fact and actually was not the truth and I explained to the defendant that the plea bargain that we attempted to go into was incomplete and hadn’t been actually consummated; in other words, that there was no real agreement with regard to plea bargaining.”

However, defense counsel indicated that defendant did not want to withdraw his plea of guilty even under those circumstances:

"He understands that and his statement to this Court will be that regardless of whether the plea bargain was complete or incomplete, he understands that the prosecutor intends, possibly intends to go ahead with the second charge. Regardless of that fact, he desires to have his original plea, which this court took, to the charge of breaking and entering an occupied home, which carries up to a possible 15 years imprisonment; that he understands that he could get up to 15 years. *510 Regardless of all of that he desires to have this court accept the original plea that was entered into and whatever time the sentence date is set up, that this court go ahead and set up your proper sentence date and he desires to be sentenced on that particular charge.
"But he understands that there was a mistake, there was a misunderstanding and regardless of all of those facts relating to plea bargaining, he still wants his original plea to breaking and entering into an occupied home [to] stand on this record, and is asking the court to accept that.”

The trial judge refused to allow the original guilty plea to stand because it was based on a false statement of the plea bargain. The court vacated the plea.

Defendant was convicted of both counts at a bench trial. At that trial, it was brought out that defendant and an accomplice had broken into a house owned by Constance Harvell. Soon thereafter, Constance Harvell arrived home to discover a strange car in her driveway.

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Related

State v. Van Egdom
292 N.W.2d 586 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1980)
People v. Bray
258 N.W.2d 220 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
242 N.W.2d 820, 68 Mich. App. 505, 1976 Mich. App. LEXIS 1023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-dixson-michctapp-1976.