People v. Yost

445 N.W.2d 95, 433 Mich. 133
Michigan Supreme Court·Decided August 21, 1989·No. Docket 84701·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinions

Per Curiam.

This defendant has been charged with being a second offender under the statute that proscribes operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor. His earlier conviction was entered after he pled guilty. In the present case, the district court held that the defendant did not receive the necessary advice prior to the earlier plea of guilty. For that reason, the district court has determined that the earlier plea-based conviction cannot be employed to enhance the charge in the present case. We find that the defendant’s earlier plea was preceded by adequate advice, and we therefore reverse the judgment of the district court and reinstate this prosecution.

i

In May 1986, the defendant pled guilty and was sentenced for operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (ouil).1 The defendant was represented by counsel during these proceedings. Before accepting the defendant’s plea, the trial court, acting in conformance with the applicable court rule,2 advised the defendant that acceptance of the plea would mean that he would "not have a trial of any kind, jury or non jury” and that he would "therefore waive all those Constitutional Rights that would be [his] at a trial.”

In June 1987, the defendant was again arrested [135] and charged with ouil. This time, he was charged as a second offender.3

The defendant moved to strike the second-offender charge, arguing that his 1986 plea had not been preceded by adequate advice. Specifically, he argued that he had not been told about two of his three so-called Boykin/Jaworski4 rights — the right to confront one’s accusers and the privilege against self-incrimination.5

The defendant’s arguments were accepted by the district court, which ordered that the charge against the defendant be amended to reflect that this would be a first ouil offense.

The circuit court denied the prosecutor’s application for leave to appeal in an order that cited two decisions of the Court of Appeals6 and characterized the district court’s ruling as being "not clearly erroneous.”

The prosecutor’s application to the Court of Appeals for leave to appeal was denied "for failure to persuade the Court of the need for immediate appellate review.”

The prosecutor has now applied to this Court for leave to appeal.

ii

In Boykin v Alabama, 395 US 238; 89 S Ct 1709; 23 L Ed 2d 274 (1969), Boykin pled guilty of five counts of common-law robbery, an offense punishable in Alabama by death. In pleading guilty, Boykin did not address the court; nor did the judge [136] ask Boykin any questions concerning his plea. Although he had no prior record, the defendant was sentenced to death on each of the five counts. The United States Supreme Court set the convictions aside, finding that the record did not disclose that the defendant had voluntarily and understanding^ entered his pleas of guilty:

Several federal constitutional rights are involved in a waiver that takes place when a plea of guilty is entered in a state criminal trial. First, is the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and applicable to the States by reason of the Fourteenth. Malloy v Hogan, 378 US 1 [84 S Ct 1489; 12 L Ed 2d 653 (1964)]. Second, is the right to trial by jury. Duncan v Louisiana, 391 US 145 [88 S Ct 1444; 20 L Ed 2d 491 (1968)]. Third, is the right to confront one’s accusers. Pointer v Texas, 380 US 400 [85 S Ct 1065; 13 L Ed 2d 923 (1965)]. We cannot presume a waiver of these three important federal rights from a silent record. [Boykin, 395 US 243.]

In People v Jaworski, 387 Mich 21, 30; 194 NW2d 868 (1972), the defendant was charged with breaking and entering. He later pled guilty of attempted breaking and entering. Prior to accepting his guilty plea, the trial court advised him of his right to trial by jury and his right to confront his accusers, but not his right against self-incrimination. The Court vacated Jaworski’s conviction, holding that "the record must show that the defendant has been informed of each and all of the three constitutional rights he waives on pleading guilty.”

Effective June 1, 1973, the Court then adopted a court rule requiring judges of the circuit court and the Recorder’s Court of the City of Detroit to provide advice concerning the Boykin/Jaworski rights to persons pleading guilty or nolo conten[137] dere. GCR 1963, 785.7(l)(d), 389 Mich liii, lvi (1973). Those requirements have remained in the court rule ever since.7

Several months after the 1973 adoption of the court rule concerning Boykin/Jaworski advice, the Court clarified that the requirement of such advice was "a question of policy for this Court to decide, and not one of Federal constitutional law.” This was in accord with the prevailing view in other jurisdictions. People v Kuchulan, 390 Mich 701, 704; 213 NW2d 95 (1973).

The importance of giving such advice to persons pleading guilty in the circuit court or the Recorder’s Court was again emphasized in the Guilty Plea Cases, 395 Mich 96, 120-121; 235 NW2d 132 (1975). See also People v Crawford, 417 Mich 607; 339 NW2d 630 (1983).

m

The issue soon arose whether such advice was required in district court. In People v Tomlinson, 50 Mich App 655, 659; 213 NW2d 803 (1973), lv den 391 Mich 824 (1974), the Court of Appeals held that advice concerning the Boykin/Jaworski rights need not be given where the defendant pleads guilty of a "simple misdemeanor.”8

In City of Livonia v Jasik, 393 Mich 439; 224 NW2d 838 (1975), the Court was asked to decide [138] whether Boykin/Jaworski advice was a necessary component in the plea-taking procedure in a misdemeanor case. The Court found it unnecessary to resolve the question, although we observed that a clarified court rule was then under consideration.

Such a rule was promulgated the following year. DCR 785.4(d)(1), 397 Mich lxxxvi, lxxxviii (1976), requiring only that a defendant pleading guilty or nolo contendere in district court be advised "that if his plea is accepted, he will not have a trial of any kind, so he gives up the rights he would have at a trial.” That subparagraph remained in effect until early 1988.9

Effective February 1, 1988, the rule governing criminal practice in district court was amended to require that Boykin/Jaworski advice be given. MCR 6.201(E)(3)(b)(i)-(iii).10

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People v. Yost, 445 N.W.2d 95, 433 Mich. 133 (Mich. 1989).

445 N.W.2d 95 (People v. Yost) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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People v. Yost
445 N.W.2d 95 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1989)