Petrilli v. Leapley

491 N.W.2d 79, 1992 S.D. LEXIS 136, 1992 WL 235328
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 23, 1992
Docket17646
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 491 N.W.2d 79 (Petrilli v. Leapley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Petrilli v. Leapley, 491 N.W.2d 79, 1992 S.D. LEXIS 136, 1992 WL 235328 (S.D. 1992).

Opinions

WUEST, Justice.

Wayne Petrilli, Sr. (Petrilli) appeals from the circuit court’s Order denying his Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus. He raises four issues on appeal. We have combined two issues and will discuss the following three issues:

(1) Whether the felony conviction underlying Petrilli’s conviction for being an habitual offender was constitutionally infirm because the court failed to establish a factual basis for the guilty plea.
(2) Whether the prior felony underlying Petrilli’s conviction for being an habitual offender was improperly considered for purposes of enhancing his punishment.
(3) Whether Petrilli was denied effective assistance of counsel.

We affirm.

FACTS

On February 4, 1988, a Minnehaha County Grand Jury indicted Petrilli for the of[81]*81fenses of attempted premeditated murder in the first degree, attempted felony murder, robbery in the first degree and aggravated assault. Petrilli was represented by an attorney with the Minnehaha County Public Defender’s Office.1 As part of a plea bargain, wherein Petrilli agreed to cooperate in the State’s prosecution of his co-defendant, Petrilli pled guilty to aggravated assault. In return, the State agreed to recommend a fifteen year sentence. Initially there was confusion whether this was intended to be a “cap” or merely a recommendation. Petrilli’s defense counsel agreed it was only a recommendation.

The circuit court also accepted Petrilli’s guilty plea to being an habitual offender. He had been convicted eight years earlier of being an accessory to a burglary in California. Aggravated assault is a class three felony, the maximum punishment is fifteen years and a $15,000 fine. Petrilli’s admission to being an habitual offender enhanced the maximum possible punishment to twenty-five years and a $25,000 fine.

As a result of Petrilli’s pleas, the circuit court sentenced him to twenty years. At that time, Petrilli had not yet testified against his co-defendant. The co-defendant later pled guilty. Therefore, at the court’s invitation, Petrilli applied for a sentence reduction, and the sentence was reduced to fifteen years.

The habitual offender charge arose from a 1980 California conviction as an accessory to burglary. That conviction resulted from Petrilli pleading guilty as part of a plea bargain. Petrilli pled guilty to being an accessory to the offense charged in the second count of the Information against him. Count two charged him and two co-defendants with burglary. Petrilli was assisted by counsel during the California proceedings. Before accepting the plea, the court received affirmative responses that Petrilli understood he was waiving his right to trial, to avoid self-incrimination, and to confront the witnesses against him.

When Petrilli’s South Dakota trial counsel was asked whether, based on his investigation, he was satisfied the California conviction was a felony in South Dakota, counsel answered, “Yes, sir. It would be the same as our accessory statute.”

SCOPE OF REVIEW

We note initially, on habeas corpus, the petitioner has the burden of proof. Alexander v. Solem, 383 N.W.2d 486, 489 (S.D.1986); Spirit Track v. State, 272 N.W.2d 803, 804 (S.D.1978). “Since habeas corpus is in the nature of a collateral attack upon a final judgment, the scope of review is limited.” Gross v. Solem, 446 N.W.2d 49, 50 (S.D.1989). Accord Everitt v. Solem, 412 N.W.2d 119, 120 (S.D.1987); Goodroad v. Solem, 406 N.W.2d 141, 142 (S.D.1987); State v. Erickson, 80 S.D. 639, 129 N.W.2d 712, 715 (1964).

Habeas corpus can be used only to review (1) whether the court had jurisdiction of the crime and the person of the defendant; (2) whether the sentence was authorized by law; and (3) in certain cases, whether an incarcerated defendant has been deprived of basic constitutional rights.

Gross, 446 N.W.2d at 50. Accord O’Conner v. Leapley, 488 N.W.2d 421, 422-423 (S.D.1992); Goodroad, 406 N.W.2d at 144; Everitt, 412 N.W.2d at 121 (citing Logan v. Solem, 406 N.W.2d 714 (S.D.1987)); Erickson, 129 N.W.2d at 715. Habeas corpus is not a substitute for direct review. O’Conner, at 422; Goodroad, 406 N.W.2d at 143-44.

I. FACTUAL BASIS FOR PRIOR GUILTY PLEA

Petrilli pled guilty to aiding and abetting a burglary in violation of sections 459 and 32 of the California Penal Code. He argues the guilty plea was constitutionally defective because the California court made no record of a factual basis for accepting the plea. We disagree.

“In Goodroad, 406 N.W.2d at 145, we held that the factual predicate of a guilty plea could not be raised in a habeas corpus [82]*82review[.]” Gross, 446 N.W.2d at 51. In Everitt, we explained:

Errors and irregularities in the proceedings of a court having jurisdiction of the person, subject matter and power to decide questions of law, are not reviewable though they may have been grounds for reversal on direct appeal. Jurisdiction is the power to hear and determine a controversy and to render judgment in accord with law. Excepting those actions in which the court may lose jurisdiction by a denial of due process, [citation omitted] this power includes the power to decide wrongly as well as rightly, to render an erroneous judgment as well as a correct one_ If error occur the remedy is by appeal.

Everitt, 412 N.W.2d at 121 (quoting Goodroad, 406 N.W.2d at 143).

The requirement that the trial court determine that there is a factual basis for accepting the plea is statutory. SDCL 23A-7-14; Goodroad supra; Logan, supra; State v. King, 400 N.W.2d 878 (S.D.1987). Failure of the trial court to comply with SDCL 23A-7-H may be grounds for appeal, but it does not reach the constitutional or jurisdictional proportions necessary to bring the question within the purview of habeas corpus. In Goodroad, supra, 406 N.W.2d at 143, we said, “ ‘Habeas corpus cannot be utilized as a substitute for an appeal’ [citations omitted]. Habe-as corpus is not the proper remedy to correct irregular procedures, rather, in the context of post-conviction attacks on the conviction itself, habeas corpus reaches only jurisdictional error.”

Id. (Emphasis added.) Accord Gross, 446 N.W.2d at 51-52; Podoll v. Solem, 408 N.W.2d 759 (S.D.1987); W. LaFave, J. Israel, Criminal Procedure § 20.4, at 653 (1984). But see Spirit Track, 272 N.W.2d at 805.

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Petrilli v. Leapley
491 N.W.2d 79 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1992)

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Bluebook (online)
491 N.W.2d 79, 1992 S.D. LEXIS 136, 1992 WL 235328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/petrilli-v-leapley-sd-1992.