Raine v. State

57 So. 3d 669, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 112, 2011 WL 692918
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 1, 2011
DocketNo. 2009-CP-01878-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 57 So. 3d 669 (Raine 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
Raine v. State, 57 So. 3d 669, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 112, 2011 WL 692918 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

IRVING, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Marco S. Raine pleaded guilty to and was convicted of the felony of issuing a bad check. The Jackson County Circuit Court accepted Raine’s guilty plea and sentenced him to serve two years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with thirteen months to serve and the remaining eleven months to be served as post-release supervision.1 Less than two years after he was sentenced, Raine filed a motion for post-conviction relief (PCR), wherein he alleged that his plea was involuntary and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The circuit court denied the motion without an evidentiary hearing. Feeling aggrieved, Raine appeals the denial of his PCR motion, alleging the same complaints as in his original PCR motion.

¶ 2. We find that the factual basis under-girding the guilty plea, along with the assistance of counsel afforded, is problematic; therefore, we reverse the circuit court’s judgment and remand this case to the circuit court for an evidentiary hearing.

FACTS

¶ 3. In December 2006, Raine was indicted for the felony offense of issuing a bad [671]*671cheek. The charge came about because of a check for $19,864 that Raine had written to Titan Motorsports, LLC. Raine claims that he postdated the check upon an agreement with Titan Motorsports but that Titan Motorsports unilaterally changed the date on the check and then attempted to cash it. Raine claims that Titan Motorsports agreed to sell him a vehicle for $19,864, with payment made by a check in that amount, with the understanding that the check would not be cashed until a month later. Raine contends that Titan Motorsports agreed to this on the condition that Raine would not receive title to his vehicle until a month later, when the check was cashed. Raine has provided multiple documents which appear to support his contentions that the check was originally postdated and that Titan Motorsports knowingly accepted the postdated check.

¶ 4. On August 17, 2007, Raine appeared before the circuit court to plead guilty. After explaining the rights that Raine was waiving by pleading guilty, the circuit court asked Raine to describe the factual basis for his plea:

Q. All right. Tell me what you did. Mr. Raine?
A. Yes, ma’am?
Q. Tell me about your scam.
A. Your Honor, I had an agreement with the salesman that I could purchase the vehicle with a [postdated check and they would hold it. And, for whatever reason, he altered the date on the check the very next day and I guess deposited it into the bank. And that’s the gist of that.
Q. Well, did you have any money in the bank?
A. No, ma’am, that was the purpose of the [postdate. That was the agreement, he would hold the—
Q. Where were you going to get the money?
A. Your Honor, the deal — the agreement was that I could arrange my own financing later. But I had a check coming in from an insurance company that I was going to cover .that with shortly thereafter.
Q. When was that coming in?
A. I’m sorry?
Q. When was that coming in?
A. Well, it was supposed to come in within two weeks. And then later I got a second denial letter, so it wasn’t going to happen anyway. But I had no foreknowledge of that.
Q. How much was the check for?
A. $19,846,1 believe.
[DEFENSE ATTORNEY]: Your Hon- or, there’s also some issue about the car being for sale several days later in the Sun Herald.
Q. So, you took the car with a [postdated check and then you tried to sell it?
A. Your Honor, I believe the check came back on the 7th of March of '06. He called me and said, you know, [h]ey, I’m going to lose my job. I’ve already been — got paid commission, you know. We need to get money for this car. So the only way I could come up with this money is if I sell the car. That’s the only way. I ran an ad on the 7th of—
Q. Well, why didn’t you just take it back to him?
A. Well, he said that he couldn’t because he would have to pay the commission back. He said that they had to fool their floor plan guy in order to get the title.
[[Image here]]
[672]*672[THE COURT]: You know, I don’t really want to — I’ll just tell yah right now, I’m not real excited about accepting any recommendations on people that won’t tell me the truth. Okay? So, you two sit down. I’m over it.
Mr. Raine, you sit down too. I’m over you too. And I’m not going to accept that recommendation either, so sit down.

¶ 5. On December 5, 2007, Raine again appeared before the circuit court to plead guilty. The following exchange occurred between Raine and the circuit court:

Q. All right. • Mr. Raine, you were charged with felony bad check?
A. Yes, ma’am.
* * *
Q. All right.. Now, has anyone threatened ... you to get you to plead guilty?
A. No, ma’am.
Q. Has anyone promised you anything to get you to plead guilty?
A. No, ma’am.
Q. Has your attorney made any kind of threat or promise to you about anything?
A. No, ma’am.
[[Image here]]
Q. Are ... you pleading guilty to [this charge] because you are guilty and no other reason?
A. Yes, ma’am.
Q. All right. Mr. Raine?
A. Yes, Your Honor?
Q. Tell me what you did.
A. Your'Honor, I—
Q. And don’t' tell me you didn’t do anything. We’ve already been there once.
A. I purchased a. vehicle with a check and had insufficient funds in the account to cover it.
Q. And I assume you knew that?
A. Yes, ma’am.

¶ 6. In September 2009, Raine filed his PCR motion, which was summarily denied.

¶ 7. Additional facts, if necessary, will be related during our analysis and discussion of the issue.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE

¶ 8. The Mississippi Supreme Court has announced the applicable standard of review when a circuit court denies a petitioner’s PCR motion:

When reviewing a lower court’s decision to deny a petition for post[-]conviction relief[,] [an appellate court] will not disturb the trial court’s factual findings unless they are found to be clearly erroneous. Bank of Miss[.] v. S[.] Mem’l Park, Inc., 677 So.2d 186, 191 (Miss.1996). However, where questions of law are raised!,] the applicable standard of review is de novo. Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Burrough v. State
9 So. 3d 368 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2009)
Corley v. State
585 So. 2d 765 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1991)
Bank of Mississippi v. SOUTHERN MEMORIAL PARK, INC.
677 So. 2d 186 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1996)
Brown v. State
731 So. 2d 595 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1999)
Henderson v. State
534 So. 2d 554 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
57 So. 3d 669, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 112, 2011 WL 692918, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raine-v-state-missctapp-2011.