Rivera v. State

973 A.2d 218, 409 Md. 176, 2009 Md. LEXIS 195
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedJune 10, 2009
Docket80, September Term, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 973 A.2d 218 (Rivera v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rivera v. State, 973 A.2d 218, 409 Md. 176, 2009 Md. LEXIS 195 (Md. 2009).

Opinions

[179]*179GREENE, Judge.

In October of 2003, Juan Rivera, the petitioner, pled guilty to one count of contributing to acts, omissions, or conditions rendering a child in need of assistance in violation of Md.Code (1973, 2002 Repl.Vol.) § 3-828 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article. Subsequently, Mr. Rivera sought coram nobis relief, alleging that his plea was not made voluntarily and was not supported by a factual basis. At issue in this appeal is whether the Court of Special Appeals erred in affirming the coram nobis court’s conclusion that Mr. Rivera is not entitled to coram nobis relief because his plea was accepted in accordance with Maryland law. Affirming the judgment of the intermediate appellate court, we shall hold that Mr. Rivera’s plea was entered voluntarily and was supported by a factual basis.

I.

In 2003, Mr. Rivera and his wife were engaged in divorce proceedings. The Riveras have a daughter, A.R., who was fourteen years old in 2003. During the course of the divorce proceedings, Mr. Rivera met with an evaluator from the Family Division of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County regarding custody of his daughter. The evaluator conveyed that during the meeting, Mr. Rivera stated that on “one occasion [A.R.] .. . got into bed with [Rivera] and his wife ... [and that Rivera] grabbed A.R. and got an erection.” Mr. Rivera told the evaluator that when he realized that he had grabbed his daughter, he “pulled away.” A.R. and Mrs. Rivera were interviewed by Child Protective Services during the same year. In her interview, A.R. indicated that her father had committed an anal intercourse act with her, when she was approximately eight years old. Mrs. Rivera informed Child Protective Services that when A.R. was eight years old, Mr. Rivera had approached her and apologized to her for “abusing A.R.,” explaining that “he had been rubbing [A.R.’s] back and ended up on top of her.”

[180]*180On October 8, 2008, Mr. Rivera was arrested and charged with child abuse, second degree sexual offense and third degree sexual offense. After subsequent negotiations with the State’s Attorneys Office, he agreed to enter into a plea agreement to one count of contributing to acts, omissions, or conditions rendering a child in need of assistance in violation of § 3-828 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article.1 Mr. Rivera is not a United States citizen and was concerned about deportation throughout the plea negotiation process.2 At one point during the negotiations, Assistant State’s Attorney, Mary Herdman, wrote a letter to Mr. Rivera’s counsel addressing deportation. The letter stated:

In previous conversations that [we] have had, there was a concern that a plea to this charge would make your client deportable. I have since had an opportunity to speak to Christine Carlson, Special Agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who has informed me that a Contributing charge does not make a defendant eligible for deportation proceedings. It is a charge that [Immigration and Naturalization Services (“INS”) ] does not “look behind” as they would with a second degree assault. Please feel free to contact Ms. [181]*181Carlson at [phono number omitted] to confirm this information.

At proceedings that took place on October 12, 2004, the prosecutor explained the terms of the plea bargain. Mr. Rivera’s counsel informed the court:

I’ve made up a set of documents which I would eventually like to be incorporated in the court file, in a confidential sealed envelope, that deal with our plea negotiations. Because they set forth quite a large number of terms which we have all carefully worked out, and thought about, in this matter.
* * * *
A lot of this is because of immigration consequences, and the record should reflect that my client is a permanent resident, and that some of the terms of this plea have been worked out in terms, because of his potential immigration consequences.

The trial judge then asked Mr. Rivera a series of questions pertaining to the plea agreement. One of the court’s inquiries was whether Mr. Rivera had discussed the charges in his case, as well as the terms of his plea, with his attorney. Mr. Rivera responded yes. The trial judge also informed Mr. Rivera that he could consult his attorney or the court at any time during the guilty plea proceedings if he had questions and expressly asked Mr. Rivera if he understood that he did not have to plead guilty. Subsequently, the following colloquy took place:

The Court: Are you sure you want to waive all of your rights to trial and go forward with a plea of guilty?
Rivera: Yes, I am sure.
The Court: If you are not a citizen of the United States, a finding of guilty could have immigration consequences for you. Have you had a chance to discuss that issue with your attorney, if you have concerns about that?
Rivera: Yes, I had the chance to discuss with my attorney.
[182]*182The Court: And this plea has been negotiated in light of those immigration consequences, am I right?
Rivera: Right, yes.
The Court: Okay. Are you pleading guilty to this charge, because you are guilty?
Rivera: I’m sorry. Yes.

Ultimately, the court determined that Mr. Rivera’s plea was entered voluntarily and that Mr. Rivera understood what he was doing. The State then proffered the following facts, many of which are mentioned above.

The State: Your Honor, had the State proceeded to trial, you would have heard evidence, that on September 12, 2003, [A.R.], age 14, disclosed to officers, and Montgomery Child Protective Services, that her father had committed an anal intercourse act with her, when she was approximately eight years old. This occurred during 1997, while the family was living ... in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland.
[A.R.’s Mother] was interviewed. She stated that [Rivera] had approached her in 1997, and apologized for abusing their daughter, A.R. He stated he had been rubbing [her] back and ended up on top of her.
On August 12, 2003, Rivera met with [the Custody Evaluator] in the Family Division of the Montgomery County Circuit Court. He met with the [Custody Evaluator], due to the divorce proceedings and custody issues going on with [A.R.’s Mother]. Rivera stated that his wife’s allegations were totally made up.
Rivera further stated that on one occasion, A.R. came into his room at night, and got into bed with him and his wife, A.R. got in between the two adults. [Rivera] stated, he grabbed A.R. and subsequently got an erection. Rivera stated that he realized it was his daughter, and pulled away. It should be noted, that during this interview there were no sexual allegations involving Rivera, known to [the Custody Evaluator], prior to her interview. There were no other statements made by Rivera, all events occurred in Montgomery County, that would be the State’s proffer.
[183]

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Bluebook (online)
973 A.2d 218, 409 Md. 176, 2009 Md. LEXIS 195, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rivera-v-state-md-2009.