Smith v. State

854 So. 2d 1176, 2002 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 82, 2002 WL 732280
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Smith v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 795 So. 2d 788
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided April 26, 2002·No. CR-00-2388·Published

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

On March 10, 2000, Leamon Smith, alias James Leamon Smith, Jr., was indicted by an Etowah County grand jury on one count of trafficking in morphine (CC-00-230.01), a violation of § 13A-12-231(3)(a), Code of Alabama 1975, and on one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance (CC-00-230.02), a violation of § 13A-12-211. On May 3, 2000, Smith waived arraignment and entered pleas of not guilty to both charges. On September 8, 2000, Smith was indicted by an Etowah County grand jury on one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (CC-00-855), a violation of § 13A-12-212(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975.1 On October 27, 2000, Smith waived arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of unlawful possession.

On February 12, 2001, Smith withdrew his not-guilty pleas and entered blind pleas of guilty to all three charged offenses. The circuit court held a plea hearing and accepted Smith’s plea of guilty to all three charged offenses and set a sentencing hearing. On August 7, 2001, the circuit court conducted a sentencing hearing and sentenced Smith on all three charges. In the trafficking case, the circuit court sentenced Smith to 15 years’ imprisonment; that sentence was split and he was ordered to serve 3 years in prison. Smith was fined $50,000 pursuant to § 13A-12-231(3)(a), Ala.Code 1975. In the distribution case, Smith was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, and was ordered to pay a [1178]*1178$1,000 Demand Reduction Assessment pursuant to § 13A-12-281, and other fines. In the possession case, Smith was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, and was ordered to pay a $1,000 Demand Reduction Assessment and other fines. The circuit judge also ordered Smith to pay court costs and $50 to the Victims Compensation Fund in each of the three cases. The sentences were to run concurrently.

On August 8, 2001, Smith filed a “Motion to Set Aside Guilty Plea; Motion to Reconsider Sentence; Motion for New Trial.” The motion made the following allegations:

“1. The Defendant’s plea of guilt was not voluntarily made.
“2. The Defendant’s plea of guilt was not made with the Defendant’s full understanding of the charges against him, was not made with the Defendant’s full understanding of his rights, the punishment or punishments provided by law, and was not made with the Defendant’s understanding the consequences of his pleading guilty.”

(C.R.14, 89.)

On August 10, 2001, the circuit court conducted another sentencing hearing. At that hearing, the circuit judge stated that he had intended the 12-year sentence for distribution to be split so that Smith would serve 3 years’ imprisonment, to mirror the trafficking sentence, and he modified Smith’s sentence in the distribution case accordingly. On August 16, 2001, the circuit court summarily denied Smith’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. This appeal followed.

On appeal, Smith claims that “[t]he trial court abused its discretion by failing to set aside [his] pleas of guilt by failing to schedule an evidentiary hearing or otherwise investigate [his] motion to set aside the guilty pleas.” (Smith’s brief, p. 6.) We disagree.

An attack on the validity of a guilty plea is preserved for appellate review by first presenting to the trial court a timely objection, a motion to withdraw the guilty plea, or a motion for a new trial. See Grays v. State, 782 So.2d 842, 844 (Ala.Crim.App.2000). This Court will not overturn the trial court’s decision on whether to allow a defendant to withdraw his guilty plea absent an abuse of discretion by the trial court. See Palmer v. State, 745 So.2d 920, 921 (Ala.Crim.App.1999). See also Speigner v. State, 663 So.2d 1024, 1028 (Ala.Crim.App.1994).

The circuit judge apparently considered Smith’s motion and concluded that summary dismissal was appropriate. There is no requirement, either statutory or in caselaw, that an evidentiary hearing be held on the matter. To the contrary, a motion to withdraw a guilty plea, as the functional equivalent of a motion for a new trial, may be denied by operation of law pursuant to Rule 24.4, Ala. R.Crim. P. Therefore, we look to the record to determine whether the circuit court’s summary dismissal was an abuse of discretion.

Smith’s motion alleged that his pleas were not entered into voluntarily and that he did not understand the charges against him, his rights, the punishments he faced, or the consequences of pleading guilty.

However, at the plea hearing, Smith indicated that he had discussed the eases with his attorney several times and that he understood his rights and the nature of the charges against him. Smith confirmed that he had read the indictments, that he understood the charges against him, and that he did not wish the judge to read the indictments. Smith also confirmed that he had read and understood the “Explanation of Rights and Plea of Guilty” form (C.R.9), and that his attor[1179]*1179ney had gone over the form with him. Smith confirmed that he understood that the two five-year enhancements would apply to his sentence for unlawful sale within three miles of a school and within three miles of a housing project. The circuit court explained the maximum and minimum sentences Smith could receive. The circuit court then conducted a full and thorough colloquy by questioning Smith further about his understanding of his rights. Smith answered affirmatively that he understood each right as the circuit judge explained them. Smith pleaded guilty to each of the charged offenses. The prosecutor stated what he expected the evidence to show. Smith agreed with the prosecutor’s version of the facts.2 Smith’s attorney stipulated3 that the unlawful distribution occurred within three miles of a school and within three miles of a housing project.

The record reflects that the plea colloquy satisfied the requirements of Rule 14.4, Ala. R.Crim. P., and Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). The record shows that Smith’s guilty pleas were made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily, and that a sufficient factual basis supported the guilty pleas. Thus, viewing the issues presented to the circuit court in Smith’s motion, we find no abuse of discretion in that court’s summary dismissal of Smith’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas.

On appeal, Smith states, “In the case at bar, the Appellant was seventy-three years old, was ill, and had expressed to the trial court on the Record that he was unaware of what was going on.” (Smith’s brief, p 7.) The general language in Smith’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas was not sufficient to put the circuit court on notice of the specific issues he now attempts to raise on appeal. “Failure to include a reasonably ascertainable issue in a motion for a new trial will result in a bar to further argument of the issue on appeal and in post-conviction proceedings.” Ex parte Jackson, 598 So.2d 895, 897 (Ala.l992)(overruled on other grounds by Ex parte Ingram, 675 So.2d 863 (Ala. 1996)). See also Cantu v. State, 660 So.2d 1026, 1029 (Ala.1994) (“the trial court is given the first opportunity to review the issue of voluntariness of the guilty plea”). Thus, the boilerplate language he used in his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas failed to preserve for appellate review the specific claims now raised on appeal.

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Smith v. State, 854 So. 2d 1176, 2002 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 82, 2002 WL 732280 (Ala. Ct. App. 2002).

854 So. 2d 1176 (Smith v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Boykin v. Alabama
395 U.S. 238 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Grays v. State
782 So. 2d 842 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2000)
Gardner v. State
668 So. 2d 164 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1995)
Palmer v. State
745 So. 2d 920 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1999)
Speigner v. State
663 So. 2d 1024 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1994)
Ex Parte Ingram
675 So. 2d 863 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1996)
Poole v. State
846 So. 2d 370 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2002)
Soles v. State
820 So. 2d 163 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2001)
Ex Parte Jackson
598 So. 2d 895 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1992)
Meeks v. State
697 So. 2d 60 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1996)
Cantu v. State
660 So. 2d 1026 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1994)