State v. Ayala

935 P.2d 174, 129 Idaho 911, 1996 Ida. App. LEXIS 147
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 31, 1996
Docket22186, 22050
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 935 P.2d 174 (State v. Ayala) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Ayala, 935 P.2d 174, 129 Idaho 911, 1996 Ida. App. LEXIS 147 (Idaho Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

WALTERS, Chief Judge.

In this consolidated appeal, Javier Ayala seeks relief on his post-conviction claims, which were denied by the district court, and relief from errors allegedly committed during his criminal trial. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the judgment of conviction and the denial of post-conviction relief.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Ayala was arrested on February 27, 1993, for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver when approximately one ounce (25.2 grams) of methamphetamine was seized from the car that he had been driving and that he had parked at a friend’s house in Caldwell, Idaho. The drugs were discovered by the police in plain view in the vehicle while the police were executing a search *914 warrant at the residence. When he was asked by Officer Deulen who the drugs in the car belonged to, Ayala replied “It’s mine.” At the time the drugs were discovered, the car was parked within 1000 feet of the Van Burén elementary school in Caldwell. A jury found Ayala guilty of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, pursuant to I.C. § 37-2732(a)(l)(A). Immediately thereafter, in a bench trial, the court found as a sentencing aggravation factor under I.C. § 37-2739B(b)(2) that Ayala’s offense was committed within 1000 feet of a school. For the substantive charge, the district court sentenced Ayala to a unified term of five years, with a minimum fixed term of sixty days to be followed by an indeterminate term of four years and ten months. The district court then imposed a consecutive, minimum fixed term of five years, because of its finding of the aggravating factor enumerated in I.C. § 37-2739B(b)(2).

Ayala filed a direct appeal from the judgment of conviction and sentence. He also filed an appeal from the subsequent denial of an I.C.R. 35 motion. Both of those appeals, however, were dismissed upon appellate counsel’s failure to timely submit an appellant’s brief. 1 This conduct, asserted Ayala in his application for post-conviction relief filed on November 29,1994, constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. Ayala also asserted other claims, including allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the representation he had received at trial.

The district court denied all of Ayala’s post-conviction claims on February 28, 1995, except for the claim that Ayala had been denied the effective assistance of counsel on appeal. After an evidentiary hearing on the issue, the district court concluded that appellate counsel was ineffective and that Ayala was entitled to post-conviction relief. Ayala’s judgment of conviction was entered anew to give Ayala the right to appeal from his conviction. 2 Ayala duly appealed from the denial of his post-conviction claims and from the judgment of conviction.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Ineffective Assistance Claims

To prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the applicant must show that the attorney’s performance was deficient and that the applicant was prejudiced by the deficiency. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Hassett v. State, 127 Idaho 313, 316, 900 P.2d 221, 224 (Ct.App.1995); Russell v. State, 118 Idaho 65, 67, 794 P.2d 654, 656 (Ct.App.1990). To establish a deficiency, the applicant has the burden of showing that the attorney’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. Aragon v. State, 114 Idaho 758, 760, 760 P.2d 1174, 1176 (1988); Russell, 118 Idaho at 67, 794 P.2d at 656. To establish prejudice, the applicant must show a reasonable probability that, but for the attorney’s deficient performance, the outcome of the trial would have been different. Aragon, 114 Idaho at 761, 760 P.2d at 1177; Russell, 118 Idaho at 67, 794 P.2d at 656.

B. Post-conviction Claims

Ayala asserts that he is entitled to a reversal of his conviction due to ineffective assistance of his trial counsel. He argues that his post-conviction claims, alleging that counsel (a) failed to file a pretrial motion to suppress and (b) failed, at sentencing, to challenge the imposition of a fixed minimum term under 1.C. § 37-2739B on the basis of the statute’s *915 unconstitutionally, should not have been denied by the district court without a hearing.

The issue on appeal from the summary dismissal of an application for post-conviction relief is whether the application alleges facts which, if true, are sufficient to entitle the applicant to relief. Heartfelt v. State, 125 Idaho 424, 871 P.2d 841 (Ct.App.1994). The reviewing court examines the entire record and construes all factual allegations contained in the application in favor of the applicant to determine if a genuine issue of material fact exists which, if resolved in the applicant’s favor, would entitle him to the requested relief. Dunlap v. State, 126 Idaho 901, 894 P.2d 134 (Ct.App.1995). Although the applicant’s uneontroverted factual allegations are assumed to be true, we do not give evidentiary value to mere eonelusory allegations that are unsupported by admissible evidence. Phillips v. State, 108 Idaho 405, 407, 700 P.2d 27, 29 (1985); Roman v. State, 125 Idaho 644, 647, 873 P.2d 898, 901 (Ct.App.1994). The application is subject to dismissal under I.C. § 19-4906 unless it presents, or is accompanied by, admissible evidence supporting the allegations. Medrano v. State, 127 Idaho 639, 903 P.2d 1336 (Ct.App.1995).

First, Ayala alleged that he would have prevailed upon the merits of an I.C.R. 12 motion to suppress the evidence obtained in the search of the car he had parked at his friend’s residence. However, nowhere in his application or supporting affidavits did Ayala present evidence to establish how the search was unreasonable, or otherwise illegal, so as to justify suppression of the evidence derived therefrom. On appeal, Ayala has made a detailed argument that the vehicle search was unlawful based upon the testimony of witnesses at the preliminary hearing and trial. However, none of this evidence or argument was presented to the district court. Without the required factual support, the district court could not reasonably consider the probability of success of the motion in question in determining whether the attorney’s failure to file the motion constituted incompetent performance. See Huck v. State, 124 Idaho 155, 159, 857 P.2d 634, 638 (Ct.App.1993). Furthermore, bare or conclusory allegations, unsubstantiated by any fact, are inadequate to entitle an applicant to an evidentiary hearing. King v. State,

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935 P.2d 174, 129 Idaho 911, 1996 Ida. App. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ayala-idahoctapp-1996.