State v. Bradham

246 So. 3d 775
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 11, 2018
DocketNo. 51,889–KA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 246 So. 3d 775 (State v. Bradham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bradham, 246 So. 3d 775 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, J.

The defendant, Danny Bradham, was charged by bill of information with possession of a Schedule II, Controlled Dangerous Substance ("CDS"), a violation of La. R.S. 40:967(C). Pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant pled guilty as charged and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment at hard labor in conformity with an agreed-upon sentence. Defendant now appeals. The defendant's appellate counsel has filed an Anders brief and a motion to withdraw, advising that he has made a conscientious and thorough review of the trial court record and can find no non-frivolous issues to raise on appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant's conviction and sentence and grant appellate counsel's motion to withdraw.

FACTS

The record shows that on April 18, 2017, defendant was charged with possession of methamphetamine. On that same day, defendant pled guilty as charged and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment at hard labor with credit for time served.

*777Defendant's guilty plea was made pursuant to an agreement with the state providing for the imposition of the aforementioned sentence and the dismissal of two misdemeanor charges arising out of the same incident. According to the factual basis read into the record during defendant's guilty plea, Shreveport Police Department officers found defendant in possession of suspected methamphetamine during a "Terry" stop after he was seen walking in the street. The North Louisiana Crime Lab confirmed the substance to be methamphetamine.

During his guilty plea colloquy, defendant stated that he wanted to make a " Crosby plea." The prosecutor responded, "We don't do that. We call them Alford pleas. We don't do that in here. We don't do that." Defendant then stated, "Well, it just reserves a few rights. I was just wondering if you would accept this, but okay." Nothing more was said regarding a Crosby or an Alford plea.

The district court then informed defendant of his constitutional rights pursuant to Boykin v. Alabama , 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). He stated that he understood and wished to waive his rights. Defendant also acknowledged he understood that by pleading guilty he would be sentenced to six months' imprisonment and he was waiving his right to appeal his conviction. The trial court accepted the plea and immediately sentenced defendant in accordance with the plea agreement. In May 2017, defendant timely filed a pro se motion for appeal, which the trial court denied. Following an application for writ of supervisory review, this court ordered the perfection of defendant's appeal and the Louisiana Appellate Project was appointed to represent him.

The defendant's appellate counsel has filed an Anders brief and a motion to withdraw, alleging that he could find no non-frivolous issues to raise on appeal. See Anders v. California , 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967) ; State v. Jyles , 96-2669 (La. 12/12/97), 704 So.2d 241 ; State v. Mouton , 95-0981 (La. 4/28/95), 653 So.2d 1176 ; State v. Benjamin , 573 So.2d 528 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1990). Appellate counsel's brief outlines the procedural history of the case, the agreement under which defendant's plea was entered and the actions of the trial court. The brief also contains "a detailed and reviewable assessment for both the defendant and the appellate court of whether the appeal is worth pursuing in the first place." Jyles, supra . Additionally, appellate counsel certifies that he has mailed copies of the motion to withdraw and his brief to the defendant, in accordance with Anders , Jyles and Mouton, supra .

DISCUSSION

In his pro se brief, defendant seems to contend the conviction and sentence are illegal, his trial counsel was ineffective and he invoked Crosby . However, defendant does not provide any argument to support these assertions or explain how Crosby applies to his guilty plea. The state did not file an appellate brief.

Generally, a valid, unqualified plea of guilty waives a defendant's right to appeal all non-jurisdictional defects in the proceedings prior to the plea. State v. Crosby , 338 So.2d 584 (La. 1976) ; State v. Burks , 47,587 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/16/13), 108 So.3d 820, writ denied , 2013-0424 (La. 7/31/13), 118 So.3d 1116. A defendant's guilty plea also waives any right to question the merits of the state's case and factual basis for the plea. State v. Shaw , 49,876 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/20/15), 166 So.3d 1185, writ denied , 2015-1247 (La. 6/3/16), 192 So.3d 755. However, subject to the trial court's acceptance, a defendant may enter a plea of guilty while simultaneously *778reserving identified pre-plea errors for appellate review, referred to as a " Crosby plea." The function of a Crosby plea is to permit a fair and efficient review of a central issue when the pre-plea ruling on that issue, if erroneous, would mandate reversal of any resulting conviction. State v. Crosby, supra ; State v. Thomas , 28,790 (La. App. 2 Cir. 10/30/96), 683 So.2d 1272.

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Bluebook (online)
246 So. 3d 775, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bradham-lactapp-2018.