State v. Carrasco

787 P.2d 281, 117 Idaho 295, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 16
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 9, 1990
Docket17582
StatusPublished
Cited by83 cases

This text of 787 P.2d 281 (State v. Carrasco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Carrasco, 787 P.2d 281, 117 Idaho 295, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 16 (Idaho 1990).

Opinions

BOYLE, Justice.

Gorgonio Carrasco, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful delivery of controlled substances, heroin and cocaine, in violation of I.C. § 37-2732(a)(l)(A). The court found Carrasco guilty, and following a sentencing hearing ordered that Carrasco be committed to the custody of the Board of Corrections for two concurrent indeterminate terms not to exceed thirty years. Carrasco then unsuccessfully moved to withdraw his plea, and thereafter a motion to reduce the sentences was also denied. The court entered an amended judgment of conviction, and Carrasco appealed from that judgment and the denial of his post-conviction motions. The Court of Appeals modified the sentence, remanding the case for entry of the modified judgment, and upheld the denial of the motion to withdraw the guilty plea. At this time the sole issue on review is whether Carrasco’s guilty plea was given knowingly and voluntarily.

Considering the proceedings as a whole, we hold that the pleas entered by Carrasco were not entered knowingly, voluntarily or intelligently. Accordingly, we reverse the order denying the motion to withdraw the plea and remand for trial.

I.

When a defendant enters a plea of guilty, the defendant waives, among others, the following rights of constitutional dimension: the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination, the right to a jury trial and the right to confront one’s accusers. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). Fundamental rights are involved, and a valid waiver will not be presumed but must be demonstrated by the record. Id. I.C.R. 11(c) provides:

(c) Acceptance of plea of guilty. Before a plea of guilty is accepted, the record of the entire proceedings, including reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, must show:
(1) The voluntariness of the plea.
(2) The defendant was informed of the consequences of the plea, including minimum and maximum punishments, and other direct consequences which may apply.
(3) The defendant was advised that by pleading guilty he would waive his right against compulsory self-incrimination, his right to trial by jury, and his right to confront witnesses against him.
(4) The defendant was informed of the nature of the charge against him.
(5) Whether any promises have been made to the defendant, or whether the plea is a result of any plea bargaining agreement, and if so, the nature of the agreement and that the defendant was informed that the court is not bound by any promises or recommendation from either party as to punishment. (Emphasis added.)

Additionally, the court must determine whether any promises have been made to the defendant, whether the plea resulted from a bargained agreement, the nature of the agreement, and whether the defendant is aware the court is not bound by any promises or recommendation regarding punishment. State v. Colyer, 98 Idaho 32, 36, 557 P.2d 626, 630 (1976).

Before a trial court accepts a plea of guilty in a felony case,1 the record must [298]*298show that the plea has been made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily, and the validity of a plea is to be determined by considering all the relevant circumstances surrounding the plea as contained in the record. State v. Colyer, 98 Idaho 32, 557 P.2d 626 (1976). As provided in Colyer, whether a plea is voluntary and understood by the defendant requires inquiry into three basic areas. The first is whether the defendant’s plea was voluntary in the sense that he understood the nature of the charges and was not coerced. Secondly, it must be determined whether the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his rights to a jury trial, to confront his accusers, and to refrain from incriminating himself. Thirdly, it must be determined whether the defendant understood the consequences of pleading guilty. 98 Idaho at 34, 557 P.2d at 628 (1976); see also State v. Howell, 104 Idaho 393, 659 P.2d 147 (1983). In Colyer we stated “the voluntariness of a guilty plea can be determined by considering all the relevant surrounding circumstances contained in the record.” (Emphasis added.) 98 Idaho at 34, 557 P.2d at 628; see also I.C.R. 11(c).

II.

A motion to withdraw a plea is governed by I.C.R. 33(c).2 Generally, a motion to withdraw a plea of guilty may be made only before sentence, is imposed or imposition of sentence is suspended. However, after sentencing, the court may set aside a judgment of conviction and permit a defendant to withdraw the plea to correct a manifest injustice. I.C.R. 33(c). A stricter standard is applied to motions for plea withdrawal following sentencing to insure that the accused does not plead guilty merely to test the weight of potential punishment and then to withdraw the plea if the sentence is unexpectedly severe. State v. Simons, 112 Idaho 254, 731 P.2d 797 (Ct.App.1987); State v. Freeman, 110 Idaho 117, 714 P.2d 86 (Ct.App.1986). A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court, State v. Simons, 112 Idaho at 256, 731 P.2d at 799; State v. Freeman, 110 Idaho at 121, 714 P.2d at 90, and such discretion should be liberally exercised. State v. Martinez, 89 Idaho 129, 138, 403 P.2d 597, 603 (1965); see also State v. Creech, 109 Idaho 592, 594, 710 P.2d 502, 504 (1985), citing Kienlen v. United States, 379 F.2d 20, 24 (10th Cir.1967).

The standard for review on appeal in cases where a defendant has attempted to withdraw a guilty plea is whether the district court abused its discretion in denying the motion. State v. Ballard, 114 Idaho 799, 761 P.2d 1151 (1988). As noted in Ballard, 114 Idaho at 801, fn.2, 761 P.2d 1153, fn. 2; I.C.R. 33(c) is the same as Federal Rule 32(d), therefore federal case law is both helpful and relevant to the resolution of these issues. Federal case law clearly establishes that even presentence withdrawal of a guilty plea is not an automatic right, United States v. Barker, 514 F.2d 208, 221 (D.C.Cir.1975); Goo v. United States, 187 F.2d 62 (9th Cir.1951), and that the defendant has the burden of proving that the plea should be allowed to be withdrawn. Everett v. United States, 336 F.2d 979, 984 (D.C.Cir.1964).

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Bluebook (online)
787 P.2d 281, 117 Idaho 295, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-carrasco-idaho-1990.