State v. Carter

630 So. 2d 926, 1993 WL 539887
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 30, 1993·No. 93-KA-0537·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

630 So.2d 926 (1993)

STATE of Louisiana,
v.
Robert CARTER, Jr.

No. 93-KA-0537.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

December 30, 1993.

*928 Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty. of Orleans Parish, Mark D. Pethke, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for plaintiff, appellee.

Robert Carter, pro se, defendant, appellant.

Before PLOTKIN, WALTZER and LANDRIEU, JJ.

WALTZER, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE:

Defendant, Robert Carter, along with Clarence Bridges, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of LSA R.S. 40:967. Carter pleaded not guilty, then changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to five years at hard labor to run concurrently with any "parole time" he owed. The State filed a multiple bill on November 19, 1990, to which defendant pleaded not guilty on September 17, 1991. On November 20, 1991, defendant moved to quash the multiple bill and later moved to set aside his guilty plea to the cocaine charge. Hearings on the multiple bill and defendant's motions were held on January 16 and 28, 1992. The trial court denied defendant's motions, found him to be a third offender, and sentenced him to twenty years at hard labor. Defendant was granted an out-of-time appeal on November 9, 1992. The record was lodged on March 16, 1993 and was supplemented in June 1993 by defendant's pro se brief.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS:

On October 24, 1990, defendant pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.[1] Before defendant entered his plea, the following discussion took place:

BY THE COURT:
341-614, Robert Carter.
MR. ELLOIE:
Your Honor, at this time—we would like to ask you a question first.

*929 BY THE DEFENDANT:

I'm sorry, Your Honor. Is there any kind of way that you could check through my record and see just what I'm eligible for, due to the multiple bill, before I plead guilty to it?
BY THE COURT:
You're either eligible for 15 or 20. It depends on whether you're a double bill or a triple bill or a quadruple bill. You had the last conviction; that's makes you a double bill. That's what Mr. Elloie explained to you.
MR. ELLOIE:
That's what I explained to him, that at least we know the 87 [1987 conviction]. That makes him at least a double. Now, the 81 and 84 [1981 and 1984 convictions], whether you're a quad is another matter. But he's still not going beyond the 20.

Defendant was sworn and questioned by the court concerning his waiver of constitutional rights and guilty plea form. The court advised defendant of his rights to trial by jury, to appeal upon conviction, to testify on his own behalf and to call witnesses to testify on his behalf, to confront the witnesses who testify against him, and to assert his privilege against self-incrimination. He also advised defendant that this guilty plea to a felony could be used as the basis for a future charge as a multiple offender. The court asked defendant if his plea was coerced, and found a factual basis for the plea of guilty. Defendant's guilty plea was then entered. Following entry of the plea, the following colloquy occurred:

BY THE COURT:
... Let's set this matter for a multiple bill hearing.
BY MS. KRINGAS:
Two weeks from today, Your Honor.
[The tape recording taken of the hearing at this point records the court asking for a date of November 8. Counsel for the defendant said he would be out of town on the 8th. At this point, the transcript picks up the colloquy.]
BY THE COURT:
How about the 19th of November?
BY MR. ELLOIE:
That will be fine, Your Honor.
BY MS. KRINGAS:
That's fine, Your Honor.
BY THE COURT:
Fingerprint the defendant, Kevin, please.

The multiple bill was filed November 19[2] and the hearing on the multiple bill was continued several times either because of the failure to serve defendant, on the motions of the State or defendant, or by the court itself.

On November 20, 1991, defendant moved to quash the multiple bill, initially asserting untimeliness but later arguing that he had pleaded guilty to the 1990 cocaine charge in reliance on a promise by the State not to charge him as an multiple offender under the Louisiana Habitual Offender Law (LSA R.S. 15:529.1). The trial court denied the motion to quash after having reviewed both the transcript and the audiotape of the guilty plea hearing. The trial court concluded that at the time of defendant's guilty plea to the 1990 cocaine charge, it was clearly evident to defendant, his counsel, the trial judge, and the prosecutor that a multiple bill would be filed. The court denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

ERRORS PATENT:

This court's complete review of the record reveals no errors patent.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1-6 AND 8-11: BREACH OF PLEA BARGAIN

In these ten assignments of error, denominated by defendant in his pro se brief and supplemental brief as arguments, defendant contends the State's action in filing an habitual offender charge against him violates a plea bargain agreement. Carter claims that he pleaded guilty to the 1990 cocaine charge upon the prosecutor's representation that Carter would receive a five year sentence and would not be multiple billed. Defendant argues that the pre-plea inquiry concerning his status as a multiple offender cannot be considered a plea negotiation because the *930 prosecutor was not involved in the discussion and because the trial judge had no authority to negotiate a plea bargain. He asserts that after this discussion took place but before he pleaded guilty, the prosecutor told his counsel that no multiple bill would be filed. Carter argues that the alleged plea bargain should be honored or that he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. There is no evidence of such a representation either in the transcript or on the audiotape record of the entire colloquy.

When a guilty plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, which can be said to have been a part of the inducement or consideration for the plea, such a promise must be fulfilled. Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971); State v. Redfearn, 441 So.2d 200 (La.1983); State v. Armstead, 599 So.2d 425 (La.App. 4th Cir.1992). Even if there were no plea bargain with the State, if the defendant justifiably believed there were and pleaded guilty in part because of that justifiable belief, the guilty plea was not knowingly made; and, in such a case, the guilty plea must be set aside and the defendant allowed to plead anew. State v. McFarland, 578 So.2d 1014 (La.App. 4th Cir.1991).

After reviewing the transcript and audiotape of the guilty plea hearing, we find no support for defendant's claim that he pleaded guilty based on the State's promise, direct or implied, that he would not be multiple billed. The discussion at the beginning of the hearing about defendant's potential exp

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