State v. Coffin

661 P.2d 328, 104 Idaho 543, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 421
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedApril 1, 1983
Docket13912
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 661 P.2d 328 (State v. Coffin) 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. Coffin, 661 P.2d 328, 104 Idaho 543, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 421 (Idaho 1983).

Opinions

BAKES, Justice.

Defendant appeals from the convictions entered upon pleas of guilty of two counts of first degree burglary and of resisting an officer, and from the sentences imposed on each count. Affirmed.

Defendant was charged, by way of information, with two counts of first degree burglary in violation of I.C. §§ 18-1401, -1402 and -1404, and with resisting an officer, I.C. § 18-2703, all felony charges. Pursuant to a plea bargain, the defendant entered pleas of guilty to each of the above listed offenses at his arraignment hearing held on July 25, 1980. After extensive questioning, the presiding judge accepted defendant’s guilty pleas and ordered that a presentence investigation report be prepared and presented to the court. In accordance with the plea bargaining agreement, the court, pursuant to a motion by the state, dismissed charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery that were pending in the district court.1

At the sentencing hearing which began on September 8, 1980, and was continued until September 9, 1980, the district court entered judgments of guilty on all three charges. After reviewing the defendant’s prior criminal record, the court sentenced the defendant to a ten-year indeterminate term of imprisonment on each burglary conviction, the terms to run concurrently, and to an indeterminate five year term on the count of resisting an officer, the latter term to run consecutively to the sentences imposed on the burglary convictions. Defendant appeals from the judgments of conviction and sentences imposed on all three counts. We affirm.

The principal issue raised by defendant on appeal is whether the trial court erred in accepting defendant’s pleas of guilty to the first degree burglary charges. The record, including the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, affirmatively shows that defendant’s pleas of guilty were voluntarily entered, that he understood and waived his constitutional rights and that he was informed of the possible consequences of his pleas. See State v. Goutts, 101 Idaho 110, 609 P.2d 642 (1980); State v. Cleverly, 101 Idaho 596, 618 P.2d 774 (1980); State v. Flummer, 99 Idaho 567, 585 P.2d 1278 (1978): see also North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970); Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). Defendant does not challenge the voluntariness of his pleas.

Instead, he alleges that the trial court erred in accepting his pleas of guilty to the first degree burglary charges without first establishing a sufficient factual basis for the crimes charged. The defendant accurately notes in his brief on appeal that there is currently no requirement in Idaho that the trial court must establish a factual basis prior to accepting a guilty plea.2 See, e.g., I.C.R. 11; State v. Colyer, [546]*54698 Idaho 32, 557 P.2d 626 (1976). Furthermore, this Court has previously stated that a valid guilty plea, voluntarily and understandingly given, is a judicial admission of all facts charged by the indictment or information. State v. Tipton, 99 Idaho 670, 673, 587 P.2d 305, 308 (1978), citing Clark v. State, 92 Idaho 827, 832, 452 P.2d 54, 59 (1969): see State v. Jackson, 96 Idaho 584, 532 P.2d 926 (1975). A defendant, by entering a valid guilty plea, waives all non-jurisdictional defects and defenses, whether constitutional or statutory. State v. Tipton, supra 99 Idaho at 673, 587 P.2d at 308. Finally, a valid plea of guilty is conclusive as to guilt and obviates the necessity of the prosecution going forward with the evidence. State v. Tipton, supra; Clark v. State, 92 Idaho 827, 833, 452 P.2d 54, 60 (1969), and authorities cited therein. Nevertheless, the defendant alleges that the facts establish that he entered the cabins in the daytime, and, therefore, that the district court erred in accepting his pleas of guilty to first degree burglary when the facts failed to support those charges. We disagree.

We note, as will be discussed infra, that this defendant was given the opportunity to “plead anew,” as suggested by the Court of Appeals in Schmidt v. State, supra.

The record shows that the informations charging the defendant with first degree burglary were read to the defendant at his arraignment. The informations contained the elements of first degree burglary, including the allegations that the burglaries occurred during the nighttime. Before accepting the pleas of guilty, the district court interrogated the defendant regarding his waiver of rights, his understanding of the English language, his education, the voluntariness of his pleas and the plea bargaining arrangement, and informed him of the maximum penalties that could be imposed on each count., The court accepted defendant’s pleas of guilty only when convinced that they were freely and voluntarily given.

Defendant did not argue or otherwise inform the court at the arraignment hearing that he claimed to have entered the cabins in the daytime. Nor does the record disclose that the court was aware of the alleged factual discrepancy at that stage of the proceedings. The court did, however, expressly ask the defendant whether there was any reason other than the plea bargain why defendant was pleading guilty to these serious offenses. The following dialogue ensued:

“MR. COFFIN: Yes, sir. I understand your question. Pleading guilty because I am guilty, I guess, sir.
“THE COURT: And I suppose you feel that even if you pled not guilty, the chances of the State proving its case is pretty good. Is that a fair statement?
“MR. COFFIN: Yes, sir.”

Thus, not only did the defendant’s pleas of guilty to the first degree burglary charges constitute a tacit admission of the facts alleged in the informations but, prior to the court’s acceptance of the guilty pleas, the defendant expressly admitted that he was guilty of the charges. Therefore, given the defendant’s voluntary entry of pleas of guilty and express admission of guilt to the first degree burglary charges, we hold that the court was not obliged to establish a further factual basis for the charges and that the court did not err at this stage of the proceedings in accepting defendant’s pleas of guilty to the first degree burglary charges. See Sparrow v. State, 102 Idaho 60, 625 P.2d 414 (1981); State v. Cleverly, 101 Idaho 596, 618 P.2d 774 (1980); State v. Taylor, 100 Idaho 105, 593 P.2d 1390 (1979); State v. West, 100 Idaho 16, 592 P.2d 72 (1979); State v. Bradley, 98 Idaho 918, 575 P.2d 1306 (1978).

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Bluebook (online)
661 P.2d 328, 104 Idaho 543, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 421, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-coffin-idaho-1983.