State v. Fleming

80 So. 3d 634, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 135, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1442, 2011 WL 5983317
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 29, 2011
Docket11-KA-135
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 80 So. 3d 634 (State v. Fleming) 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. Fleming, 80 So. 3d 634, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 135, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1442, 2011 WL 5983317 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

JUDE G. GRAVOIS, Judge.

|2On December 6, 2007, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Carlos Fleming, with one count of simple burglary, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62. Defendant pled not guilty at arraignment. Thereafter, defendant filed various omnibus motions, including a Motion to Suppress Evidence, which was denied on June *636 19, 2008. 1 On October 1, 2008, defendant withdrew his not guilty plea and pled guilty as charged. Defendant was sentenced to ten years imprisonment at hard labor to run concurrently with all other counts. 2 Defendant was granted an out-of-time appeal on July 28, 2010. This appeal followed. Defendant’s appointed appellate counsel has filed a brief, asserting that she has thoroughly reviewed the trial court record and cannot find any non-frivolous issues to raise on appeal. Accordingly, appointed counsel has ^requested permission to withdraw as counsel of record for defendant. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant’s conviction and sentence and permit appointed counsel to withdraw as counsel of record for defendant.

FACTS

The State provided the following recitation of facts upon defendant’s plea of guilty:

DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
As to Case Number 07-6852, if this matter would have gone to trial, the State would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on July 19, 2007, within Jefferson Parish, the Defendant committed simple burglary of Bad-deaux’s [sic] Grocery. Located at 1321 Ames Boulevard.

ANDERS BRIEF

Under the procedure set forth in State v. Benjamin, 573 So.2d 528, 530 (La.App. 4 Cir.1990), 3 appointed appellate counsel has filed an Anders brief, 4 asserting that she has thoroughly reviewed the trial court record and cannot find any non-frivolous issues to raise on appeal. Accordingly, appointed counsel requests permission to withdraw as counsel of record for defendant.

DISCUSSION

In Anders, the United States Supreme Court stated that appointed appellate counsel may request permission to withdraw if she finds her case to be wholly | ^ frivolous after a conscientious examination of it. 5 The request must be accompanied by “ ‘a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal’ ” so as to provide the reviewing court “with a basis for determining whether appointed counsel have fully performed their duty to support their clients’ appeals to the best of their ability” and to assist the reviewing court “in making the critical determination whether the appeal is indeed so frivolous that counsel should be permitted to withdraw.” McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, Dist. 1, 486 U.S. *637 429, 439, 108 S.Ct. 1895, 1902, 100 L.Ed.2d 440 (1988). The Louisiana Supreme Court approved the procedure in State v. Jyles, 96-2669 at 2, 704 So.2d at 241.

When conducting a review for compliance with Anders, an appellate court must conduct an independent review of the record to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous. State v. Bradford, 95-929, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 6/25/96), 676 So.2d 1108, 1110. If, after an independent review, the reviewing court determines there are no non-frivolous issues for appeal, it may grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirm the defendant’s conviction and sentence. However, if the court finds any legal point arguable on the merits, it may either deny the motion and order the court-appointed attorney to file a brief arguing the legal point(s) identified by the court, or grant the motion and appoint substitute appellate counsel. Id.

Defendant’s appellate counsel asserts that after a detailed review of the record, she could find no non-frivolous issues to raise on appeal. Counsel notes that defendant filed a pre-trial motion to suppress that was denied by the trial court, but, upon pleading guilty, defendant did not preserve his right to object to the rulings under State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). Counsel indicates that |sthe plea form signed by defendant and the colloquy with the trial judge demonstrates that defendant was informed of and considered the rights he was waiving by pleading guilty, as well as the sentences that he would receive.

Appellate counsel has filed a motion to withdraw as attorney of record that states that she has mailed defendant a copy of her brief. Additionally, this Court sent defendant a letter by certified mail informing him that an Anders brief had been filed and that he had until May 1, 2011 to file a pro se supplemental brief. Defendant filed a supplemental brief on April 21, 2011.

The State filed a response to appellate counsel’s brief, noting that counsel has complied with Anders/Jyles and requesting that this Court affirm defendant’s conviction and sentence.

An independent review of the record supports appellate counsel’s assertion that there are no non-frivolous issues to be raised on appeal. The true bill of information properly charged defendant. Also, as reflected by the minute entries and commitment, defendant appeared at each stage of the proceedings, including his arraignment, guilty plea and sentencing.

Further, defendant pled guilty as charged. If a defendant pleads guilty, he normally waives all non-jurisdictional defects in the proceedings leading up to the guilty plea, and precludes review of such defects either by appeal or post-conviction relief. State v. Wingerter, 05-697, p. 5 (La.App. 5 Cir. 3/14/06), 926 So.2d 662, 664. Once a defendant is sentenced, only those guilty pleas that are constitutionally infirm may be withdrawn by appeal or post-conviction relief. State v. McCoil, 05-658, p. 7 (La.App. 5 Cir. 2/27/06), 924 So.2d 1120, 1124. A guilty plea is constitutionally infirm if it is not entered freely and voluntarily, if the |¿Boykin 6 colloquy is inadequate, or when a defendant is induced to enter the plea by a plea bargain or what he justifiably believes was a plea bargain and that bargain is not kept. In such a case, the defendant has been denied due process of law in that the plea was not given freely and knowingly. State v. Dixon, 449 So.2d 463, 464 (La.1984).

*638 The record shows that defendant was aware he was pleading guilty to one felony count of simple burglary. On the waiver of rights form and during the colloquy with the trial court, defendant was advised of his right to a jury trial, his right to confrontation, and his privilege against self-incrimination.

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Bluebook (online)
80 So. 3d 634, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 135, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1442, 2011 WL 5983317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fleming-lactapp-2011.