State v. Frazier

2007 MT 40, 153 P.3d 18, 336 Mont. 81, 2007 Mont. LEXIS 49
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 13, 2007
DocketDA 06-0271
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 2007 MT 40 (State v. Frazier) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana 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. Frazier, 2007 MT 40, 153 P.3d 18, 336 Mont. 81, 2007 Mont. LEXIS 49 (Mo. 2007).

Opinions

JUSTICE LEAPHART

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 Defendant Gary Frazier appeals the District Court’s denial of his motion to withdraw the guilty plea he made in Justice Court to partner or family member assault. We reverse and remand to the District Corut.

¶2 We restate the issue as follows:

¶3 Did the District Court err in denying Frazier’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea?

BACKGROUND

¶4 On June 26, 2005, Frazier called 9-1-1 to report that his wife, Chrissy Frazier, was beating him and was impeding him from leaving their home. Based upon his wife’s subsequent statement to the police that Frazier had pushed her to the ground and caused her fear, Frazier was charged with one count of partner or family member assault (PFMA).

¶5 On June 27, 2005, while at the Yellowstone County Detention Center, Frazier, without legal counsel or the benefit of a plea agreement, appeared via video before the Yellowstone County Justice Court for arraignment. The court advised Frazier of his constitutional rights and the minimum and maximum penalties for the offense [83]*83charged. The court apparently also asked Frazier if he understood that by pleading guilty, he was admitting the facts contained in the notice to appear and complaint. However, the court did not specifically ask Frazier what the factual basis was for his plea. In other words, the court did not ask Frazier to relate what he did that constituted the offense of PFMA.

¶6 Frazier then entered a plea of guilty to PFMA, which the court accepted. The court sentenced Frazier to pay a fine of $1,000, and serve twelve months in jail, but suspended this sentence for twelve months with the requirement that Frazier pay a $350 fine, complete forty hours of anger management counseling, have no contact with the victim, and not possess any firearms or ammunition.

¶7 On June 28, one day after he pled guilty, Frazier filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, stating that he only pled guilty because he thought it was the fastest way to be released from jail, that he would like to speak to the public defender, and that he was strapped for money. After the Justice Court denied Frazier’s motion, Frazier filed a notice of appeal to the District Court. On October 26, 2005, the District Court held an evidentiary hearing on Frazier’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea, at the conclusion of which the court denied the motion. Frazier subsequently filed this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶8 We review a defendant’s motion to withdraw a guilty plea to determine if the guilty plea was voluntary. Our determination of whether a plea was voluntary is a mixed question of law and fact, which we review de novo. State v. Muhammad, 2005 MT 234, ¶ 12, 328 Mont. 397, ¶ 12, 121 P.3d 521, ¶ 12 (citing State v. Warclub, 2005 MT 149, ¶ 23, 327 Mont. 352, ¶ 23, 114 P.3d 254, ¶ 23).

DISCUSSION

¶9 Did the District Court err in denying Frazier’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea?

¶ 10 To determine whether a defendant entered a plea voluntarily, and whether the district court erred in denying a defendant’s motion to withdraw a guilty plea, we examine “case-specific considerations,” including the adequacy of the court’s interrogation and whether there was a dismissal of another charge via plea bargain. Muhammad, ¶ 14 (citing Warclub, ¶ 19). However, a claim of actual innocence does not affect the voluntariness of a plea because “a defendant’s belief in his innocence or his fear of going to trial do not preclude him from making a voluntary and intelligent choice between possible alternative courses [84]*84of action.” Muhammad, ¶ 16 (quoting State v. Lone Elk, 2005 MT 56, ¶ 25, 326 Mont. 214, ¶ 25, 108 P.3d 500, ¶ 25).

¶11 Frazier claims the District Court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his plea because the plea colloquy was inadequate, there was no plea bargain, and there is evidence that he is innocent. We may summarily dismiss Frazier’s actual innocence claim because a defendant who believes he is innocent may still make the voluntary choice to plead guilty. Additionally, we recognize that Frazier did not have the benefit of a plea bargain which, while not dispositive, is a factor this Court may consider concerning voluntariness. See Lone Elk, ¶ 16. We are thus left with Frazier’s inadequate plea colloquy contention, which we conclude has merit and is discussed below.

¶12 A. Did Frazier fail to preserve his claim that the plea colloquy was inadequate by not specifically raising the issue in his pro se motion to the Justice Court?

¶13 Section 46-17-203(2)(b), MCA, allows a defendant injustice court, who claims that his plea of guilty was not entered voluntarily, to move to withdraw the plea. If the motion is denied, the defendant may appeal to the district court.

¶14 The State asserts that Frazier failed to preserve his claim that the plea colloquy was inadequate by failing to specifically raise the claim in his motion to withdraw his guilty plea in Justice Court. According to the State, we must disregard the claim because it is fundamentally unfair to fault a court for failing to rule on an issue it was not given the opportunity to consider.

¶15 Frazier’s motion to withdraw, which he submitted pro se to the Justice Court, reads:

I would like to withdraw my guilty plea and enter a not guilty pie [sic]. I plead [sic] guilty because I thought it was the fastes [sic] way to be released from jail, and I would like to talk to a public defender to know what rights and possibility’s [sic] I have. I had neck sugery [sic] on May 17th and am unable to work. My wife is the sole provider of a family of 5 so we are financual [sic] straped [sic] every penny brought in goes to our mortgage and daily life for our family.

¶16 Admittedly, Frazier did not specifically raise the inadequate plea colloquy issue in his written motion to the Justice Court. However, Frazier’s motion was summarily denied without a hearing, and, despite his specific request for counsel, he was not provided counsel who, judging from the issues raised in the District Court, would have raised the issue in a hearing or a brief on Frazier’s motion [85]*85to withdraw. Further, Frazier’s motion is similar to, if not more inclusive, than the simplistic motion filed by the defendant at the justice court level in State v. Boucher,1 where we held, despite the fact that the original motion did not specifically raise the inadequate plea colloquy issue, that the District Court erred by not allowing Boucher to withdraw his guilty plea because the court failed to advise Boucher that a plea of guilty would waive his right to appeal. 2002 MT 114, ¶ 28, 309 Mont. 514, ¶ 28, 48 P.3d 21, ¶ 28. Finally, policy dictates that if there is any doubt that a plea was involuntary, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the defendant. Boucher, ¶ 25 (citations omitted). Thus, we conclude that Frazier adequately raised the plea colloquy issue in his general motion to withdraw his plea.

¶17 B. Was the Justice Court’s interrogation inadequate when the court failed to require Frazier to explain what he did that constituted the crime?

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2007 MT 40, 153 P.3d 18, 336 Mont. 81, 2007 Mont. LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-frazier-mont-2007.