State v. Gilley

289 N.W.2d 238, 1980 N.D. LEXIS 214
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 28, 1980
DocketCr. 666-B
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 289 N.W.2d 238 (State v. Gilley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota 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. Gilley, 289 N.W.2d 238, 1980 N.D. LEXIS 214 (N.D. 1980).

Opinion

PEDERSON, Justice.

Greg W. Gilley pled guilty to two counts of robbery and five counts of burglary, and was sentenced to ten years in the state penitentiary. Subsequently, Gilley filed an application in the district court for post-conviction relief under the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act, Ch. 29-32, NDCC, alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated. A post-conviction hearing was held, after which relief was denied. Gilley appeals this decision of the district court. We affirm.

Peace officers, in investigating several burglaries in the Minot area, concluded that Gilley was implicated in some of them. Pursuant to a search warrant, the residence where Gilley rented a room was searched. Several items of the stolen property were recovered. An all-points bulletin was then issued for Gilley and he was arrested in the early morning hours on May 7, 1977, at a roadblock near Kenmare, and charged with burglary. He was taken first to the Ken-mare Police Department and then transported to the Ward County Jail in Minot, where he remained until he posted bail approximately one week later.

On June 12, 1977, Officer Johnson of the Minot Police Department observed a vehicle which fit the description of one which had been used in a recent armed robbery. The car was stopped, the officers conducted a pat-down search of the four occupants and discovered knives on two of them. A search of the vehicle produced a sawed-off shotgun and a .357 revolver. One of the occupants of the car who was arrested for armed robbery and taken to the Minot Police Department was Greg W. Gilley.

During this confinement, and apparently during his initial confinement as well, Gil-ley was a discipline problem and was involved in several altercations which resulted in him being maced and placed in an isolation cell to be subdued.

While appearing at a scheduled arraignment on the two robbery charges on June 23, 1977, Gilley requested a court-appointed counsel. The arraignment was continued and counsel was appointed. At counsel’s request, Gilley was given a mental competency evaluation at the State Hospital. Gil-ley was represented by counsel on both the robbery and burglary charges at all subsequent proceedings.

On July 28,1977, with the advice of counsel, Gilley pled guilty to two counts of robbery and five counts of burglary. On August 3,1977, Gilley was sentenced to a term of ten years in the State Penitentiary for each of the robberies, and five years for each of the burglaries, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

Gilley, in his petition for post-conviction relief, has raised numerous grounds in contending his constitutional rights were violated. His contentions are (1) that he was not advised of the charges against him before he gave statements concerning the robberies; (2) that the search made of the car in which he was a passenger was not legal; (3) that he requested an attorney before giving a statement after the burglaries and was not provided one; (4) that he was denied effective assistance of counsel; (5) that he was not fully informed as to the consequences of his plea; (6) that the circumstances of his confinement broke down his will; and (7) that the effect of all of the above was to make his plea of guilty involuntary and coerced.

*240 The Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act, § 29-32-01, NDCC, provides in relevant part:

“1. Any person who has been convicted of, or sentenced for, a crime and who claims:
f. That the conviction or sentence is otherwise subject to collateral attack upon any ground of alleged error, heretofore available under any common law, statutory or other writ, motion, petition, proceeding, or remedy;
may institute, without paying a filing fee, a proceeding under this chapter to secure relief.”

In the instant case Gilley alleges numerous violations of his constitutional rights. However, the general rule is that a voluntary plea of guilty waives all non jurisdictional defects alleged to have occurred prior to the guilty plea. State v. Barlow, 193 N.W.2d 455 (N.D.1971). The primary question then is whether or not Gilley’s plea was voluntarily and intelligently made under the standards prescribed by Rule 11, NDRCrimP. As this court recently said in State v. Gustafson, 278 N.W.2d 358, 362 (N.D.1979), the voluntariness of a plea of guilty involves a constitutional question that is appropriately reviewable under the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act.

Rule 11, NDRCrimP, governs pleas in criminal cases. Under subdivision (b), the court must address the defendant personally and advise him of the nature of the charge, the mandatory minimum and maximum punishment available, his right to plead not guilty, his right to counsel, and that, if he pleads guilty, he waives the right to a trial and the right to confront witnesses against him. The record discloses that the trial judge, before accepting the guilty pleas, carefully advised Gilley of all of the above matters.

“THE COURT: Even though he has informed his client of his constitutional rights, the Court will do so too so there is no question about it.
“The Defendant has been advised of his right to a lawyer, and he has been granted the services of a lawyer. He was informed that if he did not have sufficient funds to retain a lawyer the Court would appoint one on his behalf without cost to him.
“You have the right to a speedy, fair, and public trial by a fair and impartial jury. The verdict of the jury must be unanimous to convict you. At the trial you have the right to meet the witnesses against you face-to-face; that is, to have them testify under oath at a public trial, and you have a right to cross-examine those witnesses.
“You have a right to the processes of the Court to compel the attendance of witnesses to testify in your own behalf. That is, you have a right to have subpoenas issued without cost to you.
“You have a right to not be a witness against yourself; you have the right to remain silent. If you did not take the stand to testify, it would not be held against you in any way.
“This is a Court of record and an appeal may be made from a jury conviction.
“You have the right to plead guilty, or you have the right to plead not guilty. If you plead guilty, you waive your right to a jury trial and you waive your right to be confronted by the witnesses against you.
“Every person is presumed to be innocent and the State must prove the charges against you beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I shall now inform you of the maximum punishment that can be imposed on this offense.

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Bluebook (online)
289 N.W.2d 238, 1980 N.D. LEXIS 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gilley-nd-1980.