State v. Heath

76 So. 3d 84, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 994, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1094, 2011 WL 4468929
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 27, 2011
DocketNo. 10-KA-994
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 76 So. 3d 84 (State v. Heath) 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. Heath, 76 So. 3d 84, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 994, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1094, 2011 WL 4468929 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, Judge.

|?On April 30, 2008, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Richard J. Heath, with two counts of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62.2. He was arraigned on May 1, 2008, and pled not guilty. On June 6, 2008, defendant withdrew his not guilty pleas and pled guilty as charged. The trial judge sentenced defendant to imprisonment at hard labor for six years on both counts, to run concurrently, with the first year of the sentence to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Also on June 6, 2008, the State filed a multiple bill alleging defendant to be a second felony offender. Defendant stipulated to the allegations. The trial judge vacated the original sentence on Count 1 and resentenced defendant under the multiple bill statute to imprisonment at hard labor for six years, to run concurrently with the sentence on Count 2, the first year without benefit of parole, probation, or |asuspension of sentence, and the entire sentence without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. The trial judge also recommended the Intensive Incarceration, or Impact, program and Blue Walters Drug Treatment.

■ On August 14, 2008, the Department of Corrections sent the trial judge a letter advising her that defendant was rejected for participation in the Intensive Incarceration Program because of his “disciplinary problems and an assaultive arrest history.” Defendant filed a Motion to Amend Sentence on December 12, 2008, which was denied.

[86]*86On December 1, 2009, defendant filed an Application for Post-Conviction Relief (APCR) arguing that his guilty plea was not knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily made because he believed that he would be allowed to participate in the Impact program in exchange for waiving his rights. On December 8, 2009, the trial judge denied the APCR, finding that defendant’s claim was procedurally defaulted under LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 930.4 C because it could have been, but was not, raised on appeal. The trial judge stated that if she were to reach the merits of the claim, she would find that defendant’s counseled plea of guilty was a voluntary act that passed constitutional muster. The trial judge noted that defendant did not present any evidence that the court promised admittance to the Impact program. Additionally, the trial judge found that defendant failed to carry his burden of proof that relief should be granted under LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 930.2.

On February 8, 2010, defendant filed a writ application with this Court, arguing that the trial court erred by denying his APCR. This Court granted the writ for the limited purpose of vacating and setting aside the denial of the APCR and remanding the matter to grant defendant the opportunity to reinstate his appeal rights. On April 12, 2010, defendant filed another APCR seeking an out-of-time appeal, which the trial judge granted.

J¿FACTS

Because defendant pled guilty, there are few facts contained in the record. However, the prosecutor gave a factual basis during the guilty plea colloquy. He said that if the State had gone to trial, it would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on March 30, 2008, in Jefferson Parish, defendant committed a burglary of an inhabited dwelling located at 4007 Catherine Avenue, which is a structure that was used as a place of abode for David Mendel-son. Additionally, the prosecutor said the State would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant violated LSA-R.S. 14:62.2 by committing a simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling located at 811 Dodge Avenue, the home of Deidra Dunbar, which was located in Jefferson Parish. The bill of information reflects that the crime involving Ms. Dunbar occurred on March 31, 2008. During the colloquy, defendant admitted that he committed those crimes.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

On appeal, in his first assignment of error, defendant claims that his guilty pleas are constitutionally infirm. Defendant argues that he should be permitted to withdraw his guilty pleas, because he was denied admission into the Impact and Blue Walters Programs, which he contends was a part of his plea agreement. He asserts that his guilty pleas were not made freely and knowingly because they were based on the belief that the terms of the plea bargain would be fulfilled.

The State responds that defendant’s guilty pleas were entered knowingly and voluntarily. The State notes that defendant was denied admission into the programs because of his own actions, namely, his disciplinary problems and assaultive arrest history. The State also notes that defendant was made aware prior to the guilty pleas that he might be ineligible for the programs.

Uf 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. Additionally, once a defendant is sentenced, only those guilty pleas that are [87]*87constitutionally 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 Boy-kin 1 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. McCoil, 05-658 at 7, 924 So.2d at 1124. Although defendant did not file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea in the district court, he is not prohibited from challenging a constitutionally infirm guilty plea either by means of appeal or post-conviction relief. Id.

Impact is an intensive program of parole supervision established by LSA-R.S. 15:574.4. State v. Zeringue, 08-697, p. 9 (La.App. 5 Cir. 11/25/08), 862 So.2d 186, 193 n. 3, writ denied, 03-3523 (La.4/23/04), 870 So.2d 298. LSA-R.S. 15:574.4.4 was redesignated from LSA-R.S. 15:574.4.1 by Acts 2010, No. 241, § 2, which had been redesignated from LSA-R.S. 15:574.4 A(2) by Acts 2008, No. 266, § 2. The language of the statute was not amended in the changes, only its numerical designation. At the time defendant committed the crimes in March of 2008, LSA-R.S. 15:574.4 A(2)(a) provided in pertinent part:

Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph A(l) of this Section, a person, otherwise eligible for parole, convicted of a nonviolent first felony offense and committed to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, or of a nonviolent second felony offense and committed to the Department of Public Safety and | ^Corrections, may be eligible for intensive parole supervision upon successful completion of intensive incarceration.

In State v. Walker, 94-340 (La.App. 5 Cir. 10/25/94), 645 So.2d 766, defendant pled guilty to possession of cocaine and nolo contendere to armed robbery. The trial court sentenced defendant and then verbally agreed to recommend him for the intensive incarceration and intensive parole supervision (Impact) program. Defendant claimed that when he entered his pleas, he did not understand that the armed robbery conviction made him ineligible by law for the Impact program.

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Bluebook (online)
76 So. 3d 84, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 994, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1094, 2011 WL 4468929, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-heath-lactapp-2011.