State v. Johnson

890 P.2d 641, 181 Ariz. 346, 185 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 27, 1995 Ariz. App. LEXIS 53
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 28, 1995
Docket1 CA-CR 94-0739 PR, 1 CA-CR 94-0740 PR
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 890 P.2d 641 (State v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Johnson, 890 P.2d 641, 181 Ariz. 346, 185 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 27, 1995 Ariz. App. LEXIS 53 (Ark. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

VOSS, Judge.

Petitioner Joe Morgan Johnson filed a petition for review challenging the trial court’s dismissal of his second petition for post-conviction relief. We grant review but deny relief.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This consolidated petition for review originated from two indictments. In the first, CR-88-07805, Petitioner was charged with one count of sale of a narcotic drug, a class 2 felony. He pled guilty to conspiracy to sell a narcotic drug, also a class 2 felony, and was sentenced to an aggravated term of fourteen years imprisonment, to be served concurrently with another sentence that he already was serving. In the second indictment, CR-88-. 10780, Petitioner was charged with three counts of child abuse, each a class 3 felony. He pled guilty to one count of child abuse, a class 4 felony, 1 and was sentenced to an aggravated term of five years imprisonment, to be served consecutively to the sentence resulting from the first indictment (CR-88- *348 07805). The remaining two counts in the second indictment were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

On appeal to this court, Petitioner’s attorney 2 filed an Anders 3 brief advising this court that he found no error and requesting an examination of the record for fundamental error. Petitioner filed a supplemental brief in propria persona in which he challenged the voluntariness of his guilty pleas. Prior to this court’s decision, Petitioner filed his first petition for post-conviction relief in which he reiterated the voluntariness issue. After reviewing the petition for post-conviction relief, the trial court determined that Petitioner presented a colorable claim and scheduled a hearing. At the time set for hearing, however, Petitioner withdrew his petition for post-conviction relief. Approximately six months later, this court in the direct appeal affirmed Petitioner’s convictions and sentences, concluding that his guilty pleas were valid and voluntarily entered.

In April 1992, Petitioner filed his second petition for post-conviction relief in which he raised three issues. The trial court determined that “no material issue of fact or law exists which would be served by any further proceedings” and dismissed the petition. After Petitioner filed a motion for rehearing on one issue only, the trial court declined reconsideration. Petitioner then filed a petition for review to this court. Under former Rule 32, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, only those claims preserved in a motion for rehearing are reviewed by this court. State v. Bortz, 169 Ariz. 575, 578, 821 P.2d 236, 239 (App.1991). Therefore, we consider only the issue raised in the motion for rehearing: whether the trial court erred by concluding that the State presented a sufficient factual basis to support Petitioner’s guilty plea to child abuse pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated (“A.R.S.”) section 13-3623(B) (1989).

DISCUSSION

In its minute entry dismissing Petitioner’s second petition for post-conviction relief, the trial court addressed Petitioner’s allegation that the State presented an insufficient factual basis to support Petitioner’s guilty plea on the child abuse charge, stating:

Petitioner further alleges that as to the charge of child abuse, there was either no factual basis or there has been a change in the law which indicates no factual basis. The Petitioner’s position is misplaced. The evidence to be presented by the State as reflected in his plea and in the plea of his wife and co-defendant Deborah Ann Gaudioso, clearly indicates that there were razor blades, hypodermic needles and other drug paraphernalia and drugs readily available and accessible to the minor children. Furthermore, the adults present in the apartment were injecting cocaine with hypodermic needles. The Greenfe] case is clearly distinguishable.

Petitioner contends that the trial court “could not have found the factual basis for the change of plea” because the facts did not demonstrate that the circumstances in Petitioner’s apartment at the time of the arrest were “likely to produce death or serious physical injury.” We disagree.

The grant or denial of post-conviction relief is within the trial court’s discretion and will not be reversed unless an abuse of discretion affirmatively appears. State v. Watton, 164 Ariz. 323, 325, 793 P.2d 80, 82 (1990). A colorable claim is a claim which, if true, might have changed the outcome. State v. D'Ambrosio, 156 Ariz. 71, 73, 750 P.2d 14, 16 (1988); State v. Schrock, 149 Ariz. 433, 441, 719 P.2d 1049, 1057 (1986).

We must conduct two inquiries in this case. First, we must address whether it was proper for the trial court to consider evidence presented in the co-defendant’s change of plea hearing as part of the extended record. Second, we must determine whether the extended record provided a sufficient factual basis for Petitioner’s guilty plea.

*349 A. Consideration of Evidence Presented at Co-Defendant’s Change of Plea Hearing.

The Arizona Supreme Court has held that even when a factual basis is not set forth in the record of the change of plea hearing, such a deficiency in the record is technical not reversible error when the extended record establishes a factual basis for a guilty plea. State v. Rodriguez, 112 Ariz. 193, 194-95, 540 P.2d 665, 666-67 (1975); accord State v. Mendiola, 23 Ariz.App. 251, 252-54, 532 P.2d 193, 194-96 (1975), approved and adopted in, 112 Ariz. 165, 540 P.2d 131 (1975). The supreme court also has noted that the “factual basis may be ascertained from the record including pre-sentence reports, preliminary hearing reports, admissions of the defendant, and from other sources." State v. Varela, 120 Ariz. 596, 598, 587 P.2d 1173, 1175 (1978) (emphasis added). A factual basis is required to “avoid the possibility of acceptance of a plea from a legally innocent defendant who pled[ ] guilty out of ignorance, deception, delusion, feelings of moral guilt, or self-destructive inclinations.” State v. Durham, 108 Ariz. 327, 329, 498 P.2d 149, 151 (1972). In this context, we consider for the first time whether an Arizona court, when evaluating the sufficiency of the factual basis for a guilty plea, may consider the records of a co-defendant as part of its review of the extended record. We conclude that it can.

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Bluebook (online)
890 P.2d 641, 181 Ariz. 346, 185 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 27, 1995 Ariz. App. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-johnson-arizctapp-1995.