State v. Johnson

32 P.3d 106, 96 Haw. 462, 2001 Haw. App. LEXIS 155
CourtHawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 2, 2001
DocketNo. 22885
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 32 P.3d 106 (State v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Johnson, 32 P.3d 106, 96 Haw. 462, 2001 Haw. App. LEXIS 155 (hawapp 2001).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

LIM, J.

Defendant-Appellant Daniel Alan Johnson aka Steven James Day (Defendant) appeals the September 1, 1999 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Order denying his Motion to Withdraw Plea of No Contest and [For] Other Relief entered by the circuit court of the third circuit, the Honorable Greg K. Nakamura, judge presiding.1 We dismiss the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.

I. Background.

On May 3, 1995, Defendant was charged by complaint with murder in the second degree, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707-701.5(1) (1993); kidnapping, in violation of HRS § 707-720(l)(e) (1993); burglary in the first degree, in violation of HRS § 708—810(l)(e) (1993); terroristic threatening in the first degree, in violation of HRS §§ 707-715(1) (1993) and 707-716(l)(d) (1993); carrying or use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, in violation of HRS § 134-6(a) (1993); and two counts of prohibited ownership or possession of a firearm, in violation of HRS § 134-7(b) (1993).

On April 2, 1997, during the jury trial, the State’s only eyewitness to the alleged crimes, Jennifer Brohaugh (Brohaugh), admitted that she had lied numerous times during a prior court hearing and also in her statement to the police shortly after the incident.

On April 4, 1997, two days after Brohaugh admitted to lying, Defendant pled no contest to the charge of manslaughter (as a lesser included offense of murder in the second degree), as part of a plea agreement with the State.2 The deal provided that the State would dismiss all other charges; that Defendant would be sentenced to a ten-year indeterminate term of imprisonment, then extradited to Minnesota to face prosecution for [464]*464charges he faced there;3 that the State would not seek an extended term of imprisonment; and that the State would not argue before the parole board to bring Defendant back from Minnesota after he served his prison sentence there, provided that the parole authority could nevertheless require Defendant’s return to Hawai‘i.

Before accepting Defendant’s plea, the court addressed him and determined that he understood the nature of the charge to which the plea was offered and the maximum penalty therefor provided by law, and that by pleading no contest he was waiving his right to a trial and other rights inherent therein.4 The court also verified the voluntariness of Defendant’s plea:5

THE COURT: Is it your personal and voluntary decision to enter this plea of no contest to the charge of manslaughter?
[465]*465THE DEFENDANT: Yes, it is, your Honor.
THE COURT: And is this a decision that you have made because someone has forced you, put pressure on you, or—I’m sorry, threaten [sic] you in any way at all?
THE DEFENDANT: Ah, no, no one has.
THE COURT: Are you doing this to cover up for someone else or protect someone else from prosecution?
THE DEFENDANT: No, I’m not.
THE COURT: Did you understand the maximum penalty for this offense?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
[[Image here]]
THE COURT: Other than [the plea agreement], have there been any other promises or agreements made to you in relation—or in exchange for your plea to this manslaughter charge?
THE DEFENDANT: No, there haven’t.
THE COURT: And the Court has not made any promises to you whatsoever regarding any of these issues or any sentence at all; is that true?
THE DEFENDANT: That’s correct.
[[Image here]]
THE COURT: All right. Do you still wish to go forward with the no contest plea?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I do.
THE COURT: And, ... is there any question that you have right now? Do you have a change of heart in any way? Are you sure this is what you want to do?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, this is what I want to do, your Honor.
THE COURT: In that case, I’m satisfied that the plea of no contest offered by [Defendant] today is freely and voluntarily offered, and I so find.

In addition, Defendant stated that he had read and understood the change-of-ple.a form, that his attorney had explained it to him, that his mind was clear, and that he fully understood what was happening.6

On June 24, 1997, Defendant returned to court for sentencing. In the interim, however, the State of Minnesota had dismissed its charges against him. As a result, Defendant and the State entered into a sentencing agreement that provided he would be sentenced to a ten-year indeterminate term of imprisonment, but that once courtesy supervision was set up with the State of Minnesota, his sentence would be amended to a five-year term of probation. Defendant would then complete his probation sentence under the supervision of the Minnesota probation authorities. The court went along with the agreement and sentenced Defendant accordingly.

In October of 1997, while he was still incarcerated in the State of Hawai'i, Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his plea. The affidavit of counsel attached to the motion stated that “[t]he defendant should be placed on probation and permitted to return to the State of Minnesota or that he be permitted to withdraw his plea and proceed immediately to trial[.]”

At the October 28, 1997 hearing on Defendant’s motion, the parties agreed to continue the hearing in anticipation of completing the arrangements necessary to send Defendant to Minnesota to serve his sentence of probation. During the hearing, the court addressed Defendant and his counsel about the consequences of his sentencing agreement:

THE COURT: [Defense counsel, y]our understanding is that any matters that he has raised in regards to the withdrawal of his plea are moot based on his probation. Should he violate any terms and conditions of probation the Court is free to sentence him to any legal sentence, which would [466]*466likely be a sentence of imprisonment for ten years.
In essence, [Defendant], you need to also know that by executing all these documents, getting probation at this time with those conditions in place, you were waiving all—-almost all of your rights to withdraw your plea there ‘cause there won’t be an opportunity to withdraw your plea after that. You understand that?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I do.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
32 P.3d 106, 96 Haw. 462, 2001 Haw. App. LEXIS 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-johnson-hawapp-2001.