State v. Montez

899 N.W.2d 200, 2017 WL 2414824, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 70
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJune 5, 2017
DocketA16-1071
StatusPublished

This text of 899 N.W.2d 200 (State v. Montez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Montez, 899 N.W.2d 200, 2017 WL 2414824, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 70 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

CONNOLLY, Judge

Appellant, having failed to comply with the conditions of his plea agreement and been sentenced without regard to the plea agreement, argues that his sentence violates the plea agreement and entitles him to withdraw his plea. Because a district court has no obligation to impose the sentence in a plea agreement on a defendant who has failed to comply with the conditions in .that agreement, we affirm.

FACTS

In May 2015, appellant Andrew Montez sold a pound of marijuana for $2,500 to a confidential informant in Washington County. He was charged with fifth-degree controlled substance crime, sale of marijuana. In December 2015, appellant signed a petition to plead guilty, which provided a stay of imposition and a 45-day cap on his jail sentence and stated

I understand that if I do not cooperate with the [presentence investigation (PSI) ], fail to return for sentencing w/o lawful excuse, fail to remain law abiding or even being charged with a crime (sic), fail to abstain from non-prescribed drugs ■ and/or alcohol, or fail to follow any other orders of the court, then the above plea agreement is in jeopardy and the court may sentence me without re-, gard to that agreement, as if I entered a “straight plea."

Appellant’s attorney paraphrased this at the plea hearing, saying:

[Appellant] is going to be pleading guilty to the sole charge in the complaint, Count 1, with a stay of imposition; 45-day cap.
He’ll cooperate with the PSI, return for sentencing, and remain law abiding. In fact, not even be charged with a crime, or he understands that it would be considered a straight plea.

(Emphasis added.) Appellant’s attorney then asked appellant, “[Y]ou understand that it’s important that you cooperate with the PSI and return for sentencing and remain law-abiding, correct?” Appellant answered, “Yes.” The attorney said, “That becomes part of the plea agreement,” and appellant again responded, ‘Tés.” The district court told appellant, “You’re ordered to cooperate with the Corrections Department, complete the PSI, attend sentencing, and remain law abiding. Do you understand that?” Appellant answered, “Yes, I do.”

In January 2016, officers executing a search warrant of appellant’s home in Scott County found about 1.8 pounds of marijuana and $40,000 in cash. The district court issued a warrant for appellant’s arrest on the grounds that he had not complied with the random-testing condition of his release and that new charges were expected.

In February 2016, the Washington County PSI was completed. It stated in relevant part that “[appellant] may be facing new felony level charges” because: (1) a search warrant was executed on the room appellant shared with a roommate, who was present at the time; (2) the search produced 835,39'grams of marijuana and $41,315 in cash; (3) the roommate was given a Miranda warning and made a taped statement that he owned one gram of the marijuana and that the remainder belonged to- appellant, who “sells marijuana and has,- done so for years”;- (4) appellant that same day contacted an agent involved in the search warrant,-arranged a meeting, and failed to show up; and (5) appellant was later found at his residence, [203]*203refused to sign a property receipt, and made a taped statement denying all ownership of the marijuana and the money found in his room and saying that he had sold marijuana in the past, but no longer did so.

In March 2016, the Washington County District Court rejected the plea agreement and appellant was charged in Scott County with fifth-degree controlled-substance crime, possession of marijuana.1

During the April 2016 sentencing hearing, the district court judge called for a recess so that he and counsel for the parties could look at the plea agreement and the transcript of the plea hearing. When the sentencing hearing resumed, the district court said, “My view of what I’ve seen in the [PSI] tells me that [appellant] has violated [the conditions of] his plea agreement. So I intend to sentence him today, and I’m going to sentence him any way I see fit, under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines.” The district court sentenced appellant to serve 180 days in jail, stayed pending the outcome of his appeal.2

ISSUE

Does appellant’s sentence entitle him to withdraw his guilty plea?

ANALYSIS-

The interpretation and- enforcement of plea agreements present issues of law subject to de novo review. State v. Rhodes, 675 N.W.2d 323, 326 (Minn. 2004).

Appellant argues explicitly that his plea was not voluntary and implicitly that he should be allowed to withdraw it. See State v. Raleigh, 778 N.W.2d 90, 94 (Minn. 2010) (requiring withdrawal when a plea is not accurate, voluntary, or intelligent). If a plea agreement .includes an unconditional promise of a particular sentence or sentencing range and the sentencing court considers the defendant’s post-plea acts and imposes a more severe- sentence, the defendant “retain[s] his right to withdraw his guilty plea and stand trial,” State v. Kunshier, 410 N.W.2d 377, 380 (Minn. App. 1987), review denied. (Minn. Oct. 21, 1987); see also State v. Kortkamp, 560 N.W.2d 93, 94-95 (Minn. App. 1997) (holding that telling a defendant “if you get into any trouble between today and [sentencing,] all bets are off about any disposition” was not imposing a condition on the sentence and that the defendant, who violated the law before sentencing and received a more severe sentence, was entitled to withdraw his guilty plea because the state had made an unconditional promise and the posture of the case was “indistinguishable from Kunshier.”)

But Kunshier has been distinguished in cases like appellant’s, where the defendant “did not receive an unqualified promise regarding the sentence to be imposed.” Black v. State, 725 N.W.2d 772, 776 (Minn. App. 2007); see also State v. Batchelor, 786 N.W.2d 319, 324 (Minn. App. 2010) (“observing] that this court has consistently refused to allow defendants to withdraw these types -of conditional guilty pleas merely because the defendant received the longer sentence contemplated by the plea after the condition attached to receiving the shorter sentence [e.g., remaining law-abiding] was not met”), review denied (Minn. Oct. 19, 2010).3 Here, as in Batche-[204]*204lor, “[i]t is clear from the record that appellant understood the direct consequences of his plea, including the fact that a reduced sentence was contingent upon his [remaining law abiding and not being charged with any new crimes].” Id.

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Related

State v. Kunshier
410 N.W.2d 377 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1987)
State v. Batchelor
786 N.W.2d 319 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2010)
Black v. State
725 N.W.2d 772 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2007)
State v. Kortkamp
560 N.W.2d 93 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1997)
State v. Raleigh
778 N.W.2d 90 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2010)
State v. Rhodes
675 N.W.2d 323 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
899 N.W.2d 200, 2017 WL 2414824, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-montez-minnctapp-2017.