State v. Simpson

189 A.3d 1215, 329 Conn. 820
CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
DecidedAugust 21, 2018
DocketSC 19846
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 189 A.3d 1215 (State v. Simpson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Simpson, 189 A.3d 1215, 329 Conn. 820 (Colo. 2018).

Opinion

KAHN, J.

**823This appeal presents us with a common scenario: a trial court accepts a guilty plea after a proper canvass, but the defendant subsequently seeks to withdraw the plea due to a change of heart. The question that often emerges from this familiar context is the extent to which the trial court must inquire into the defendant's request. In this case, the Appellate Court concluded that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to conduct (1) an evidentiary hearing on the defendant's motion to withdraw his plea, and (2) an adequate inquiry into the defendant's request for new counsel. The state appeals1 from the judgment of the Appellate Court reversing the judgment of conviction of the defendant, Earl C. Simpson III, following his guilty plea entered under the Alford2 doctrine of murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-54a (a) and 53a-8.3 State v. Simpson , 169 Conn. App. 168, 171-72, 150 A.3d 699 (2016). The state claims that the Appellate Court improperly concluded that the trial court was required to hold hearings on the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and his request for new counsel. Alternatively, the state claims that the Appellate Court improperly concluded that the trial court did not conduct such hearings. The defendant counters that hearings on both the motion and the request were required, and that the Appellate Court properly **824concluded that the trial court failed to conduct them. We conclude that the trial court, after conducting a hearing on the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, properly denied the motion to withdraw, and, therefore, no evidentiary hearing was required. We also conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, no hearing was required on his request for new counsel. Therefore, the *1219judgment of the Appellate Court is reversed.

The Appellate Court set forth the following facts and procedural history. "The defendant, represented by counsel, entered an Alford plea4 in this case on September 19, 2014. The state, by way of a long form information, filed on June 29, 2012, charged the defendant in count one with felony murder under General Statutes §§ 53a-54c and 53a-8, in count two with murder as an accessory under §§ 53a-54a (a) and 53a-8, and in count three with robbery or attempt to commit robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (1)." (Footnote added and omitted.) State v. Simpson , supra, 169 Conn. App. at 172, 150 A.3d 699.

The defendant pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine to murder in violation of § 53a-54a and admitted that he had violated his probation in violation of General Statutes § 53a-32. Then, "[t]he prosecutor addressed the court to set forth the factual basis underlying the plea **825with respect to the murder count, as follows: '[W]ith respect to the plea on the second count of murder, the state is prepared to prove the following facts: On July 9, 2011, at about 6 p.m., New Haven police officers responded to the area of Howard Avenue and Putnam Street based upon a report of shots fired. They located the body of John Claude James, age twenty-six. It was evident to them that he had been shot several times. A later autopsy determined that he had been shot five times in the back area. All but one bullet had exited the body. [Those bullets] were never located.

" 'During the investigation, a witness stated she was in her apartment nearby. Moments after hearing the shots, Cody Franklin and the defendant ... ran into her apartment. Franklin said that he had just shot someone. The witness also said [the defendant] offered her weed to say that he and Franklin had not been in her apartment. [The defendant] then called his sister, Isis Hargrove, asking her to pick them up. Franklin and the defendant ... were a short time later seen getting into Isis' car and leaving the area. Also, a witness told [the] police he saw Franklin shoot ... James and [the defendant] was with Franklin at the time.

" 'The crime scene investigation resulted in the location of six shell casings found in the immediate area where witnesses saw the shots being fired. A ballistics examination disclosed that five casings had been ejected from the same gun, while the sixth casing was ejected from a different gun. Such [evidence] is clearly consistent with there being two shooters. Another witness told police that he saw Franklin and [the defendant] together just before the shooting and saw ... Franklin fire shots, but he did not admit that he had seen [the defendant] fire any shots.

" 'On May 19, 2014, the defendant ... was being interviewed by a member of the State's Attorney's Office **826in Waterbury *1220in connection with another shooting. When asked about the previous shooting of ... James, the defendant ... admitted that he was one of the shooters.5

"Thereafter, the court canvassed the defendant with respect to his [murder and probation] pleas. During the canvass, the defendant stated that he was not under the influence of any alcohol, drugs or medication; he had had a sufficient opportunity prior to the plea canvass to discuss his pleas with counsel; he was satisfied with his counsel's advice; he was entering his 'guilty plea' and his 'probation plea' voluntarily; and nobody was forcing or threatening him to enter the pleas. The defendant stated that he understood the rights he was giving up by entering his pleas, including his right against compulsory self-incrimination, his right to a trial by jury, and his right to confront his accusers.

"The following colloquy between the court and the defendant ensued:

* * *

" 'The Court: ... On the crime of murder, the state would have to prove that with the intent to cause the death of another person, you caused the death of such person or of a third person, and that is punishable by up to sixty years in prison, twenty-five years at the minimum or nonsuspendable portion. Do you understand that?

" '[The Defendant]: Yes.'

"The court proceeded to ask the defendant if he understood the nature of an Alford plea and if he **827understood the sentence to which he was exposed as well as the agreement in place with the state for a sentence of thirty-two and one-half years imprisonment, with a twenty-five year minimum sentence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
189 A.3d 1215, 329 Conn. 820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-simpson-conn-2018.