State v. Tisdale

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 8, 2019
Docket118864
StatusUnpublished

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

Bluebook
State v. Tisdale, (kanctapp 2019).

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

No. 118,864

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,

v.

ELIZABETH L. TISDALE, Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Sedgwick District Court; DAVID L. DAHL, judge. Opinion filed March 8, 2019. Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded in part.

Corrine E. Gunning, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, for appellant.

Matt J. Maloney, assistant district attorney, Marc Bennett, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.

Before BRUNS, P.J., SCHROEDER and GARDNER, JJ.

PER CURIAM: Elizabeth L. Tisdale appeals from the district court's imposition of Board of Indigent Services' (BIDS) attorney fees totaling $300. She also contends that the district court abused its discretion when it denied her motion to withdraw her plea. Because we find that the factors set forth by the Kansas Supreme Court in State v. Robinson, 281 Kan. 538, 132 P.3d 934 (2006), were not properly applied, we vacate the assessment of attorney fees and remand that issue to the district court. However, because we find that Tisdale has not shown an abuse of discretion by the district court, we affirm the district court's denial of her motion to withdraw plea.

1 FACTS

On May 18, 2017, Elizabeth L. Tisdale was charged with one count of felony theft, a severity level 9 nondrug grid nonperson felony in violation of K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 21-5801(a)(1), (b)(3) for taking items from a Kohl's store in Wichita. On July 12, 2017, Tisdale pleaded guilty to this charge pursuant to a written plea agreement. The district court accepted that plea. Accordingly, Tisdale was found guilty.

At the plea hearing, the district court had the following colloquy with Tisdale:

"THE COURT: You're represented in this case by [Brandon] Hottman, the attorney standing next to you, is that correct? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Have you had enough time to discuss with him the charges filed against you, your rights in this case and the consequences of changing your plea? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Are you satisfied with the services he's provided for you in this case? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Have the courts treated you in a professional and courteous manner up to this point? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Miss Tisdale, I've received two documents. The first is entitled defendant's acknowledgment of rights and entry of plea. It is a document that is four pages long and your signature's here on the last page dated July 10, 2017. Is that your signature, ma'am? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Was it your decision alone to sign this document? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Have you had enough time to review it completely with your attorney? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. "THE COURT: Has he answered any and all questions about what is in this document? "THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir." (Emphases added.)

2 On July 26, 2017, 14 days after the plea hearing, Tisdale filed a pro se motion to withdraw her plea. In her motion, Tisdale argued (1) that she was "unaware of the intricate details" of the case because she "was not [p]roperly [p]rovided with a full discovery," (2) that "the small amount of discovery . . . elucidated that [Tisdale] hadn't unlawfully deprived anyone nor the store in question of its posse[s]sions," (3) and that "she was m[ali]ciously m[a]nipulated by appointed counsel into signing a [p]lea agreement."

Almost 30 days after Tisdale's pro se motion was filed, a new attorney appointed to represent Tisdale, Sharon Barnett, filed a supplemental motion to withdraw plea. The supplemental motion attempted to further explain Tisdale's pro se motion. It alleged that Tisdale felt "she was misled by prior counsel and that he took advantage of her custody status to get her to enter a plea by promising her she'd get work release immediately upon entering a plea." It was also alleged that Tisdale "believe[d] [her] prior counsel was not competent in that he did not review discovery with her and didn't explain to her exactly what she was pleading to." Finally, it was asserted that Tisdale was innocent and that "were it not for the conduct of prior counsel, she would not have entered a guilty plea . . . ."

The district court held a hearing on Tisdale's motion to withdraw plea on September 19, 2017. At the hearing, Tisdale testified as did her prior attorney, Brandon Hottman. Tisdale testified that she met with Hottman "[t]wo or three" times. She asserted that during their first conversation, Hottman told her that if she "wanted to get work release authorized, [she] would have to enter a plea." Moreover, Tisdale asserted that during their second conversation, Hottman told her that he had received a plea offer from the State in which she would plead guilty to the felony theft charge and that he could "get this in court next week and [she would] be in work release two days after that." According to Tisdale, Hottman told her that "'[o]nce you enter the plea, I don't see the judge not allowing you to go to work release.'"

3 Tisdale also testified about the plea hearing. She admitted that she reviewed the written plea agreement with Hottman and did not have questions concerning her rights. Moreover, she admitted that the district judge questioned her about the plea and that she did not raise any concerns at the hearing. She also admitted that she told the district judge that she was pleased with Hottman's representation.

Nevertheless, Tisdale testified:

"As we were standing there . . . Brandon Hottman had a file, and he was going through some papers, and I happened to look over and the—the first two lines stated that location of the Kohl's and how many people participated. I then asked, 'What's that?' And he's like, 'oh, nothing, just a little bit of discovery.' Upon seeing that, I knew for sure that wasn't me."

Tisdale testified that she had not seen any of the discovery prior to that time.

Although Tisdale testified at the motion hearing that she had stolen merchandise from Kohl's before, she claimed:

"I've never taken $2,000 worth of merchandise from any store. And then I'm never with four to five people, if that makes sense. It's always the same thing. It's consistent, you know. The pattern that the people used, it was something that I do or that I've done. However, it wasn't me that time. And that same location had just sent me maybe a month or two prior to me being locked up a letter saying that they were suing me for $90."

On cross-examination, Tisdale admitted that although she allegedly saw the papers in Hottman's possession at the plea hearing, she did not tell the district court that she did not wish to proceed. Specifically, she testified:

"Q. So if I'm understanding this correctly, you're saying that you saw these additional discovery materials in Mr. Hottman's file at this hearing, but—

4 "A. I did. "Q.—you did not stop and tell the court, 'I don't want to go forward with this hearing?' "A. I did not. "Q. You didn't stop and tell your attorney that you wanted to stop this hearing? "A. I did not."

Tisdale also admitted that during the plea hearing, she believed the charge that she took "property from Kohl's with a value of at least $1,500 but less than $25,000" to be true.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Edgar
127 P.3d 986 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2006)
State v. Robinson
132 P.3d 934 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2006)
State v. Robinson
363 P.3d 875 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2015)
State v. Marshall
362 P.3d 587 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2015)
State v. Arnett
413 P.3d 787 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2018)
State v. Fritz
321 P.3d 763 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State v. Tisdale, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tisdale-kanctapp-2019.