Walker v. State

827 So. 2d 863, 2001 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 118, 2001 WL 729190
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJune 29, 2001
DocketCR-00-0038
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 827 So. 2d 863 (Walker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walker v. State, 827 So. 2d 863, 2001 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 118, 2001 WL 729190 (Ala. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

PATTERSON, Retired Appellate Judge.

The appellant, William Kent Walker, was indicted by the Mobile County grand jury on April 5, 2000, in eight separate cases, numbered CC-2000-1102 through - 1109, for robbery in the first degree. Ala. Code 1975, § 13A-8-41(a)(l). On April 26, 2000, he entered pleas of not guilty in all cases. Cases numbered CC-2000-1103 through -1109 were consolidated for trial on the motion of the State. On June 14, 2000, he withdrew his not-guilty pleas and entered “blind” pleas of guilty in cases numbered CC-2000-1103 through -1105.1 On that same date, the trial court conducted an extensive examination of the appellant and his counsel in reference to the entry of the guilty pleas, including a discussion of the motion to enter a guilty plea, a document commonly referred to as an “Ireland” form,2 that the appellant had filed. After determining that the appellant had entered his pleas knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily, the trial court accepted those guilty pleas, ordered a pre-sentence investigation and report, and set a date for the sentencing hearing.

On August 18, 2000, the trial court sentenced the appellant to 20 years’ imprisonment in each of the three cases and ordered that the sentences be served concurrently. The trial court further ordered the appellant in each case to pay $50 to the victims compensation fund, costs of court, and restitution, and conditioned any early release, parole, or participation in the “SIR” program on payment of all amounts ordered. The amount of restitution was not determined at that time, but was left to be determined by the district attorney’s office, to be paid “at the instruction of Probation Officer.”

On September 15, 2000, the appellant, acting pro se, filed a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, alleging (1) that he was not guilty of any crime; (2) that his trial counsel never contacted his witness, although he told the appellant that his witness did not want to be involved; (3) that he entered the guilty pleas because his counsel told him that if he went to trial, he would be convicted and be sentenced to life in prison; (4) that he was placed in an “extremely distressful situation” and feared getting life in prison; (5) that his counsel lied about his witness, and he feels “his lawyer may have lied about many other things” in his cases; and (6) that he “did not have knowledge of his lawyer’s lie until after being sentenced.” The trial court removed trial counsel, who had been retained by the appellant, because of a conflict of interest created by the appellant’s allegations, and appointed new counsel to represent the appellant in the proceedings to set aside his guilty pleas. From arraignment until the filing of this motion, the appellant had been represented by retained counsel. After an eviden-tiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion.

The appellant filed a notice of appeal, and the trial court appointed new counsel to represent him on appeal. Appellate counsel filed a no-merit brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), stating that he had reviewed the facts and the applicable law and found no ground for reversal of the trial court’s denial of the appellant’s motion to withdraw his guilty [865]*865pleas. The appellant, after receiving a copy of his counsel’s Anders brief, filed a pro se brief, raising the following issues: (1) that he was innocent of the crimes and had pleaded guilty because he was faced with the possibility of a life sentence if he went to trial and was convicted; (2) that his trial counsel had coerced him into pleading guilty by telling him he would be convicted if he went to trial, and by telling him that his father said that he should plead guilty; (3) that his co defendant had “made up the person he said he was with”; (4) that his counsel had failed to contact his alibi witness; and (5) that his counsel had told him that it was in his best interest to plead guilty. His appointed appellate counsel responded by letter addressed to this Court, stating that he had read the issues raised by the appellant, had again reviewed the transcript and plea colloquy, and still did not see anything “that would require the Court to set aside the guilty pleas.”

We ordered the parties to brief two issues: (1) whether the trial court’s denial of the appellant’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas was supported by the evidence before the court, and (2) whether the trial court’s order directing that the amount of restitution be determined by the district attorney’s office and paid at the instruction of the probation officer was proper and within the court’s authority. The parties have filed briefs in accordance with our instructions, and these cases are now before us for review and decision.

At the beginning of the hearing on the motion to withdraw the guilty pleas, the trial court asked the appellant why he wanted to withdraw his pleas. He responded:

“Well, I feel as though that I really didn’t commit any crime and that I was more or less scared of getting a whole lot of time for something I didn’t do and was led to believe that that would be the right thing or the best thing to do, and it really is not.”

(R. 18.) The trial court then asked the appellant’s trial counsel, who was present, if he had read the appellant’s motion to withdraw the guilty pleas, and he said that he had. The trial court then asked trial counsel to explain his position on the appellant’s motion. Trial counsel responded:

“Your Honor, I explained to him the range of punishment in each of these cases. He was originally charged with nine counts of robbery in the first degree. I explained to him the strengths and weaknesses of his case[s] the day of trial. I explained to him what I thought was in his best interest, that he had to make the decision as to whether or not to proceed to trial or to take the plea[s], “He had approximately 15 or 20 minutes in which he sat in the back and thought about whether or not to proceed to trial. I feel that he understood that it was his decision to make. He made the plea[s] on the day of trial, and that he felt like it was in his best interest at that time, I believe he was fully informed of his constitutional rights for the jury trial and that he waived them voluntarily.”

(R. 19.)

The appellant testified at the motion hearing, acknowledging that he knowingly answered the questions put to him by the trial court during the guilty-plea proceedings and that he executed the Ireland form with an understanding of its meaning and consequences. He testified that he had completed the twelfth grade, that he could read and write, and that he understands the English language. He further testified that he was innocent and that trial counsel coerced him into pleading guilty by telling him that if he went to trial he would be convicted and would get a life sentence. He also testified that trial coun[866]*866sel had lied to him when he told him that his father had recommended that he plead guilty, and that this had had some bearing on his decision to plead guilty. The appellant’s uncle, Steven William Walker, Sr., testified at the hearing. He stated that the appellant’s father had told him that he did not recommend to trial counsel that the appellant plead guilty.

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Bluebook (online)
827 So. 2d 863, 2001 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 118, 2001 WL 729190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-state-alacrimapp-2001.