Willis v. State

66 So. 3d 740, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 422, 2011 WL 2811463
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJuly 19, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-CP-01257-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 66 So. 3d 740 (Willis v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Willis v. State, 66 So. 3d 740, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 422, 2011 WL 2811463 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

GRIFFIS, P.J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Lawrence Floyd “Truck” Willis appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s dismissal of his motion for post-conviction collateral relief. Willis asserts that: (1) his guilty plea was not entered voluntarily, knowingly, or intelligently; (2) the circuit court should not have accepted his guilty plea in the absence of independent evidence as to his criminal culpability; (3) his sentence as a habitual offender was improper; and (4) his counsel was ineffective. We find no error and affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. In July 2003, Willis was indicted for one count of possession of cocaine with intent to sell. Because Willis had been convicted previously of three drug-related felonies, the State sought to sentence Willis under the enhancement statute of Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-147 (Rev.2009). Willis was also charged as a habitual offender under Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-81 (Rev.2007).

¶3. Willis’s indictment contained a habitual-offender attachment, which evinced the three prior felony convictions relied upon by the State. On August 10, 1984, Willis was convicted of one charge for the sale of marijuana, and he was sentenced to serve five years of incarceration. Willis was subsequently convicted of possession of cocaine on February 25, 1985, and he received another five-year prison sentence. Finally, on February 20, 1992, Willis was convicted of the sale of cocaine, and he was sentenced to twelve years in prison.

¶ 4. On April 28, 2004, Willis entered his guilty plea in the instant case to one charge of possession of cocaine with the intent to sell. The terms of the plea agreement permitted Willis to plead guilty to the charge as a habitual offender; however, by doing so, the State agreed not to seek sentencing under the enhancement statute. Additionally, the State agreed not to seek the maximum sentence under the habitual-offender statute; rather, the plea agreement provided that the circuit judge would have discretion to sentence Willis to a lesser term if he saw fit to do so.

¶ 5. On June 3, 2004, Willis was sentenced as a habitual offender to serve twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). As a consequence of pleading guilty as a habitual offender, Willis became ineligible for probation, parole, earned-time or good-time credit, and any suspension or reduction of the sentence.

¶ 6. On June 23, 2007, Willis filed a motion for post-conviction collateral relief. The circuit judge dismissed this motion. Aggrieved by this decision, Willis now appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. Our standard of review for a dismissal of a motion for post-conviction collateral relief is well established. A circuit court’s dismissal of a motion for post-conviction collateral relief will not be reversed on appeal absent a finding that the circuit court’s decision was clearly errone[743]*743ous. Williams v. State, 872 So.2d 711, 712 (¶ 2) (Miss.Ct.App.2004). However, when reviewing issues of law, this Court’s proper standard of review is de novo. Brown v. State, 731 So.2d 595, 598 (¶ 6) (Miss.1999).

ANALYSIS

1. Whether Willis’s guilty plea was entered voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.

¶ 8. Willis contends that his guilty plea was involuntary and that he only entered the guilty plea as part of an irresistible impulse to protect the passenger of his vehicle. Willis now maintains that he was innocent; however, at the time he entered his guilty plea, he was “afraid for the passenger of the car because he had never been in any trouble before.” We are unconvinced by this argument.

¶ 9. The plea colloquy demonstrates that Willis’s guilty plea was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent. A plea is considered “voluntary and intelligent” when the defendant knows the elements of the charge against him, understands the charge’s relation to him, what effect the plea will have, and what sentence the plea may bring. Alexander v. State, 605 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss.1992). The record indicates that Willis not only entered his guilty plea upon his own free will, but he also understood the consequences that such a plea would compel. His plea colloquy, in pertinent part, provides:

THE COURT: Do you understand that possession of cocaine with intent to distribute under the habitual offender statute carries a penalty of from zero to thirty years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and any sentence that you would serve would be served day-for-day without the possibility of any type of release consideration?
DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: So if I understand what you are telling the Court, you are entering your plea of guilty freely, voluntarily and knowingly with a full understanding of all matters that are set forth not only in your indictment that charges you with your felony, but in your petition to plead guilty as well; is that correct?
DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.

¶ 10. Accordingly, we find that Willis’s plea of guilty was entered voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently. Therefore, we find this issue is without merit.

2. Whether the circuit court erred by accepting Willis’s guilty plea in the absence of independent factual evidence of his criminal culpability.

¶ 11. Willis submits two arguments alleging that the circuit court erred when it accepted his guilty plea: (1) the elements for possession of cocaine could not have been proven by the prosecution; and (2) outside of his own admission, there was no independent evidence which evinced his criminal culpability.

¶ 12. Willis alleges that he was improperly charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell because the State failed to prove the elements required for actual or constructive possession. Willis contends that the drugs were discovered by law enforcement one block from the scene of his arrest; therefore, he was not in such proximity to the drugs to be criminally liable for possession. However, this issue was not presented to the circuit court; therefore, we are barred from considering it in this proceeding. As this Court has explained:

It is well settled that issues not raised below may not be raised on appeal. “Questions will not be decided on appeal [744]*744which were not presented to the trial court and that court given an opportunity to rule on them. In other words, the trial court cannot be put in error, unless it has had an opportunity of committing error.” Stringer v. State, 279 So.2d 156, 158 (Miss.1973); Jones v. State, 915 So.2d 511, 513 (¶ 7) (Miss.Ct.App.2005).

Austin v. State, 971 So.2d 1286, 1288 (¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App.2008). Accordingly, we find this issue is procedurally barred because Willis failed to raise it in his motion for post-conviction collateral relief.

¶ 13. Willis further argues that the circuit court was in error when it accepted his guilty plea when there was no evidence presented which evinced his criminal culpability — notwithstanding, of course, his own admission of guilt. However, an adequate factual basis for the plea may be formed by any record evidence before the court, including the defendant’s own admission of guilt. Turner v. State, 961 So.2d 734, 737 (¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App.2007) (citing Corley v. State, 585 So.2d 765, 767 (Miss.1991)).

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Bluebook (online)
66 So. 3d 740, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 422, 2011 WL 2811463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willis-v-state-missctapp-2011.