Wright v. State

845 So. 2d 836, 2001 WL 1520233
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedApril 26, 2002
DocketCR-00-0942
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 845 So. 2d 836 (Wright 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
Wright v. State, 845 So. 2d 836, 2001 WL 1520233 (Ala. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

845 So.2d 836 (2001)

Rendell WRIGHT
v.
STATE of Alabama.

CR-00-0942.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

November 30, 2001.
Opinion on Return to Remand April 26, 2002.

*838 Rendell Wright, pro se.

William H. Pryor, Jr., atty. gen., and Frances R. Clement, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.

SHAW, Judge.

Rendell Wright appeals the circuit court's summary denial of his Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief, in which he attacked his April 17, 2000, guilty-plea conviction for robbery in the first degree and his resulting sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. On August 7, 2000, this Court dismissed Wright's direct appeal as untimely filed.

Wright filed the present petition on November 28, 2000. In his petition, Wright claimed: (1) that the failure to appeal his conviction was through no fault of his own; (2) that his guilty plea was involuntary because, he said, he was never informed that his sentence would be enhanced pursuant to § 13A-5-6(a)(4), Ala. Code 1975; (3) that his guilty plea was involuntary because, he said, he thought that he was pleading guilty as a youthful offender and that he would be sentenced to no more than three years' imprisonment; and (4) that his trial counsel was ineffective because, he said, his counsel told him that he would be granted youthful-offender status and then failed to move to withdraw his plea when the trial court denied his application for youthful-offender status.[1] On December 21, 2000, the State filed a response and motion to dismiss Wright's petition, and the circuit court summarily denied Wright's petition pursuant to Rule 32.7(d), Ala.R.Crim.P., on January 8, 2001.

On appeal, the State requests that we remand this cause for the circuit court to address the merits of Wright's claims. The State maintains that Wright pleaded sufficient facts that, if true, would entitle him to relief. We agree.

Wright contends that the failure to timely appeal his conviction was through no fault of his own. He maintains that he *839 wanted to appeal, but that his counsel failed to timely file the notice of appeal and that that failure resulted in this Court's dismissing his appeal as untimely filed. The State did not address this claim in its motion to dismiss Wright's Rule 32 petition; therefore, Wright's allegations in this regard must be accepted as true. See, e.g., Davis v. State, 737 So.2d 1054 (Ala.Crim.App.1998); Rice v. State, 682 So.2d 484 (Ala.Crim.App.1995); and Kolmetz v. State, 623 So.2d 453 (Ala.Crim. App.1993). In addition, the circuit court did not specifically address this claim in its order summarily denying Wright's petition; thus, we can only speculate as to the circuit court's basis for denying Wright relief on this claim.

Wright also contends that his guilty plea was involuntary because, he says, he was never informed that his sentence would be enhanced pursuant to § 13A-5-6(a)(4), Ala.Code 1975. "It is well settled that a challenge to the voluntariness of a guilty plea may be raised for the first time in a timely filed Rule 32 petition." Waddle v. State, 784 So.2d 367, 369 (Ala.Crim.App.2000). See also George v. State, 774 So.2d 608 (Ala.Crim.App. 2000). Again, the State did not specifically address this claim in its motion to dismiss Wright's petition nor did the circuit court address the claim in its order. However, in its motion, the State averred that the trial court had granted its motion to enhance Wright's sentence pursuant to § 13A-5-6(a)(4) at the sentencing hearing, which was held on June 13, 2000, almost two months after Wright had entered his guilty plea on April 17, 2000. The State's chronology of events supports Wright's claim that he pleaded guilty without being informed that his sentence would be enhanced pursuant to § 13A-5-6(a)(4).

Finally, Wright contends that his guilty plea was involuntary because, he says, he pleaded guilty with the understanding that he would be treated as a youthful offender and sentenced to no more than three years' imprisonment. He also contends that his counsel was ineffective for misleading him into believing that he would be granted youthful-offender status and for failing to file a motion to withdraw his plea when he was denied youthful-offender status and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. In its response and motion to dismiss Wright's petition, the State asserted a general denial of these claims and attached to its motion a copy of the Ireland form[2] signed by Wright. However, that Ireland form supports, rather than refutes, Wright's claims. The form is entitled "Explanation of Rights of Youthful Offender." (C. 40.) It specifically states that "The Court has determined that you are to be treated as a youthful offender" and that "you may receive punishment of up to three years' confinement." (C. 47.)

As to each of his claims, Wright has pleaded facts that, if true, would entitle him to relief; the State has not refuted any of Wright's claims (in fact, most of its argument in its motion to dismiss supports Wright's claims); and the circuit court did not specifically address any of Wright's claims in its order summarily denying Wright's petition. In addition, the record does not contain a transcript of Wright's guilty-plea proceedings or his sentencing hearing; the record contains only an Ireland form, which not only supports Wright's claim that he did, in fact, plead guilty as a youthful offender, but which "is, alone, insufficient to establish the voluntariness of a plea." Waddle, 784 So.2d at *840 370. Absent a transcript of the guilty-plea proceedings and sentencing hearing, we are unable to evaluate the merits of Wright's claims that his guilty plea was involuntary and that his trial counsel was ineffective.

Therefore, we agree with the State that this case must be remanded to the circuit court for that court to conduct an evidentiary hearing regarding the merits of Wright's claims that he failed to appeal through no fault of his own, that his guilty plea was involuntary, and that his counsel was ineffective, and to make specific findings of fact regarding each claim. Due return shall be filed with this Court no later than 56 days from the date of this opinion. The return to remand shall include the circuit court's written findings, a transcript of the evidentiary hearing and any other evidence taken by the court, and a transcript of the guilty-plea proceedings and sentencing hearing.

REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.

McMILLAN, P.J., and COBB, BASCHAB, and WISE, JJ., concur.

On Return to Remand

On November 28, 2000, Rendell Wright filed a Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief, in which he attacked his April 17, 2000, guilty-plea conviction for robbery in the first degree and his resulting sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. In his petition, Wright contended: (1) that his failure to timely appeal his conviction was through no fault of his own—specifically, he alleged that his counsel had failed to file a timely notice of appeal and that that failure resulted in this Court's dismissing his appeal as untimely filed; (2) that his guilty plea was involuntary because, he said, he was never informed that his sentence would be enhanced pursuant to § 13A-5-6(a)(4), Ala.

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Bluebook (online)
845 So. 2d 836, 2001 WL 1520233, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-state-alacrimapp-2002.