Wright v. Young

927 N.W.2d 116
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedApril 17, 2019
Docket28686
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 927 N.W.2d 116 (Wright v. Young) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wright v. Young, 927 N.W.2d 116 (S.D. 2019).

Opinion

GILBERTSON, Chief Justice

[¶1.] Russell D. Wright pleaded guilty to grand theft for his part in a group shoplifting scheme that took place in Mitchell. He was sentenced to five years in the state penitentiary. The court suspended the sentence and placed Wright on supervised probation for four years. When Wright was found to have violated the terms of his probation, he was forced to serve his five-year sentence with four years suspended and credit for time already served. Thereafter, Wright filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging that his rights to due process and effective assistance of counsel were violated. The habeas court held a trial, denied Wright's petition, and filed an order for issuance of certificate of probable cause. Wright appeals, asserting that the habeas court erred in quashing his writ of habeas corpus. We dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

Facts and Procedural History

[¶2.] On April 11, 2016, Wright, Camille Cournoyer, John Abdo, Sr., and Jennifer Traversie traveled from Sioux Falls to *118Mitchell to carry out an extensive shoplifting plan. While in Mitchell, Cournoyer and Traversie stole items from Campbell's Supply, JCPenney, Coborn's, Goodwill, and Shopko. While at JCPenney, Wright purchased some items so that the group could use the JCPenney shopping bag to conceal other items stolen by either Cournoyer or Traversie. Wright also stole a duffel bag from Shopko and used the bag to conceal other stolen items. The stolen items were recovered after police executed a traffic stop on the group's vehicle after they left Shopko.

[¶3.] A Davison County grand jury jointly indicted Wright and the other members of the group on April 27, 2016. Count 2 of the indictment charged Wright with grand theft of more than $2,500, but less than or equal to $5,000 in violation of SDCL 22-30A-1 and SDCL 22-30A-17. Wright initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty pursuant to a plea agreement. In exchange for Wright's guilty plea, the State refrained from filing a part II (habitual) information and from charging Wright for failure to appear. The plea agreement was placed in the record, and the circuit court reviewed with Wright the essential elements that the State was required to prove and the maximum possible penalties for the offense. Wright indicated he understood all elements of the plea agreement.

[¶4.] The circuit court also confirmed with Wright that he understood that by pleading guilty, he was waiving his "right to remain silent, [his] right to a jury trial, and [his] right to confront and cross-examine witnesses[.]" The court held the following colloquy with Wright regarding the facts of his case:

[The Court] : To the charge of grand theft as set out in the Indictment, how do you plead?
[Wright] : I'm guilty.
[The Court] : And on April 11, 2016, you were in Davison County?
[Wright] : Yes, I was.
[The Court] : And at that time, you went into various businesses and took property belonging to them?
[Wright] : Yes, I did.
[The Court] : Did you ask permission?
[Wright] : No, I didn't.
[The Court] : Did you pay for it?
[Wright] : No, I didn't.
[The Court] : You didn't return them?
[Wright] : No.
[The Court] : Was the value $2,500 or more, but less than $5,000?
[Wright] : Yes.
[The Court] : Do we know how much this was?
[Wright] : It was ... $2,750.
[The Court] : The court will find a factual basis for the admission. The admission will be filed.

[¶5.] Wright was sentenced to five years in the state penitentiary. The circuit court suspended all five years of Wright's sentence and placed him on four years of supervised probation. As part of the suspended execution, Wright was also ordered to serve 165 days in the Davison County Jail with credit for time served. Wright was released from custody on September 19, 2016. He was ordered to serve his sentence in 30-day increments in jail during each December during his four years of supervised probation.

[¶6.] On February 21, 2017, Wright appeared before the circuit court regarding an alleged probation violation. At that hearing, Wright admitted to violating the terms of his probation and suspended sentence. The court reinstated Wright's five-year suspended sentence, but suspended four years and gave Wright credit for time previously served.

*119[¶7.] On September 27, 2017, Wright filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. He later filed two amended writs, both alleging that his "due process and other constitutional rights were violated in that the charging documents charged [him] with an offense that was not supported by the evidence ..." and that his "right to effective counsel ... was violated ... [because his] trial attorney did not provide copies of the police reports to [Wright] and did not advise [Wright] of the economic value of the items being attributed to [him] ...."

[¶8.] The circuit court held an evidentiary hearing on February 14, 2018, and denied Wright's habeas petition. The court determined that Wright could not challenge his guilty plea or its supporting factual basis in a habeas corpus proceeding. The court also determined that Wright's defense counsel was not ineffective. Wright filed a motion for issuance of a certificate of probable cause on July 6, 2018, alleging appealable issues existed regarding his rights to due process and effective assistance of counsel. The habeas court filed an order for issuance of certificate of probable cause on July 10, 2018. The court's order did not specifically state the probable cause for allowing the appeal and did not list the specific issues to make a showing that Wright was denied his constitutional rights.

[¶9.] Wright appeals, asserting that the habeas court erred in quashing his writ of habeas corpus because: (1) his due process rights were violated; and (2) his right to effective assistance of counsel was denied. On appeal, the State contends this Court lacks jurisdiction to hear Wright's appeal.

Standard of Review

[¶10.] "Habeas corpus is not a substitute for direct review. Because habeas corpus is a collateral attack upon a final judgment, our scope of review is limited." Iannarelli v. Young , 2017 S.D. 71, ¶ 18, 904 N.W.2d 82, 87 (quoting Engesser v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
927 N.W.2d 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-young-sd-2019.