State v. Tovar

• Citation: 656 N.W.2d 112
• Decision Date: 23 January 2003
• Docket Number: No. 01-1558.,01-1558.
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Felipe Edgardo TOVAR, Appellant.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Iowa

656 N.W.2d 112

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Felipe Edgardo TOVAR, Appellant.

No. 01-1558.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

January 23, 2003.

Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Theresa R. Wilson, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Darrel L. Mullins, Assistant Attorney General, J. Patrick White, Johnson County Attorney, and Victoria Dominguez, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

TERNUS, Justice.

The defendant, Felipe Tovar, challenges his conviction, after a bench trial, of third-offense operating while intoxicated (OWI). He claims his first OWI conviction should not have been used to enhance the penalty for his current conviction because his prior conviction resulted from an uncounseled guilty plea, and he had not made a valid waiver of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel at the guilty plea proceeding. The district court and the court of appeals rejected Tovar's argument.

Upon our review of the record and the parties' legal arguments, we conclude the defendant's waiver of his right to counsel was not a knowing and intelligent waiver and, therefore, his prior conviction should not have been used for enhancement purposes in the present criminal proceedings. Accordingly, we vacate the court of appeals decision and reverse the district court's judgment of conviction. The case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Background Proceedings.

On December 14, 2000, Tovar was charged with OWI, third offense, a class D felony, and driving while license barred, an aggravated misdemeanor. See Iowa Code §§ 321J.2, 312.561 (1999). The enhancement of the OWI charge to a third offense was based upon Tovar's two prior convictions for OWI.

Tovar pled not guilty to both of the current charges, and filed a motion to adjudicate law points asserting that his first OWI conviction could not be used to enhance the pending OWI charge. He argued his guilty plea in the prior proceeding had been uncounseled and there had not been a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to an attorney. The district court ruled Tovar's waiver of counsel in the prior case was valid, and consequently denied Tovar's motion.

The present case proceeded to trial before the court and Tovar was found guilty of both charges. After sentencing, Tovar appealed his OWI conviction, alleging the district court erred in allowing his first OWI conviction to be used to enhance his current conviction. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's ruling on the defendant's motion to adjudicate law points, and this court granted further review.

II. Issue on Appeal and Standard of Review.

The parties agree that a prior conviction resulting from an uncounseled guilty plea for which there was an invalid waiver of counsel may not be used to enhance a subsequent offense where the prior conviction resulted in incarceration. See Baldasar v. Illinois, 446 U.S. 222, 226, 100 S.Ct. 1585, 1587, 64 L.Ed.2d 169, 173-74 (1980)

(holding a "prior uncounseled misdemeanor conviction could not be used collaterally to impose an increased term of imprisonment"), overruled in part by Nichols v. United States, 511 U.S. 738, 749, 114 S.Ct. 1921, 1928, 128 L.Ed.2d 745, 755 (1994) (holding uncounseled convictions could enhance later offenses provided no incarceration was imposed in the first prosecution); State v. Cooper, 343 N.W.2d 485, 486 (Iowa 1984) (holding, where defendant had not been advised of her right to counsel in two prior prosecutions for simple misdemeanor theft, the State was precluded from using the prior convictions to enhance a third charge of theft to an aggravated misdemeanor). There is also no disagreement that Tovar was not represented by an attorney when he pled guilty to his first OWI charge nor that he expressed the desire to waive his right to counsel at the guilty plea hearing. The dispute in this case centers on whether Tovar's waiver of his right to counsel at the time he pled guilty was valid under the Sixth Amendment.

Although our standard of review for constitutional issues is de novo, see In re Detention of Williams, 628 N.W.2d 447, 451 (Iowa 2001),

there is no factual dispute in this case. The only issue for our determination is whether the district court correctly determined that the undisputed facts established the defendant had made a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel at the plea proceeding on his first OWI charge.

III. Waiver of Right to Counsel in First OWI Prosecution: Undisputed Facts.

In 1996, Tovar, a college student in Ames, was brought before the Story County district court to plead to a charge of OWI, first offense. At the time, the district court was receiving guilty pleas from several defendants collectively. The judge engaged the defendant in the following discussion. References to the defendant's right to counsel are emphasized.

The Court: We are on the record in the State of Iowa versus Felipe Tovar, Case No. 23989. This is the time and place set for arraignment on a trial information charging the defendant with operating while intoxicated. Mr. Tovar appears without counsel and I see, Mr. Tovar, that you waived application for a court appointed attorney. Did you want to represent yourself at today's hearing?

Tovar: Yes, sir.

....

The Court: And did you want me to read that information to you or did you want to waive the reading?

Tovar: Waive the reading.

The Court: And how do you wish to plead?

Tovar: Guilty.

....

The Court: All right. Gentlemen, if you continue with this desire to plead guilty, there are certain rights that each one of you will be giving up and I now will explain those rights to you. First of all, if you enter a plea of not guilty, you would be entitled to a speedy and a public trial by jury. But, if you plead guilty, you give up your right to have a trial of any kind on your charge.

Do you understand that, Mr. [Tovar]?

Tovar: Yes, sir.

....

The Court: If you would enter a plea of not guilty, not only would you have a right to a trial, you would have a right to be represented by an attorney at that trial, including a court appointed attorney. That attorney could help you select a jury, question and cross-examine the State's witnesses, present evidence, if any, in your behalf, and make arguments to the judge and jury on your behalf. But, if you plead guilty, not only do you give up your right to a trial, you give up your right to be represented by an attorney at that trial.

Do you understand that, Mr. [Tovar]?

Tovar: Yes, sir.

[The court then continued to review the other trial-related rights the defendants would be giving up by pleading guilty.]

The Court: Gentlemen, those are the rights that you will be giving up if you plead guilty. Knowing that, did you still want to plead guilty?

Mr. [Tovar]?

Tovar: Yes, sir.

(Emphasis added.)

After this colloquy, the judge determined whether there was a factual basis for Tovar's guilty plea. He explained to the defendant that there were two elements to his offense: (1) operating a motor vehicle (2) while he was intoxicated. The court then informed the defendant that intoxication could be shown by an alcohol level of .10 or above or by evidence that "the consumption of alcohol has affected your judgment or your reasoning or your faculties or it has caused you to lose control in any manner." Tovar admitted driving a car and, although he did not contest his blood alcohol test results of .194, he denied feeling any effects of the alcohol. The judge concluded there was a factual basis for Tovar's guilty plea and then accepted the plea.

At a later sentencing hearing, Tovar again appeared pro se. The only discussion of Tovar's right to counsel was the following exchange:

The Court: Mr. Tovar, I note that you are appearing here today without having an attorney present and you waived application for a court-appointed attorney. I am sorry. You applied, but it was denied due to the fact you are dependent upon your parents. Mr. Tovar, did you want to represent yourself at today's hearing or did you want to take some time to hire an attorney to represent you?

Tovar: No, I will represent myself.

The court then conducted essentially the same colloquy used at the guilty plea proceeding and pronounced sentence. Tovar's sentence included a brief stint in the county jail.

IV. Did Tovar Validly Waive His Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel in His First OWI Prosecution?

A. General legal principles. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence." U.S. Const. amend. VI. This protection extends to state prosecutions. State v. Spencer, 519 N.W.2d 357, 359 (Iowa 1994).

To provide a framework for our consideration of whether this right was accorded to the defendant in his first prosecution for OWI, we quote the observations of the United States Supreme Court on the importance of the right to counsel:

The "... right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law. If charged with [a] crime, he is incapable, generally, of determining for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence. Left without the aid of counsel he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defence, even though he have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him."

Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 463, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 1022, 82 L.Ed. 1461, 1466 (1938) (citation omitted). As this discussion illustrates, the right to counsel is not solely a trial-related right; a...