People v. Winters

• Decision Date: 18 July 2017
• Docket Number: No. 333009,333009
• Citation: 320 Mich.App. 506,904 N.W.2d 899
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. George William WINTERS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

320 Mich.App. 506

904 N.W.2d 899

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.George William WINTERS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 333009

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

Submitted July 11, 2017, at Lansing

Decided July 18, 2017, at 9:05 a.m.

Bill Schuette, Attorney General, Aaron D. Lindstrom, Solicitor General, and Paul R. Spaniola, Prosecuting Attorney, for the people.

State Appellate Defender (by Jeanice Dagher-Margosian ) for defendant.

Before: Markey, P.J., and Ronayne Krause and Boonstra, JJ.

Per Curiam.

Defendant, George W. Winters, appeals by leave granted¹ his plea-based convictions of second-degree arson, MCL 750.73(1) (willful or malicious burning of a dwelling), and attempted arson, MCL 750.92 (attempt to commit a crime). The trial court sentenced defendant as a third-offense habitual offender, MCL 769.11, to serve concurrent prison terms of 8 to 40 years for the arson conviction and 2 years and 10 months to 10 years for the attempted-arson conviction. Defendant's convictions stem from his burning and attempted burning of tents located at a homeless campsite. We affirm.

Defendant's appeal is focused on the circumstances surrounding his entry of a no-contest plea. MCR 6.302 governs guilty- and no-contest plea proceedings. People v. Blanton , 317 Mich.App. 107, 118, 894 N.W.2d 613 (2016). Pursuant to the court rule, a "court may not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere unless it is convinced that the plea is understanding, voluntary, and accurate. Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the court must place the defendant or defendants under oath and personally carry out [ MCR 6.302(B) through (E) ]." MCR 6.302(A). Defendant argues that he should have been allowed to withdraw his plea because the trial court did not comply with Subrules (B)(2) and (B)(3). Defendant raised these same arguments below in a motion to withdraw his plea, which the court denied. We review the court's decision for an abuse of discretion. People v. Cole , 491 Mich. 325, 329, 817 N.W.2d 497 (2012). A trial court abuses it discretion when its decision results in "an outcome falling outside the range of principled outcomes." People v. Buie , 491 Mich. 294, 320; 817 N.W.2d 33 (2012).

While strict compliance with MCR 6.302 is not essential, our Supreme Court has applied the doctrine of substantial compliance and held that whether a particular departure from MCR 6.302 requires reversal or remand for additional proceedings will depend on the nature of the noncompliance. People v. Plumaj , 284 Mich.App. 645, 649, 773 N.W.2d 763 (2009). This Court considers the record as a whole to determine whether a guilty plea was made knowingly and voluntarily. Id .

MCR 6.302(B)(2) provides that a defendant offering to plead guilty or nolo contendere must be informed by the court of "the maximum possible prison sentence for the offense and any mandatory minimum sentence required by law, including a requirement for mandatory lifetime electronic monitoring under MCL 750.520b or 750.520c[.]" "[W]hen a defendant is subject to an enhanced sentence as an habitual offender, that enhanced sentence is part of the maximum prison sentence described in MCR 6.302(B)(2)." People v. Brown , 492 Mich. 684, 701, 822 N.W.2d 208 (2012). Defendant asserts, and the prosecution agrees, that he was misinformed by the court about the possible sentencing facing him if he entered a plea for attempted arson. Specifically, he was told that his maximum term of imprisonment for the attempted-arson charge was 20 years when the correct maximum was 10 years.² Defendant argues that, given this error, he did not understand the consequences of his plea.

"[A] defendant entering a plea must be fully aware of the direct consequences of the plea."

Cole , 491 Mich. at 333, 817 N.W.2d 497 (quotation marks and citations omitted). "The most obvious direct consequence of a conviction is the penalty to be imposed. It is, therefore, well-recognized that the defendant must be apprised of the sentence that he will be forced to serve as the result of his guilty plea and conviction." Id. at 334, 817 N.W.2d 497 (quotation marks and citation omitted). This principle is embodied in MCR 6.302(B)(2).

But a misstatement of the maximum possible sentence does not require reversal if no prejudice is shown. People v. Broden , 147 Mich.App. 470, 472, 382 N.W.2d 799 (1985) (involving a challenge under GCR 1963, 785.7(1)(b)³ to a plea-based conviction), rev'd on other grounds 428 Mich. 343, 408 N.W.2d 789 (1987). See also Guilty Plea Cases , 395 Mich. 96, 113, 235 N.W.2d 132 (1975) ("Noncompliance with a requirement of Rule 785.7^{[4 ]} may but does not necessarily require reversal."). Because defendant was not told that he was facing a shorter sentence than he actually was, he cannot show that he was prejudiced. See People v. Shannon , 134 Mich.App. 35, 38, 349 N.W.2d 813 (1984) (holding that there was no possibility the defendant was prejudiced when he was told the maximum possible penalty was greater than it actually was).

The Due Process Clause requires that pleas be knowing and voluntary because a "no-contest or a guilty plea constitutes a waiver of several constitutional rights...." Cole , 491 Mich. at 332, 817 N.W.2d 497. MCR 6.302(B) addresses to what constitutionally protected trial rights a defendant must be told he or she will be relinquishing if his or her plea is accepted:

Speaking directly to the defendant or defendants, the court must advise the defendant or defendants of the following and determine that each defendant understands:

* * *

(3) if the plea is accepted, the defendant will not have a trial of any kind, and so gives up the rights the defendant would have at a trial, including the right:

(a) to be tried by a jury;

(b) to be presumed innocent until proved guilty;

(c) to have the prosecutor prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty;

(d) to have the witnesses against the defendant appear at the trial;

(e) to question the witnesses against the defendant;

(f) to have the court order any witnesses the defendant has for the defense to appear at the trial;

(g) to remain silent during the trial;

(h) to not have that silence used against the defendant; and(i) to testify at the trial if the defendant wants to testify.

MCR 6.302(B) goes on to provide a method for satisfying the rule:

The requirements of subrule[ ] (B)(3) ... may be satisfied by a writing on a form approved by the State Court Administrative Office. If a court uses a writing, the court shall address the defendant and obtain from the defendant orally on the record a statement that the rights were read and understood and a waiver of those rights. The waiver may be obtained without repeating the individual rights.

In this case, defendant signed an advice-of-rights form. It recites the rights contained in MCR 6.302(B)(3) verbatim. Defendant affirmed that these rights were read to him, that he understood them, and that he understood he was relinquishing these rights by pleading guilty.

Defendant argues that this procedure was faulty because MCR 6.302(B) requires that he personally read the advice-of-rights form, which he maintains was not possible given his limited ability to read. MCR 6.302(B) does not specify a reader—only that the rights on the form were read and understood.⁵ Defendant stated that the rights "were read to me" and that he understood them and had no questions about them. Moreover, the trial court specifically asked defendant's counsel if he was satisfied that the requirements of MCR 6.302(B) had been met. Counsel stated that he was satisfied, and defendant voiced no disagreement.⁶

Additionally, defendant argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to object to both the error regarding the maximum sentence he was facing for attempted arson and the method the trial court used to satisfy MCR 6.302(B)(3). As discussed, although the trial court did incorrectly advise that the maximum sentence for attempted arson was 20 years, defendant cannot show that he was prejudiced by the court's error. He also cannot show that the result of the proceeding would have been different had counsel objected. Additionally, because the court complied with the requirements of MCR 6.302(B)(3), counsel cannot be...