Beltowski v. State
| Decision Date | 29 January 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 42039,42039 |
| Citation | 289 Minn. 215,183 N.W.2d 563 |
| Parties | John F. BELTOWSKI, Appellant, v. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
After jury trial on a charge of burglary in violation of Minn.St. 609.58, subd. 2(1)(a), imposition of a more severe sentence than that which was imposed upon a plea of guilty to a lesser included offense in violation of § 609.58, subd. 2(3), does not violate due process where the trial resulted from defendant's refusal to adhere to a plea agreement when he sought and obtained withdrawal of his plea of guilty without showing that the withdrawal was necessary to correct a manifest injustice.
C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, Ronald L. Haskvitz, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Douglas M. Head, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, George M. Scott, County Atty., Henry W. McCarr, Jr., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard and considered en banc.
Appeal from an order denying postconviction relief on the merits but without an evidentiary hearing.
As authorized by our Postconviction Remedy Act, Minn.St. c. 590, petitioner seeks to collaterally attack the judgment of conviction and sentence for the crime of burglary, which we affirmed on his direct appeal. State v. Beltowski, 281 Minn. 28, 160 N.W.2d 705, certiorari denied, 393 U.S. 988, 89 S.Ct. 468, 21 L.Ed.2d 450.
Subsequent to our decision and after unsuccessful efforts to seek Federal review and other relief in the Federal courts, petitioner, refusing representation by the state public defender, initiated this proceeding in the District Court of Hennepin County by filing his pro se petition and amended petition. After receiving answers and petitioner's reply, the district court issued specific findings of fact accompanied by a comprehensive memorandum and concluded that the numerous allegations of the petitions presented 'no new factual or legal issues' not previously fully litigated at the time of the trial or on petitioner's prior appeal save one issue of law relating to the legality of petitioner's sentence. Applying the procedural rules announced in State ex rel. Roy v. Tahash, 277 Minn. 238, 152 N.W.2d 301, 1 the postconviction court determined that no further evidentiary hearing was necessary and, after painstakingly considering all of petitioner's claims on the merits, denied relief. This appeal was then filed on behalf of petitioner by the state public defender, accompanied by his written and oral arguments, with supplemental briefs submitted pro se by petitioner.
From our review of the entire record, the only question requiring discussion is the legality of the sentence imposed, since we agree that all of petitioner's other claims raise no factual disputes and have either been previously litigated and determined or amount to no more than argumentative assertions without factual support. 2
For an understanding of the question presented, certain facts appearing in greater detail in our prior decision should be set forth. Petitioner was charged with burglary of a TV store in violation of Minn.St. 609.58, subd. 2(1) (a), the penalty for which is not to exceed 20 years' imprisonment if the accused '(w)hen entering or while in the building * * * possesses an explosive or tool to gain access to money or property.' Shortly after arraignment in the district court, on his own motion and with consent of the state--on the basis that 'it would seem appropriate that this motion be granted because there is a serious question about the tool that was in use' under the statute--, petitioner was permitted to plead guilty to a lesser included offense of burglary with intent to 'steal or commit a felony or gross misdemeanor' in violation of § 609.58, subd. 2(3), the punishment for which is not to exceed 5 years' imprisonment. A limited sentence of not to exceed 4 years was then imposed. Three days later, on petitioner's pro se motion, the judgment of conviction was vacated, and he was allowed to withdraw his plea of guilty on the basis of his claim of newly discovered evidence of entrapment. Thereupon, on motion of the state, the original charge was reinstated. Following trial, at which upon petitioner's election no lesser included offense was submitted to the jury, a guilty verdict was returned and a limited sentence of not to exceed 10 years imposed. 3
In essence, petitioner now contends that the reinstatement of the original charge and the imposition of the 10-year sentence violate constitutional due process for the reason that the increased sentence penalized him for successfully exercising his legal right to move to withdraw his plea of guilty to the lesser included 5-year burglary offense. 4 We do not agree. As we read this record, petitioner's conviction and sentence on the lesser charge resulted from a plea negotiation and agreement arrived at in open court. The offer to plead guilty to the lesser included offense was initiated by petitioner. The prosecution acquiesced and agreed, not because of an unequivocal abandonment of the greater charge because of the belief the charge was unwarranted as in State v. Youngren, 275 Minn. 388, 147 N.W.2d 370, but rather because of prosecutorial doubt as to whether the jury's implicit findings of constructive possession of a crowbar by petitioner was the type of possession contemplated by the 20-year burglary statute. 5 The situation confronting the sentencing court at this point was essentially the same as following a typical plea agreement negotiated outside the presence of the court. Although perhaps unique because it occurred in open court, it has every characteristic of a fully negotiated and approved plea agreement. There was an offer to plead to the lesser degree of the charge and acceptance of the offer by the prosecution, with the reason therefor disclosed to the court, in advance of the tender of the plea in order to obtain judicial acceptance,...
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