Crocker v. State

• Decision Date: 26 March 1985
• Docket Number: No. 583S157,583S157
• Citation: 475 N.E.2d 686
• Parties: Clarence Lee CROCKER, Appellant (Petitioner Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Respondent Below).
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 686

475 N.E.2d 686

Clarence Lee CROCKER, Appellant (Petitioner Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Respondent Below).

No. 583S157.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

March 26, 1985.

Susan K. Carpenter, Public Defender, Ihor N. Boyko, Sp. Asst. Public Defender, Indianapolis, for appellant.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Amy Schaeffer Good, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

PRENTICE, Justice.

The Petitioner (Appellant) pled guilty, pursuant to an oral plea bargain agreement, to dealing in a controlled substance and was sentenced to fifteen (15) years imprisonment. This appeal from the denial of post-conviction relief presents two issues for our review, one of which compels us to reverse the judgment of the trial court and to order the Petitioner's guilty plea vacated.

On May 20, 1975, the State charged the Petitioner and two co-defendants with possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance. Petitioner was subsequently arraigned, and a trial date was set. Thereafter, on May 10, 1977, additional counts II, III, IV, and V (dealing in marijuana and cocaine) were filed. On May 16, 1977, pursuant to a plea bargain agreement by which the State would dismiss counts I, II, III, and V if Petitioner pled guilty to Count IV, the Petitioner pled guilty to Count IV. On June 27, 1977, the Petitioner was sentenced to a fifteen (15) year term of imprisonment.

On April 21, 1980, Petitioner filed his petition for post-conviction relief, which the trial court denied, without a hearing, on September 2, 1980. A motion to correct errors filed on October 31, 1980 was taken under advisement. Thereafter, the Public Defender of Indiana requested permission to file a belated motion to correct errors. The request was granted, and said motion was filed on March 18, 1981. Hearings on the motion were held on April 14, 1982, July 12, 1982, and September 10, 1982. On February 8, 1983, the trial court denied the belated motion to correct errors, and Petitioner appeals from that denial, arguing that his guilty plea was not knowingly and intelligently entered because the trial court did not advise him at the time of his plea that it was not a party to any agreement between the prosecution and the defense and was not bound thereby as is required by Ind.Code Sec. 35-4.1-1-3(e) (Burns 1979) [repealed 1982; for provision effective September 1, 1982, see Ind.Code Sec. 35-35-1-2 (Burns Supp.1984) ]. He also alleges that the trial court failed to determine whether he understood the nature of the charge against him and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. In view of our resolution of his first contention, we need not address the other alleged errors.

In Williams v. State, (1984) Ind., 468 N.E.2d 1036, 1037, we announced a new rule for our review of cases in which the guilty plea was entered prior to December 3, 1981 and which involve alleged failures to give the proper advisements, as follows:

"A plea of guilty is an admission or confession of guilt made in court before a judge. It is also a waiver of specific constitutional rights. In German v. State, (1981) Ind., 428 N.E.2d 234, this Court held that a written plea agreement entered into beyond the sight and hearing of the court may not be considered an adequate substitute for specifically addressing the subject on so fundamental a matter as the concept of waiver. German, was decided December 3, 1981. However, the guilty plea hearing in the case at bar was held on December 4, 1979. Consequently, we will use the standard of review employed in Neeley v. State, (1978) 269 Ind. 588, 382 N.E.2d 714, and look to the entire record to determine if petitioner was fully advised of and understood his constitutional rights. Cf. Turman v. State, (1979) 271 Ind. 332, 392 N.E.2d 483."

Our holding in Williams was a departure from earlier cases, see, e.g., Austin v. State, (1984) Ind., 466 N.E.2d 445, on rehearing, 468 N.E.2d 1027; Anderson v. State, (1984) Ind., ...