Ex parte Rivers
Decision Date | 13 December 1991 |
Citation | 597 So.2d 1308 |
Parties | Ex parte Wallace RIVERS. (Re Wallace Rivers, Jr. v. State.) 1901739. |
Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Gary A. Hudgins, Dothan, for appellant.
James H. Evans, Atty. Gen., and Frances H. Smith, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
On June 1, 1990, Wallace Rivers, represented by a court-appointed attorney, pleaded guilty in three cases involving the possession and distribution of cocaine in Houston County, Alabama. 1 He was sentenced to life in prison. Rivers petitioned for post-conviction relief pursuant to Rule 20, Temp.A.R.Cr.P., 2 alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective 3 and that he was not properly informed of the maximum and minimum sentences so as to allow his plea to be knowingly and voluntarily given. The trial judge denied the petition, without an evidentiary hearing.
The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed, with an unpublished memorandum opinion, 586 So.2d 307, ruling that Rivers's claims were procedurally barred. Rivers petitioned this Court for the writ of certiorari, which we issued, based on the authority of Carter v. State, 291 Ala. 83, 277 So.2d 896 at 898 (1973), in which this Court held "that a defendant, prior to pleading guilty, must be advised on the record of the maximum and minimum potential punishment for his crime." We reverse and remand.
Carter v. State notes that subsequent to the United States Supreme Court case of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), it became established that the defendant must be informed of the maximum and minimum possible sentences as an absolute constitutional prerequisite to the acceptance of a guilty plea. Carter v. State, citing Jones v. State, 48 Ala.App. 32, 261 So.2d 451 (1972); Spidell v. State, 48 Ala.App. 24, 261 So.2d 443 (1972); People v. Ingeneri, 7 Ill.App.3d 809, 288 N.E.2d 550 (1972); People v. Buck, 7 Ill.App.3d 758, 288 N.E.2d 548 (1972); Cooper v. State, 47 Ala.App. 178, 252 So.2d 104 (1971), cert. denied, 287 Ala. 728, 252 So.2d 108 (1971). "Boykin stands for the proposition that a defendant is constitutionally entitled to have information concerning the range of punishment prescribed by the act to which he may be sentenced and the consequences of the conviction at the time he enters his plea." Coleman v. Alabama, 827 F.2d 1469, 1473 (11th Cir.1987).
Since Carter v. State, supra, this Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals have consistently held that a defendant must be informed of the maximum and minimum possible sentences as an absolute constitutional prerequisite to the acceptance of a guilty plea. Smith v. State, 441 So.2d 1062, 1063 (Ala.Cr.App.1983); McClaren v. State, 500 So.2d 1325, 1327 (Ala.Cr.App.1986); Tinsley v. State, 485 So.2d 1249, 1251 (Ala.Cr.App.1986); Looney v. State, 563 So.2d 3, 4 (Ala.Cr.App.1989). If the defendant has prior felony convictions, he must be advised of the proper sentence to which he is subject by virtue of Alabama Code 1975, § 13A-5-9, the Habitual Felony Offender Act. Smith v. State, 494 So.2d 182 (Ala.Cr.App.1986).
The only evidence in the record as to what information Rivers was given concerning the maximum and minimum possible sentences he could receive is this dialogue in open court:
The Court corrected itself as to the maximum possible sentence:
The State contends, and the Court of Criminal Appeals agreed, that Rivers failed to preserve the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel and the illegality of his sentencing for appeal by failing to raise it at trial. We disagree. This Court has said:
Ex parte Brannon, 547 So.2d 68 (Ala.1989). This Court has also said that ineffective assistance of counsel claims are cognizable in Rule 20 petitions pursuant to Rule 20.1(a), Temp.A.R.Crim.P. Ex parte Lockett, 548 So.2d 1045, 1048 (Ala.1989). Because we reverse on other grounds, we find it unnecessary to address the merits of that issue at this time, except to say that the standard this Court has adopted to test the effectiveness of counsel is stated in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104...
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Nichols v. State
...multiple sentences imposed for conduct arising out of a single transaction, where statute authorizes only one sentence 4); Ex parte Rivers, 597 So.2d 1308 (Ala.1991) (indicating that where the trial court fails to properly accept a guilty plea, it has no authority to sentence defendant and ......
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White v. State
...maximum and minimum possible sentences as an absolute constitutional prerequisite to the acceptance of a guilty plea." Ex parte Rivers, 597 So.2d 1308, 1309 (Ala.1991). It is well settled, moreover, that "if the appellant's sentence could be enhanced under any of the enhancement statutes, t......
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Parish v. State
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Cantu v. State
...this cause must be remanded to the circuit court with the order that Cantu's conviction be 'reversed,' in accordance with Ex parte Rivers, 597 So.2d 1308 (Ala.1991)." Cantu v. State, 660 So.2d 1024, 1025 (Ala.Crim.App.1992). The State's application for rehearing was overruled, and the State......