In re Laws

• Decision Date: 22 June 2007
• Docket Number: No. 2005-320.,2005-320.
• Citation: 928 A.2d 1210,2007 VT 54
• Court: Vermont Supreme Court
• Parties: In re Richard LAWS.

928 A.2d 1210

2007 VT 54

In re Richard LAWS.

No. 2005-320.

Supreme Court of Vermont.

June 22, 2007.

Allison N. Fulcher of Martin & Associates, Barre, and Richard Laws, Pro Se, Beattyville, Kentucky, for Petitioner-Appellant.

William H. Sorrell, Attorney General, John Treadwell, Assistant Attorney General, Montpelier, and John T. Quinn, Addison

County State's Attorney, Middlebury, for Respondent-Appellee.

Present: REIBER, C.J., DOOLEY, JOHNSON, SKOGLUND and BURGESS, JJ.

¶ 1. BURGESS, J.

¶ 1. Petitioner appeals an order of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of the State on his request for post-conviction relief (PCR). The superior court denied relief, concluding that under 13 V.S.A. § 7131 it did not have subject matter jurisdiction. The court also concluded, in the alternative, that all of petitioner's claims were barred because he failed to raise them in a prior PCR. We hold that the superior court erred in dismissing the PCR under § 7131 because the language the court relied on affects venue only and does not limit a court's subject matter jurisdiction over a PCR. We further hold that petitioner may go forward with his claims, even though he did not raise them in his first PCR, to the extent he can demonstrate (1) cause for not raising the issues previously and (2) prejudice if the issues are not heard. Claims that do not meet this standard, as well as those claims actually raised and decided on the merits in connection with petitioner's first PCR, are properly barred from relitigation. Accordingly, we reverse the superior court's decision and remand the matter for further proceedings consistent with the standard articulated in this opinion.

¶ 2. We summarized the facts underlying petitioner's criminal convictions in our decision affirming denial of his first PCR:

The crimes occurred in the late evening of June 19, 1992. While driving from Mad Mountain Tavern in Waitsfield that evening, the victim's tires went flat; the evidence suggested that defendant himself had punctured her tires. Defendant pulled up to her stopped vehicle and offered her a ride, which the victim accepted. Rather than bring her home, however, defendant drove the victim to the Granville Gulf area where he raped her. After raping her, defendant drove the victim to a more remote location and beat her severely with a blunt instrument. The victim left behind a large deposit of blood with head hair that the police later discovered during their investigation. The victim's injuries were life threatening and included a fractured skull.

In re Laws, 2004-118, slip op. at 1 (Vt. Sept. 29, 2004) (unreported mem.). Based on these facts, petitioner was charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated assault.

¶ 3. There was apparently some initial uncertainty as to whether the crime should be prosecuted in Addison or Washington County. The charges were originally filed in Washington County district court, but petitioner filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that venue was improper because the offenses had not taken place in that county. See 13 V.S.A. § 4601 (providing that criminal charges be tried in county where offense was committed). The State conceded the issue, dismissed the charges filed in Washington County, and then filed charges in Addison County. Despite the change in venue, however, the Addison County State's Attorney appointed a Washington County State's Attorney to prosecute the matter. Ultimately, petitioner entered into a plea agreement that was signed by petitioner, his attorney, and the Washington County State's Attorney (acting on behalf of Addison County). The plea agreement was entered in Washington County district court, and it was the Washington County district court that sentenced petitioner to twenty to thirty-five years to serve. Petitioner did not pursue a direct appeal from his conviction or sentence.

¶ 4. Petitioner filed his first PCR¹ in Washington Superior Court in July 2000, asserting that his guilty plea violated double jeopardy. The superior court entered judgment in favor of the State, concluding that petitioner's voluntary plea waived any double jeopardy claim. This Court affirmed on appeal. See In re Laws, No.2004-118, slip op. at 1-2.

¶ 5. Petitioner then filed a second PCR in Addison Superior Court in October 2004, arguing: (1) the plea agreement violated double jeopardy; (2) the Washington County district court lacked jurisdiction to accept the plea agreement; (3) the Washington County State's Attorney lacked the authority to sign the plea agreement; (4) the plea colloquy did not meet the requirements of Vermont Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f); and (5) petitioner's attorney provided ineffective assistance. The State moved for summary judgment on the merits of these claims, but also argued that the superior court did not need to decide the PCR on the merits because it was a second or successive petition barred by 13 V.S.A. § 7134. The superior court entered judgment for the State, concluding that it did not have jurisdiction over the PCR under 13 V.S.A. § 7131, and, alternatively, that it was not obligated to hear the PCR because it was a second or successive petition. Petitioner appealed.

I.

¶ 6. In his pro se appellate brief, petitioner reiterates his argument on the merits of his claim that the Washington County district court lacked jurisdiction to accept his plea in the underlying criminal proceeding. He also asserts in passing that the plea colloquy did not comply with Rule 11(f). Petitioner does not address the superior court's conclusion that it lacked jurisdiction over the PCR, or the alternative ground that the claims failed under the bar against second or successive PCRs. The State, in turn, responds to petitioner's merits-based argument, only briefly reiterating the § 7134 argument.

¶ 7. Dismissing the PCR, the superior court did not engage the merits of petitioner's claims. Rather, the court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the PCR, relying on the language of 13 V.S.A. § 7131, which provides:

A prisoner who is in custody under sentence of a court and claims the right to be released upon the ground that the sentence was imposed in violation of the constitution or laws of the United States, or of the state of Vermont, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose the sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may at any time move the superior court of the county where the sentence was imposed to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence.

(Emphasis added.) While it is true that the post-conviction-relief statute requires that a defendant seek relief in "the superior court of the county where the sentence was imposed," id., we have previously explained that this provision goes to venue and not subject matter jurisdiction:

Section 7131 . . . does not concern subject-matter jurisdiction of the court in which the PCR petition is heard. The statute indicating the county where the PCR should be brought was enacted to simplify the often cumbersome procedures associated with habeas corpus. Requiring the superior court of the county of sentencing to hear the PCR petition was designed to provide a more convenient forum for obtaining relevant records and witnesses. As a venue provision, the statute does not purport to limit subject-matter jurisdiction.

In re Hanson, 160 Vt. 111, 113, 623 A.2d 466, 467 (1993) (citations and quotations omitted). Accordingly, while a party may seek to transfer venue under the authority of the statute, the superior court erred in concluding that it was without jurisdiction to hear defendant's petition.

II.

¶ 8. The superior court provided an alternative basis for granting summary judgment to the State, noting that under 13 V.S.A. § 7134 the court was "not required to entertain a second or successive motion for similar relief on behalf of the same prisoner." The court determined, based on State v. Provencher, that the bar against second or successive petitions applied to "questions which the applicant knew of, but deliberately, or without adequate excuse, failed to raise either in the proceeding which led to his conviction or in prior post-conviction proceedings." 128 Vt. 586, 591-92, 270 A.2d 147, 150 (1970) (Holden, C.J., concurring, with all members of the Court in accord). The superior court did not, however, make any findings to support its conclusion that petitioner "deliberately, or without adequate excuse" abandoned his claims, and so a remand for further findings is required.

¶ 9. We take this opportunity to elaborate on the standard the superior court should apply on remand.² Some background on post-conviction relief and the bar against second or successive petitions will properly frame the issues presented to us in this appeal. The purpose of post-conviction relief under 13 V.S.A. § 7131 is to provide prisoners with an opportunity to challenge the legality of their confinement, and thus "to guard against illegal restraints on liberty." In re Stewart, 140 Vt. 351, 359, 438 A.2d 1106, 1109 (1981). One fundamental aspect of post-conviction relief is that a challenge to confinement may be brought "at any time." 13 V.S.A. § 7131. Nonetheless, in other respects, "[p]ost-conviction relief is a limited remedy." In re Grega, 2003 VT 77, ¶ 6, 175 Vt. 631, 833 A.2d 872 (mem.). Post-conviction-relief proceedings are not a vehicle for addressing the petitioner's guilt or innocence, nor are they a substitute for direct appeal of a conviction or sentence. Stewart, 140 Vt. at 360, 438 A.2d at 1110. Rather, claims for PCR are limited to collateral attacks on the petitioner's conviction. For example, a PCR may raise ineffective assistance of counsel, a constitutional challenge to the statute under which the petitioner was convicted or sentenced, or the adequacy of a Rule 11 plea colloquy. In forwarding such arguments, "the peti...