Logan v. Solem, 15409

• Decision Date: 17 February 1987
• Docket Number: No. 15409,15409
• Citation: 406 N.W.2d 714
• Parties: Douglas LOGAN, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Herman SOLEM, Respondent and Appellee. . Considered on Briefs
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

Page 714

406 N.W.2d 714

Douglas LOGAN, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Herman SOLEM, Respondent and Appellee.

No. 15409.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Considered on Briefs Feb. 17, 1987.

Decided May 27, 1987.

Richard Braithwaite, Sioux Falls, for petitioner and appellant.

Janine Kern, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for respondent and appellee; Mark V. Meierhenry, Atty. Gen., Pierre, on brief.

WUEST, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from an order denying habeas corpus relief. We affirm.

Petitioner, Douglas Logan, was indicted for rape in the first degree and was later arraigned before Judge Gene Paul Kean. Judge Kean explained the right to trial by jury, the right to confront hostile witnesses and the privilege against self-incrimination. The judge also advised petitioner that a guilty plea would constitute waiver of these rights. Petitioner pled not guilty.

Petitioner was indicted in a second case for rape in the first degree, rape in the second degree, and sexual contact with a child under the age of sixteen. He was arraigned before Judge Richard D. Hurd. Judge Hurd explained the right to trial by jury, the right to confront hostile witnesses and the privilege against self-incrimination. The judge did not advise petitioner a guilty plea would constitute waiver of these rights. Petitioner pled not guilty to all three counts in the indictment.

Judge Hurd joined the two cases upon motion by the State. Pursuant to plea agreement, petitioner agreed to withdraw his plea of not guilty of sexual contact with a child under sixteen. In return, the State agreed to dismiss the first and second degree rape charges in both cases. At the continued arraignment, Judge Hurd told the petitioner:

[THE COURT] ... Mr. Logan, before I proceed to ask you to plead anew to Count 3, I want to once again recall with you that at the time of your initial arraignment you were advised of various constitutional and statutory rights that you enjoy in regards to this matter....

The judge again reviewed the various rights with petitioner but in his summary did not mention self-incrimination. Judge Hurd continued:

[THE COURT] ... Do you recall me advising you of those matters?

DEFENDANT LOGEN: Yes, sir.

THE COURT: Do you have any questions at all about those constitutional rights?

DEFENDANT LOGEN: No.

THE COURT: I want to make sure that you understand this also, sir. If you enter a plea of no contest to this charge you would be waiving many of those important rights because by pleading no contest the State no longer has the burden of proving your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt....

Judge Hurd then told petitioner there would be no trial and therefore no confrontation with hostile witnesses, but the judge omitted the privilege against self-incrimination when he was discussing waiver of petitioner's rights.

The petitioner entered a plea of nolo contendere to Count III. He was sentenced to ten years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary. ¹ 1] He then filed a petition for habeas corpus and requested that his case be remanded for re-arraignment. Petitioner argued his plea of nolo contendere was invalid because the court did not advise him that the plea constituted waiver against self-incrimination or ascertain whether petitioner understood this. After hearing, Judge Robert C. Heege denied the writ for habeas corpus relief.

Petitioner asks this court to vacate the judgment and sentence, and to remand the case to the trial court for re-arraignment. Petitioner argues that his plea was invalid because Judge Hurd did not "advise him or ascertain whether he understood that a no contest plea would waive his privilege against self-incrimination." Petitioner does not assert that he was unaware of this privilege, nor does he argue that he was unaware of his waiving that right. In effect, petitioner argues that because an express waiver of this right does not occur in the record, his plea cannot be found to have been voluntarily and intelligently made or with an understanding of the nature and consequences of the plea.

A plea of guilty cannot stand unless the record in some manner indicates a free and intelligent waiver by the defendant of his constitutional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him, his constitutional right to trial by jury, and his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. ² Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969); State v. King, 400 N.W.2d 878 (S.D.1987); Application of Garritsen, 376 N.W.2d 575 (S.D.1985); Stacey v. State, 349 N.W.2d 439 (S.D.1984); State v. Sutton, 317 N.W.2d 414 (S.D.1982); Nachtigall v. Erickson, 85 S.D. 122, 178 N.W.2d 198 (S.D.1970).

In Nachtigall, this court held that the record must also show the accused had "an understanding of the nature and consequences of the plea." This requirement appeared in former Rule 11(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ("understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea"). See 18 U.S.C.A., Rule 11 Advisory Notes (1986); Compare Boykin, 395 U.S. at 245, n. 7, 89 S.Ct. at 1713 n. 7; Commonwealth v. Rundle, 428 Pa. 102, 105-106, 237 A.2d 196, 197-198 (1968); Commonwealth v. Myers, 423 Pa. 1, 5 & n. 3, 222 A.2d 918, 921 & n. 3 (1966). Although Rule 11 is constitutionally based, full compliance with the statutory rule is not constitutionally mandated by Boykin. See Halliday v. United States, 394 U.S. 831, 89 S.Ct. 1498, 23 L.Ed.2d 16 (1969); McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969).

Nachtigall held this second requirement is necessary for a constitutionally valid plea. However, it must be made clear that application of the rule as a constitutional requirement is bound to the free and intelligent waiver analysis of Boykin. Waiver of Boykin rights is one of the "consequences" of a guilty or nolo plea. In effect, these two requirements overlap for purposes of constitutional analysis. Knowledge of other consequences, such as the maximum range of penalties, is also important to help a defendant evaluate the case against him and make an informed plea, but such knowledge is not necessary for constitutional due process under Boykin. ³

Logic requires that a defendant know what his Boykin rights are and what they involve, for without knowledge he cannot understandingly waive those rights. The trial court must normally inform the defendant of these rights personally to insure that the record indicates a free and intelligent waiver of these rights. However, specific articulation of these rights by the trial judge is not an indispensible requisite for the record to establish a valid plea. It is sufficient when the record in some manner shows the defendant entered his plea understandingly and voluntarily. Garritsen, supra; Stacey, supra. See Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 1468, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970); North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 31, 91 S.Ct. 160, 164, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970); Wilkins v. Erickson, 505 F.2d 761, 763 (9th Cir.1974).

The record shows petitioner was aware of his privilege against self-incrimination. Both Judge Kean and Judge Hurd specifically canvassed petitioner on the privilege against self-incrimination during the initial arraignments. Although Judge Hurd failed to again mention this specific right at the continued arraignment, a criminal defendant need not be readvised of his rights immediately prior to his entering a plea of guilty. It is only necessary that the record show that he knew of his rights and the consequences of his guilty plea at the time the plea was entered. Garritsen, supra; Stacey, supra; Clark v. State, 294 N.W.2d 916 (S.D.1980). We hold this rule applies for nolo pleadings.

In addition to the judges' canvassing these rights with the petitioner, the record also reveals that petitioner was thirty years of age, had received assistance of counsel, and once had even been tried on similar charges in a court of law. ⁴ Thus, the record conclusively shows petitioner understood that he had a right to a jury trial and those other rights, including the privilege against self-incrimination, which attach to a jury trial.

Petitioner does not claim that he was unaware of his Boykin rights. Nor does he assert that the trial court failed to advise him of these rights, on the record, in order to establish that he was aware of these rights. Rather, he claims that the record does not establish that he freely and intelligently waived one of those Boykin rights.

There is no requirement that the record show an express enumeration by the court nor an express waiver by the defendant of the three constitutional rights mentioned in Boykin as a condition precedent to a voluntary and intelligent guilty plea. State v. Driver, 290 N.W.2d 856 (S.D.1980); Lodermeir v. State, 273 N.W.2d 163 (S.D.1978); Rust v. State, 88 S.D. 265, 218 N.W.2d 482 (1974); Crew v. Nelson, 88 S.D. 162, 216 N.W.2d 565 (1974); Merrill v. State, 87 S.D. 285, 206 N.W.2d 828 (1973). Boykin is devoid of any language stating that valid waiver requires the defendant be specifically told each of those rights he is waiving and then expressly waive each right for the record.

The record shows that petitioner knew he was waiving these constitutional rights. Judge Kean informed petitioner that a guilty plea would waive the three constitutional rights mentioned in Boykin. During arraignment in the second case, Judge Hurd did not discuss waiver of these rights. At the continued arraignment, however, petitioner stated that he recalled those important constitutional rights mentioned at his earlier arraignment before Judge Hurd, and the judge told petitioner that a plea of nolo contendere would constitute waiver of many of those important rights. When Judge Hurd then began to address waiver of each specific right, he forgot to mention the privilege against self-incrimination. However, this oversight does not invalidate petitioner's plea. The record shows that petiti...