Minchey v. State

• Decision Date: 08 September 1980
• Docket Number: No. 60199,60199
• Citation: 271 S.E.2d 885,155 Ga.App. 632
• Parties: MINCHEY v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

Page 885

271 S.E.2d 885

155 Ga.App. 632

MINCHEY v.The STATE.

No. 60199.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Argued July 1, 1980.

Decided Sept. 8, 1980.

Alexander L. Zipperer, Robert M. Davis, Savannah, for appellant.

J. Lane Johnson, Dist. Atty., for appellee.

BANKE, Judge.

The appellant was convicted upon his plea of guilty on separate indictments for possession of marijuana, cocaine, and nontax-paid whiskey.On appeal he contends that the trial court erred in accepting his pleas without determining the factual basis for them.The basis for this contention is the following colloquy between the trial judge and the appellant concerning his understanding of his pleas and his various rights:

"THE COURT: Do you understand all of the questions that you've answered so far?DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.THE COURT: Understanding all your rights, do you still want to enter a plea of guilty to these offenses?DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.THE COURT: Is your decision to plead guilty made freely and voluntarily?DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.THE COURT: Has anyone used any force against you to cause you to plead guilty?DEFENDANT: No.THE COURT: Did you in fact commit the offense of possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, and possession of a certain amount of whiskey, the container of which did not bear and have affixed thereto the Revenue Stamps of the State of Georgia?DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.THE COURT: Did you do those things?DEFENDANT: The whiskey and to the marijuana, but not the cocaine.THE COURT: Did you have possession of cocaine?DEFENDANT: Yes, sir, it was found in a jacket on my premises.And I understand the law enough to know I am responsible for it, and charged for it.THE COURT: Do you still intend to plead guilty to the possession of cocaine?DEFENDANT: I have no choice, yes, sir."Held :

1.A state trial judge, in accepting a plea of guilty, now has a similar duty that a federal trial judge has under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure."That rule, in essential part, is as follows: 'The court ... shall not accept (a plea of guilty) without ... determining that the plea is made voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea ... The court shall not enter a judgment upon a plea of guilty unless it is satisfied that there is a factual basis for the plea.' "Purvis v. Connell, 227 Ga. 764, 767, 182 S.E.2d 892(1971).Although the information need no longer be solicited personally by the trial court, that practice and Rule 11's "good list of the considerations of which the trial court must be satisfied before accepting a guilty plea" are recommended.State v. Germany, 245 Ga. 326, 328, 265 S.E.2d 13(1980).

"A guilty plea is constitutionally valid only if the defendant has made a 'voluntary and intelligent choice' among the various courses of conduct open to him ... North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 31, 91 S.Ct. 160, 164, 27 L.Ed.2d 162(1970) ... Because of the importance of protecting the innocent and of insuring that guilty pleas are a product of free and intelligent choice, various state and federal court decisions properly caution that pleas coupled with claims of innocence should not be accepted unless there is a factual basis for the plea, ... and until the judge taking the plea has inquired into and sought to resolve the conflict between the waiver of trial and the claim of innocence."Willett v. State of Ga., 608 F.2d 538, 540(5th Cir.1979).Of course, an accused may plead guilty while claiming his innocence if he intelligently concludes his interests are served, and if the record strongly evidences guilt.SeeN. Car. v. Alford, supra.The quoted colloquy between the appellant and the trial court was sufficient notice that appellant's plea to the cocaine charge was "coupled with (a) claim of innocence," and presented a conflict for...