Neyland v. Blackburn, 84-3491

• Decision Date: 31 March 1986
• Docket Number: No. 84-3491,84-3491
• Citation: 785 F.2d 1283
• Parties: Ronald NEYLAND, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Frank BLACKBURN, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary, William J. Guste, Jr., Attorney General, State of Louisiana, Respondents-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 1283

785 F.2d 1283

Ronald NEYLAND, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Frank BLACKBURN, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary William J. Guste, Jr., Attorney General, State of Louisiana, Respondents-Appellees.

No. 84-3491.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

March 31, 1986.

Lila Tritico Hogan, Hammond, La. (Court-appointed), for petitioner-appellant.

Ronald Neyland, pro se.

Michael E. McMahon, Susan Scott Hunt, Asst. Dist. Attys., E. Sue Bernie, New Orleans, La., for respondents-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Before GARWOOD, HIGGINBOTHAM, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

GARWOOD, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Neyland appeals the district court's denial of his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254 challenging his Louisiana conviction, pursuant to his plea of guilty, of armed robbery and the related enhancement of his sentence under the Louisiana multiple offender statute. Neyland claims his plea of guilty was constitutionally invalid because the state trial court did not specifically inform him of his rights to a jury trial or against compulsory self-incrimination. He attacks his sentence enhancement primarily by asserting that his counsel's admissions made in that regard were the functional equivalent of a plea of guilty and were not accompanied by the admonitions required by Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). We reject petitioner's contentions, and affirm the denial of habeas relief.

Facts and Proceedings Below

Petitioner Ronald Neyland, represented by counsel, pleaded guilty to three counts of armed robbery in Louisiana state court on August 4, 1977. Neyland had previously pleaded not guilty, and it is evident that his plea of guilty was pursuant to a plea bargain, as the judge recognized. ¹ Before accepting the guilty plea, the judge informed Neyland that he had a right to trial and that at trial he had the right to call witnesses on his own behalf and to confront and cross-examine any witnesses called by the State. The judge told petitioner that by entering the guilty plea he waived his right to trial and his right to appeal to a higher court if he had been found guilty at his trial. The judge stated that the maximum sentence petitioner could receive was ninety-nine years and the minimum was five years on each count, and that any sentence would be without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

The judge explained the charges to Neyland and asked him if he understood them, to which petitioner replied that he did. The judge also asked petitioner if he had been coerced or threatened into pleading guilty. Petitioner replied in the negative.

The judge then told petitioner that if he accepted petitioner's guilty plea, he would sentence petitioner to twenty-five years on each count, the sentences to run concurrently. In addition, the judge told Neyland that if the State charged petitioner as a multiple offender, "as you probably will be by the state," he would sentence Neyland to thirty-three and a third years on each count, each to be concurrent and with credit for time served. ²

The judge then asked petitioner if he was pleading guilty "because you are in fact guilty," to which petitioner replied affirmatively. In response to the court's inquiry, Neyland also stated that apart from the sentence as discussed by the judge he had not been promised anything to induce him to plead guilty. The judge then ascertained that Neyland was satisfied with his counsel. The judge showed Neyland the guilty plea form bearing his signature and asked Neyland if he had signed it, and Neyland stated that he had. ³ The judge then ascertained that Neyland understood the form. The judge thereupon accepted the guilty plea and sentenced petitioner to twenty-five years on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. The State announced it would file a "multiple bill." The court then stated, "The matter is set down for hearing on the Multiple Bill on August 10. Mr. Neyland, you'll be returned to Court.... Do you understand everything, Mr. Neyland?", to which Neyland replied, "Yes, Sir." The hearing then concluded.

On August 10, 1977, the State filed a multiple bill against petitioner based on a 1974 forgery charge in Texas to which petitioner had pleaded guilty. A hearing on the multiple bill, though initially set for August 10, was held August 26, 1977. Apparently there is no transcript of that hearing available. ⁴ The minute entry shows that petitioner, "through his counsel, admitted the allegations contained in the multiple bill." The minute entry also shows that the court found petitioner to be a multiple offender, vacated the original sentence, and sentenced petitioner to thirty-three years at hard labor on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently and with credit for time served.

Petitioner filed a habeas petition with the Criminal District Court, Orleans Parish, on July 28, 1982. The criminal district court denied the petition without an evidentiary hearing on August 24, 1982. Petitioner then filed a habeas petition with the Louisiana Supreme Court, which denied the petition without hearing or opinion on June 3, 1983. After rejection by the Louisiana courts, petitioner filed the present petition for writ of habeas corpus with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The district court, after examining the State record and the pleadings of the parties in the present proceeding, entered an order and reasons rejecting Neyland's claims and dismissed the petition. This appeal followed.

Discussion

Neyland claims that he is entitled to habeas relief based on constitutional violations at the guilty plea hearing and at the multiple offender hearing. He alleges that his guilty plea was not voluntary because the requirements of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), were not met and that the multiple offender proceeding was constitutionally flawed because his acquiescence in the proceeding was neither intelligent nor voluntary. Petitioner also asserts that the trial court erred in the multiple offender proceeding by failing to affirmatively determine if the prior Texas conviction would have been a felony in Louisiana and if the prior Texas guilty plea was intelligently and voluntarily given.

I. Guilty Plea

The United States Supreme Court has held that a guilty plea involves the waiver of several federal constitutional rights including the privilege against self-incrimination, the right to trial by jury, and the right to confront one's accusers. Boykin v. Alabama, 89 S.Ct. at 1712. Because the guilty plea involves a waiver of constitutional rights, entry of the plea must be intelligent and voluntary. Id.; Brown v. Jernigan, 622 F.2d 914, 915 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 958, 101 S.Ct. 368, 66 L.Ed.2d 224 (1980). This Circuit has repeatedly held that a specific express articulation and waiver of the three rights mentioned in Boykin is not mandated, but that it is necessary for the record to show that the plea was voluntarily and intelligently given. Brown, supra, at 915; Van Poyck v. Wainwright, 595 F.2d 1083, 1085-86 (5th Cir.1979); McChesney v. Henderson, 482 F.2d 1101, 1106 (5th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1146, 94 S.Ct. 901, 39 L.Ed.2d 102 (1974); United States v. Frontero, 452 F.2d 406, 415 (5th Cir.1971). See also Barksdale v. Blackburn, 670 F.2d 22 (5th Cir.1982).

The record in the August 4, 1977 guilty plea hearing affirmatively shows that petitioner's plea was knowing and voluntary. He was represented by counsel and was satisfied with the representation. The guilty plea form signed by petitioner and initialed after each statement, and likewise signed by his counsel, indicates that petitioner understood that he was waiving his rights to trial and appeal, that he had not been forced or intimidated into making the plea, and the maximum possible sentence. In the plea colloquy, the trial judge explained what was specifically charged in each of the three counts and told petitioner that on each of the three counts to which he was pleading guilty he had a right to trial, to call witnesses on his behalf, and to cross-examine the State's witnesses, and that by pleading guilty he waived those rights. In addition, the judge informed petitioner that he waived his right to appeal by pleading guilty. He further informed petitioner of the minimum and maximum possible sentences, and the fact that any sentence would be without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, and the actual sentence he would receive if he pleaded guilty. The court asked petitioner if he was coerced or offered anything for making this plea. The court repeatedly asked petitioner if he understood the rights waived and the consequences of the guilty plea. ⁵ Petitioner repeatedly indicated that he understood the consequences of the plea and that it was voluntary. There is nothing to indicate that the showing in the colloquy that the plea was voluntary is incorrect. In these circumstances, the plea is not rendered constitutionally infirm by reason of the failure of the record to expressly reflect the word "jury" and to expressly refer to the privilege against self-incrimination. In McChesney v. Henderson, 482 F.2d 1101, 1109 (5th Cir.1973), we stated: "[W]ere we to impose a rule of criminal procedure requiring express articulation and waiver of certain constitutional rights at the time of acceptance of guilty pleas, we would require more of the state courts than is required in the federal courts." ⁶

Petitioner claims that because the Louisiana courts have held that the three Boykin rights must be specifically articulated and waived, he was denied due process. The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that the three rights stated by the United States Supreme Court in Boykin must be specifically stated and waived. State v....