Sames v. State

• Citation: 805 N.W.2d 565
• Decision Date: 17 October 2011
• Docket Number: No. A11–375.,A11–375.
• Parties: Thomas Robert SAMES, petitioner, Appellant, v. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Minnesota

805 N.W.2d 565

Thomas Robert SAMES, petitioner, Appellant,

v.STATE of Minnesota, Respondent.

No. A11–375.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

Oct. 17, 2011.

Syllabus by the Court

An attorney representing a criminal defendant does not provide constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to inform the defendant that pleading guilty to a crime may cause the defendant to become ineligible to possess a firearm. The holding in Padilla v. Kentucky, ––– U.S. ––––, 130 S.Ct. 1473, 176 L.Ed.2d 284 (2010), which concerns the risk of deportation following a guilty plea, does not apply to the risk of becoming ineligible to possess a firearm.

Michael E. Davis, Assistant State Public Defender, Shakopee, MN, for appellant.

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, MN; and Patrick J. Ciliberto, Scott County Attorney, Todd P. Zettler, Assistant County Attorney, Shakopee, MN, for respondent.

Considered and decided by KALITOWSKI, Presiding Judge; JOHNSON, Chief Judge; and STONEBURNER, Judge.

OPINION

JOHNSON, Chief Judge.

Thomas Robert Sames pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault. After sentencing, he moved to withdraw his guilty plea on the ground that his attorney did not advise him that pleading guilty would make him ineligible to possess a firearm. The district court denied the motion. On appeal, Sames argues that the United States Supreme Court's decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, ––– U.S. ––––, 130 S.Ct. 1473, 176 L.Ed.2d 284 (2010), which held that a defense attorney must advise his or her client of the risk of deportation following a guilty plea, should be extended to the risk of becoming ineligible to possess a firearm. We conclude that Padilla may not be extended in the manner urged by Sames and that an attorney does not provide constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to advise a criminal defendant that he may become ineligible to possess a firearm if he pleads guilty to a crime. Therefore, we affirm.

FACTS

On May 16, 2010, Scott County deputy sheriffs were dispatched to Sames's residence to investigate a report that Sames and his wife were engaged in a physical altercation. After the deputies arrived at the residence, Sames admitted to the deputies that he had slapped his wife and kicked her in the buttocks. The deputies arrested Sames, performed a pat-down search of his person, and found a small plastic bag that contained marijuana. The state charged Sames with misdemeanor domestic assault, a violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.2242, subd. 1 (2008), and petty misdemeanor possession of marijuana, a violation of Minn.Stat. § 152.027, subd. 4(a) (2008).

On October 26, 2010, Sames pleaded guilty to the charge of misdemeanor domestic assault. The district court accepted the plea and dismissed the marijuana charge. The district court stayed imposition of a sentence but placed Sames on probation for one year, with the conditions that he serve five days in jail and complete a domestic-abuse evaluation. On November 12, 2010, however, the state alleged that Sames violated the conditions of his probation by failing to appear for the domestic-abuse evaluation, and the state sought to revoke the stay of imposition.

On November 30, 2010, Sames moved to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to inform him that, if he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault, he might become ineligible to possess a firearm. Sames's motion papers asserted that he is an avid hunter and that his hunting supplies much of his family's food. The district court denied the motion. Sames appeals.

ISSUE

Must Sames be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea on the ground that his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to advise him that his plea may make him ineligible to possess a firearm?

ANALYSIS

Sames argues that the district court erred by denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea because his attorney provided him with constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to advise him that, if he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault, he might become ineligible to possess a firearm.

A defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea. State v. Raleigh, 778 N.W.2d 90, 93 (Minn.2010). After sentencing, a defendant may be allowed to withdraw a guilty plea only if withdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice. Minn. R.Crim. P. 15.05, subd. 1. A manifest injustice exists if a guilty plea is constitutionally invalid because it is not accurate, voluntary, and intelligent. Raleigh, 778 N.W.2d at 94. A defendant's guilty plea may be constitutionally invalid if the defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 56, 106 S.Ct. 366, 369, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985); State v. Ecker, 524 N.W.2d 712, 718 (Minn.1994). To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must prove, first, that counsel's performance was deficient because it “fell below an objective standard of reasonableness” and, second, that the defendant was prejudiced by his counsel's deficient performance because “a reasonable probability exists that, but for counsel's errors, the outcome would have been different.” Staunton v. State, 784 N.W.2d 289, 300 (Minn.2010) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 688, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2065, 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). The “objective standard of reasonableness” is the “ ‘representation by an attorney exercising the customary skills and diligence that a reasonably competent attorney would perform under similar circumstances.’ ” State v. Bobo, 770 N.W.2d 129, 138 (Minn.2009) (quoting State v. Gassler, 505 N.W.2d 62, 70 (Minn.1993)).

Sames contends that his attorney's assistance was objectively unreasonable because his attorney did not advise him that pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault might make him ineligible to possess a firearm. The district court rejected this argument on the ground that the loss of the right to possess a firearm is a collateral consequence of a guilty plea. The district court's reasoning derives from Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970), in which the United States Supreme Court stated that a defendant's guilty plea is voluntary if the defendant is “fully aware of the direct consequences” when entering the plea. Id. at 755, 90 S.Ct. at 1472 (quotation omitted). The federal circuit courts have interpreted this statement in Brady to imply that a guilty plea is voluntary if a defendant lacks awareness only of the collateral consequences of a guilty plea. The leading case is United States v. Sambro, 454 F.2d 918 (D.C.Cir.1971), in which the court stated, “We presume that the Supreme Court meant what it said when it used the word ‘direct’; by doing so, it excluded collateral consequences.” Id. at 922. Other federal circuit courts have adhered to this rationale. See, e.g., Steele v. Murphy, 365 F.3d 14, 17 (1st Cir.2004); Wilson v. McGinnis, 413 F.3d 196, 199 (2d Cir.2005); Virsnieks v. Smith, 521 F.3d 707, 715–16 (7th Cir.2008).

The Minnesota courts have followed the federal courts in making a distinction between direct consequences and collateral consequences when determining whether a guilty plea is valid or invalid. The supreme court has explained that a guilty plea is valid if a defendant is aware of the direct consequences of pleading guilty. Kaiser v. State, 641 N.W.2d 900, 903–04 (Minn.2002). But “[i]gnorance of a collateral consequence does not entitle a criminal defendant to withdraw a guilty plea.” Id. at 904 (quotation omitted). Direct consequences are those that have “a definite, immediate and automatic effect on the range of a defendant's punishment.” Id. at 904 n. 6. Collateral consequences, on the other hand, “are not punishment” but, rather, “are civil and regulatory in nature and are imposed in the interest of public safety.” Id. at 905 (classifying sex-offender registration as collateral consequence); see also State v. Washburn, 602 N.W.2d 244, 246 (Minn.App.1999) (classifying revocation of driving privileges following DWI conviction as collateral consequence).

The distinction between direct consequences and collateral consequences is relevant not only to the requirements of a valid guilty plea but also to the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel. Most federal circuit courts and numerous state appellate courts have held that an attorney's representation does not fall below the objective standard of reasonableness required by the Sixth Amendment if the attorney fails to inform a defendant of the collateral consequences of a guilty plea. See Gabriel J. Chin & Richard W. Holmes, Jr., Effective Assistance of Counsel and the Consequences of Guilty Pleas, 87 Cornell L. Rev. 697, 706–08 (2002) (collecting cases). Minnesota is among the states in which the direct-collateral distinction is used to determine the scope of an attorney's duties to his or her client. In a case concerning the risk of deportation, the supreme court first rejected the appellant's argument that his plea was invalid because it was not intelligent, and then rejected the appellant's ineffectiveness argument on essentially the same grounds: “because as a collateral consequence of the guilty plea, his attorney was under no obligation to advise him of the deportation possibility ..., the failure to so inform him could not have fallen below an objective standard of reasonableness as required by Strickland.” Alanis v. State, 583 N.W.2d 573, 578–79 (Minn.1998); see also Berkow v. State, 583 N.W.2d 562, 563–64 (Minn.1998) (following Alanis ).

We are bound to follow the analytical framework of the above-described caselaw, which relies on the distinction between direct consequences and collateral consequences, both for purposes of ensuring that a guilty plea is entered consistent with due process of law...