State v. Arledge, 87-105
| Decision Date | 26 August 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-105,87-105 |
| Citation | 228 Mont. 225,741 P.2d 781 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Danny Arthur ARLEDGE, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
Mike Greely, Atty. Gen., Patricia J. Schaeffer, Asst. Atty. Gen., Helena, Ted O Lympus, Flathead County Atty., Kalispell, for defendant and appellant.
Moore and Doran, Gary G. Doran, Kalispell, for plaintiff and respondent.
Danny Arthur Arledge appeals from the order of the District Court, Eleventh Judicial District, Flathead County, denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and to vacate the sentence imposed on him under his former guilty plea.
The principal grounds relied upon by Arledge to withdraw his guilty plea are that he was improperly represented by counsel or lied to by counsel; that he was coerced by his detention officers by threats to plead guilty; that when he entered his plea of guilty before the District Court, he was not properly advised by the court of lesser-included crimes with which he could be convicted; and, in essence that his guilty plea was involuntary and without adequate knowledge of his rights. The record shows that Arledge's contentions are completely weightless. We affirm the District Court's refusal to allow withdrawal of Arledge's guilty plea.
On October 28, 1986, Arledge approached Katrina Keiger in Kalispell while she was parking her car and demanded her car keys. She refused and Arledge entered her car firing a .38 caliber revolver. Keiger began screaming and when Arledge got out of the vehicle, he pointed the revolver at her and fired again. The bullet entered the back of her neck, severed the sub-clavical artery and vein and exited through her left breast. Arledge took her wallet and fled.
Less than a half hour later, Arledge entered the residence of Brenda Miller of Kalispell, pointed a handgun at her and demanded the keys to her automobile. He forced her to lie on the floor, threatened her, took her keys and $10 from her purse. He fled in her 1977 Mercury automobile.
Later, at a road block on U.S. Highway No. 2, in Lincoln County, Montana, Arledge was arrested while traveling in a vehicle as a hitchhiker west from Kalispell. At the time of the arrest, officers found on his person a .38 caliber handgun.
Arledge was charged with attempted deliberate homicide, robbery and aggravated burglary on November 1, 1985. Steven J. Nardi, an attorney in Kalispell, was appointed to represent the defendant. The court required a psychiatric evaluation of Arledge in which it was found that though Arledge had a borderline personality disorder with antisocial traits, a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and epilepsy, he was nevertheless competent to assist in his defense and had the ability to comprehend the nature and effect of a guilty plea.
Arledge entered a plea of not guilty on January 16, 1986, but at that hearing, requested the court to appoint new counsel for him. Arledge contended that Nardi had a conflict of interest, was acting incompetently in his case, and was working with the county attorney's office against his interests. The court reviewed with Arledge each of his allegations, and after discussion, Arledge indicated his desire for Nardi to remain as his attorney.
Other procedures occurred before the District Court, not important in this discussion, but on April 25, 1986, Arledge came into court to enter a plea of guilty on all counts. His counsel, Steven Nardi, took the position before the court and in the presence of the defendant that Nardi opposed the entry of the guilty plea by the defendant and advised Arledge on the record that Nardi was seeking a pretrial agreement or plea bargain with the State. Arledge nevertheless persisted in entering a guilty plea.
At the entry of the guilty plea, the court interrogated the defendant and established that he was satisfied with the services of his attorney; that Arledge was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol or suffering from mental or emotional disability; that he understood his right to trial by jury, his right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, his right to counsel, his right to remain silent and his right to appeal; that Arledge understood his plea of guilty resulted in a waiver of those rights; that he was not relying on any promises nor had he been threatened or "coerced"; that the defendant was aware of the maximum penalties on all charges plus additional penalties for the use of a firearm and persistent felony offender status, plus the possibility that the sentences could be consecutive; that Arledge understood that a jury might find him guilty of lesser-included offenses; that he understood the consequences of having a felony record; that he was abandoning his defense of mental disease or defect; that he understood the substance of the charges against him and believed he was guilty of the offenses; further Arledge admitted shooting Katrina Keiger, threatening Brenda Miller and stealing her car; he also understood he was acting against the advice of his own counsel. It is enough to say at this point that the extensive examination of the defendant by the District Court at the time of his entry of plea meets the standards set by this Court in State v. Lewis (1978), 177 Mont. 474, 485, 582 P.2d 346, 352.
On May 21, 1986, defendant appeared before the court for sentencing. His testimony and that of his witness was primarily directed at his mental condition while the State's evidence was primarily focused on the ordeal of the victim, Katrina Keiger.
Arledge was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for the crime of attempted deliberate homicide, 20 years imprisonment for the crime of robbery, and 20 years imprisonment for the crime of aggravated burglary, all to run concurrently. In addition, he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for the use of a dangerous weapon and an additional 5 years as a persistent felony offender, both additional sentences to run consecutive to other sentences imposed. He was designated a dangerous offender for the purposes of parole eligibility.
On July 14, 1986, Arledge filed a motion to withdraw his plea of guilty to all charges. Gary C. Doran was appointed to replace Nardi as counsel for Arledge and a hearing was held before the court on the motion to withdraw the plea on December 12, 1986. The District Court denied his motion and Arledge appeals.
We look first at the contentions made by Arledge against his attorney Nardi. At the motion to withdraw his plea of guilty, Arledge testified that he was not advised by Nardi of certain charges that were pending against him in Missoula County, including arson, burglary, forgery and a potential probation violation. Arledge contended that had he been aware of these charges he would have instructed Nardi to contact the Missoula County Attorney's Office to seek a combined intercounty agreement that would cover all outstanding criminal charges against him. Arledge contended he was not advised of these charges in Missoula until May 21, 1986, after he had already been sentenced.
Arledge was countered in this contention by the evidence of the supervising detention officer, Theodore Stohlfuss, that a warrant for his arrest from Missoula County was served on Arledge on January 17, 1986, by Officer Joe Morin. Nardi testified that there was a discussion of these charges with Arledge in January and February, 1986.
Arledge contends that on his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty, Nardi advised him to "make sure when he got up there on the stand ... if it was your idea to plead guilty, make sure the judge understands it was your idea to plead guilty." Arledge construes this language to mean that he should get on the stand and lie about the charges against him. We cannot and do not read that into the statement attributed to Nardi. Arledge further contends that at his sentencing hearing, Nardi failed to call the detention witnesses Bruce Hoffman, Joe Morin, and Kent Potter, who, if they had testified, would have recited threats against Arledge which resulted in his plea of guilty. Arledge makes the argument that if at the sentencing hearing, the District Court had heard testimony from these witnesses, it would have found his guilty plea unacceptable, and reset the matter for trial. We will discuss the purported threats hereinbelow, but negligence cannot be attributed to his attorney because the attorney failed to call witnesses at the sentencing hearing whose testimony would result in a setting aside...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Laing v. State
...United States v. Porterfield, 624 F.2d 122 (10th Cir.1980), with United States v. Payne, 741 F.2d 887 (7th Cir.1984); State v. Arledge, Mont., 741 P.2d 781, 784 (1987). Such a rule is simple and easily applied in the context of responsibility for conduct standards which are the measuring st......
-
State v. Johnson
...of a guilty plea is to prevent the possibility of convicting an innocent man." Radi, 818 P.2d at 1206 (quoting State v. Arledge (1987), 228 Mont. 225, 232, 741 P.2d 781, 785). This Court considers three factors to determine whether good cause existed and whether the District Court erred in ......
-
State v. Martin
...of a plea is to prevent the possibility of convicting an innocent person. Knox, ¶ 10 (citations omitted); State v. Arledge (1987), 228 Mont. 225, 232, 741 P.2d 781, 785. He claims Smith's statement to the public defender exonerating Martin was reason enough for the District Court to grant h......
-
State v. Radi, 91-046
...purpose of allowing the withdrawal of a guilty plea is to prevent the possibility of convicting an innocent man." State v. Arledge (1987), 228 Mont. 225, 232, 741 P.2d 781, 785. There are at least three factors which this Court has determined should be considered in every case in which a de......