State v. Beaulieu

• Decision Date: 04 February 2015
• Docket Number: No. A12–2192.,A12–2192.
• Citation: 859 N.W.2d 275
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Clarence Bruce BEAULIEU, Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

859 N.W.2d 275

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent

v.Clarence Bruce BEAULIEU, Appellant.

No. A12–2192.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Feb. 4, 2015.

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Saint Paul, MN; and Gregory A. Widseth, Polk County Attorney, Andrew W. Johnson, Assistant Polk County Attorney, Crookston, MN, for respondent.

Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Saint Paul, MN, for appellant.

OPINION

DIETZEN, Justice.

Appellant Clarence Bruce Beaulieu pleaded guilty and was convicted of first-degree burglary. The district court imposed a 57–month sentence, which was stayed, and Beaulieu was placed on probation. Two years later, Beaulieu appeared before the district court regarding alleged probation violations. After Beaulieu personally admitted the probation violations, the court revoked Beaulieu's probation. On appeal, Beaulieu argued for the first time that the district court committed reversible error when it violated a claimed constitutional right “to be advised” of his due process rights under Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 488–89, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972), and when it failed to provide him the rights advisory required by Minn. R.Crim. P. 27.04. Because we conclude that Beaulieu's arguments lack merit, we affirm.

In May 2010, the State charged Beaulieu with first-degree burglary, Minn.Stat. § 609.582, subd. 1(c) (2014), alleging that he entered the apartment of his ex-girlfriend and assaulted her. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Beaulieu pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary. In accordance with the plea agreement, the district court stayed execution of a 57–month sentence and placed Beaulieu on probation for 20 years. Beaulieu's sentence reflected a downward dispositional departure. As conditions of his probation, Beaulieu was required to fully cooperate with his probation agent and complete periodic chemical dependency assessments.

In September 2010, Beaulieu's probation agent filed a probation-violation report alleging that Beaulieu had failed to keep necessary appointments and comply with the conditions of his probation. At the first-appearance hearing, the district court asked Beaulieu's counsel: “[H]ave you had a chance ... to go through that claimed probation violation with [Beaulieu]?” Beaulieu's counsel responded that he had, and that his client intended to admit the violation. The court asked Beaulieu if he admitted the probation violation. Beaulieu answered: “Admit it, your Honor.” At the disposition hearing, the court followed the recommendation of Beaulieu's probation agent and continued Beaulieu's probation.

Two years later, Beaulieu's probation officer filed a second probation-violation report. The report alleged that Beaulieu failed to “keep all appointments, be truthful, and comply with all instructions of the probation agent,” and failed to “show proof of completing a chemical dependency assessment.” At the first-appearance hearing, Beaulieu's counsel informed the court that he had reviewed the allegations with Beaulieu. Counsel then made a request for an admit/deny hearing, which the court granted.¹ At the admit/deny hearing, Beaulieu's counsel stated: “Your Honor, [Beaulieu would] admit the allegations.” When asked if he admitted the alleged probation violations, Beaulieu responded: “Yes, I do, your Honor.” The court accepted the admissions and scheduled a disposition hearing. At the disposition hearing, the court revoked Beaulieu's probation and executed his 57–month sentence.

The district court failed to provide Beaulieu with the rights advisory required by Minn. R.Crim. P. 27.04, which informs a probationer of his or her right to:

a. a lawyer, including an appointed lawyer if the probationer cannot afford a lawyer;

b. a revocation hearing to determine whether clear and convincing evidence of a probation violation exists and whether probation should be revoked;

c. disclosure of all evidence used to support revocation and of official records relevant to revocation;

d. present evidence, subpoena witnesses, and call and cross-examine witnesses, except the court may prohibit the probationer from confrontation if the court believes a substantial likelihood of serious harm to others exists;

e. present mitigating evidence or other reasons why the violation, if proved, should not result in revocation;

f. appeal any decision to revoke probation.

Minn. R.Crim. P. 27.04, subd. 2(1)(c). The rights set forth in Rule 27.04, subdivision 2, reflect the rights articulated in Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 488–89, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972), and its progeny. In Morrissey, the Court explained that in the context of a parole revocation, that certain minimum requirements of due process were required. 408 U.S. at 484, 92 S.Ct. 2593. Unlike the rule governing the waiver of counsel, Minn. R.Crim. P. 5.04, subd. 1, and the rule governing the waiver of a jury trial, Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.01, subd. 1(2), Rule 27.04 does not require a defendant to personally waive his or her Morrissey rights in writing or on the record in open court.

Before the court of appeals, Beaulieu argued for the first time that the district court violated an alleged constitutional right “to be advised” of his Morrissey due process rights prior to accepting his admission of the probation violations, and that he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Morrissey rights. The court rejected both arguments, concluding in part that under the circumstances of Beaulieu's case, one could assume he “was adequately informed of his rights because he was represented by counsel.” State v. Beaulieu, No. A12–2192, 2013 WL 4779046, at *4 (Minn.App. Sept. 9, 2013) (citing State v. Lorentz, 276 N.W.2d 37, 38 (Minn.1979) (explaining that a presumption arose that the defendants had been fully advised of their rights when the record revealed that both defendants had discussed their cases with their respective attorneys)). Consequently, the court affirmed the district court's revocation of Beaulieu's probation.

On appeal, Beaulieu argues that (1) the district court erred by violating an alleged constitutional right “to be advised” of his due process rights under Morrissey, 408 U.S. at 488–89, 92 S.Ct. 2593; and (2) the district court erred when it failed to provide him the rights advisory required by Minn. R.Crim. P. 27.04.² We address each issue in turn.

I.

We first consider Beaulieu's argument that his probation revocation must be reversed because the district court violated a claimed constitutional right “to be advised” of the due process rights articulated in Morrissey, 408 U.S. at 488–89, 92 S.Ct. 2593. Because Beaulieu did not assert the alleged constitutional right in the district court, we must address the threshold issue of whether the common law forfeiture doctrine precludes the requested relief.³

“[A] constitutional right, or a right of any other sort, may be forfeited in criminal as well as civil cases by the failure to make timely assertion of the right before a tribunal having jurisdiction to determine it.” United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993) (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also State v. Williams, 794 N.W.2d 867, 874 (Minn.2011) (explaining that “[w]e ordinarily do not consider issues raised for the first time on appeal, even when those issues are constitutional questions of criminal procedure or are challenges to the constitutionality of a statute”); State v. Goodloe, 718 N.W.2d 413, 422 n. 6 (Minn.2006) (explaining that the term “forfeiture” most accurately described the effect of failing to bring an alleged error to the attention of the district court). The forfeiture doctrine reflects the “need to encourage all trial participants to seek a fair and accurate trial the first time around.” United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 15, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985) ; accord State v. Ramey, 721 N.W.2d 294, 299 (Minn.2006). Put differently, the forfeiture doctrine “encourages defendants to object while in the [district] court so that any errors can be corrected before their full impact is realized.” State v. Pearson, 775 N.W.2d 155, 161 (Minn.2009). But because “[a] rigid and undeviating judicial [ ]” application of the forfeiture rule “would be out of harmony with ... the rules of fundamental justice,” state and federal rules of criminal procedure provide appellate courts “a limited power to correct errors that were forfeited because not timely raised in district court.” Olano, 507 U.S. at 731–32, 113 S.Ct. 1770 (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Minnesota Rule of Criminal Procedure 31.02 provides that a “[p]lain error affecting a substantial right can be considered by the court on motion for new trial, post-trial motion, or on appeal even if it was not brought to the trial court's attention.” Rule 31.02 is based on Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b), which reads: “A plain error that affects substantial rights may be considered even though it was not brought to the court's attention.”⁴ The limited power provided by the state and federal rules is known as the “plain-error doctrine.” Young, 470 U.S. at 15, 105 S.Ct. 1038; accord Ramey, 721 N.W.2d at 297–98.

The plain-error doctrine “tempers the blow of a rigid application of the contemporaneous-objection requirement” through a “careful balancing of [the] need to encourage all trial participants to seek a fair and accurate trial the first time around against [the] insistence that obvious injustices be promptly redressed.” Young, 470 U.S. at 15, 105 S.Ct. 1038 (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted); accord Ramey, 721 N.W.2d at 299. As part of that careful balance, the plain-error doctrine requires a defendant to establish (1) an error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects the defendant's substantial rights. State v. Griller, 583 N.W.2d 736, 740 (Minn.1998) (citing Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 466–67, 117 S.Ct. 1544, 137 L.Ed.2d 718 (1997) ). If the defendant satisfies the...