State v. Davis
| Decision Date | 23 October 2020 |
| Docket Number | 805,120 |
| Court | Kansas Court of Appeals |
| Parties | State of Kansas, Appellee, v. Raymond M. Davis, Appellant. |
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Appeal from Wyandotte District Court; Wesley K. Griffin, judge.
Corrine E. Gunning, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, for appellant.
Daniel G. Obermeier, assistant district attorney, Mark A. Dupree Sr., district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general for appellee.
Before Green, P.J., Standridge, J., and McAnany, S.J.
Raymond Davis appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw his plea. Because Davis is deceased and no exception to mootness applies, we dismiss his appeal as moot.
In September 2009, the State charged Davis with one count of aggravated kidnapping, in violation of K.S.A. 21-3421; one count of aggravated robbery, in violation of K.S.A. 21-3427; one count of aggravated burglary, in violation of K.S.A 21-3716; and three counts of aggravated assault, in violation of K.S.A. 21-3410. With his criminal history, Davis faced a maximum possible sentence of 787 months in prison. In negotiating a plea agreement, the State extended an offer for a prison sentence of 420 months. Davis attempted to negotiate with the State for a shorter sentence, but the State would not agree to any prison sentence less than 420 months. Davis then rejected the State's offer, preferring to take his chances at trial.
On March 4, 2013, trial began with the parties making a record of the plea offer and then going on to jury selection. By the end of the day, the court empaneled a jury. The next morning Davis decided to plead guilty to all counts as charged. The court told Davis of the rights he was giving up and confirmed that Davis was not entering his plea because of any threats or promises.
Before sentencing, Davis moved for a downward durational departure to 360 months in prison. The trial court considered the motion at sentencing. The State opposed the motion, requesting the maximum prison sentence of 787 months. The court sentenced Davis to 646 months in prison. Davis did not appeal his sentence.
Davis later challenged his sentence as illegal. The trial court summarily denied his motion. This court affirmed. State v. Davis, No. 114, 309, 2016 WL 1719930 (Kan. App. 2016) (unpublished opinion), rev. denied 306 Kan. 1322 (2016).
In July 2016, Davis moved the trial court to withdraw his plea. First, Davis argued that there was excusable neglect to consider his motion out of time because he had received treatment for hyperthyroidism that allowed him to "regain mental capacity and the ability to pursue legal avenues to challenge his convictions." On the merits of the motion, Davis asserted the following: (1) that his undiagnosed hyperthyroidism caused him to lack the capacity to form the intent to commit the crimes charged; (2) that he was unfairly taken advantage of when he was allowed to enter pleas without the benefit of a plea bargain and could not understand the consequences of the plea because of his undiagnosed medical condition; and (3) that his trial counsel was ineffective for not seeking a competency evaluation before allowing Davis to plead guilty as charged.
At a May 2018 evidentiary hearing on the motion, Davis testified that he could not recall specific conversations he had with his trial counsel about whether he wanted to go to trial or negotiate a plea agreement. Davis also could not remember ever telling his attorney that he had trouble understanding where he was or what was happening. But Davis did testify that he "had to have been exhibiting" behaviors that would have shown his attorney that Davis "was just not there."
Conversely, Davis did remember going to trial and a jury being selected. Davis also recalled writing a note to his attorney the next morning saying that he was about to snap, at which point Davis' attorney requested a recess. But Davis was certain that when he pleaded guilty, he was not aware of the consequences and his attorney did not review the sentencing guidelines with him.
Next, Davis testified about his diagnosis. He explained that medical personnel in the prison discussed possible problems with his thyroid during a routine exam. After several tests, medical providers diagnosed Davis with hyperthyroidism. Davis also testified that he suffered from depression, delusional thoughts, and auditory hallucinations. Davis testified that these cognitive impairments prevented him from moving to withdraw his plea within the statutory time frame. He also testified to suffering from cognitive impairments when he pleaded guilty.
Davis' trial attorney also testified, saying that he never had any reason to believe that Davis was not competent to aid in his own defense or did not understand the proceedings. Also, Davis' attorney never told him that he had to plead guilty or even implied that he should plead guilty.
Davis offered no medical expert testimony to establish a link between hyperthyroidism and mental impairment. A letter from the doctor who had diagnosed Davis explained that he would not testify on Davis' behalf because he could not testify that Davis suffered from a mental impairment when he pleaded. "The doctor does not know, will not speculate that Mr. Davis had this condition at the time he entered his plea."
In its order denying Davis' motion, the trial court noted that Davis had a psychological evaluation between his plea and sentencing hearings for sentence mitigation purposes. The court noted that the psychiatrist did not report any of the symptoms that Davis claimed to suffer from in his motion. The court also referred to a letter from Davis' diagnosing physician saying that "there is no medical literature" and no "medical basis for the belief that the disease causes mental instability."
Ultimately, the court ruled that Davis had not shown manifest injustice. Davis' claims rested on the effect of hyperthyroidism on his guilty plea. But Davis failed to show any connection between hyperthyroidism and mental impairment. Thus, the trial court rejected these arguments.
Finally, the court pointed out a flaw in Davis' argument that his hyperthyroidism had prevented him from filing his motion earlier; namely, Davis had previously moved to correct an illegal sentence. The court ruled that Davis had not shown that his hyperthyroidism constituted excusable neglect for filing this motion out of time.
Davis untimely appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw plea. On April 22, 2019, this court remanded the matter back to the trial court to decide whether an untimely appeal was justified under State v. Ortiz, 230 Kan. 733, 640 P.3d 1255 (1982). The trial court ruled that an Ortiz exception applied and permitted the appeal to go forward.
After remand, Davis' counsel notified the State that Davis was deceased. The State filed notice of Davis' death with this court in November 2019. The State's more recent check of the Kansas Department of Corrections' website confirmed that the notification of Davis' death was correct.
Because mootness is a doctrine of court policy which was developed through court precedent, appellate review of the issue is unlimited. State v. Hilton, 295 Kan. 845, 849, 286 P.3d 871 (2012).
As a rule, Kansas appellate courts do not decide moot questions or render advisory opinions. State v. Montgomery, 295 Kan. 837, 840, 286 P.3d 866 (2012). The mootness doctrine is one of court policy, under which the court is to "'determine real controversies relative to the legal rights of persons and properties which are actually involved in the particular case properly brought before it and to adjudicate those rights in such manner that the determination will be operative, final, and conclusive.'" Hilton, 295 Kan. at 849.
An issue on appeal will be dismissed as moot only if it can be shown clearly and convincingly that the actual controversy has ended, the only judgment that could be entered would be ineffectual for any purpose, and the judgment would not impact any of the parties' rights. State v. Williams, 298 Kan. 1075, 1082, 319 P.3d 528 (2014); see Mundy v. State, 307 Kan. 280, 288-89, 408 P.3d 965 (2018).
Because mootness is not a question of jurisdiction, the court-made doctrine is amenable to exceptions. Montgomery, 295 Kan. at 841. Appellate courts commonly apply an exception when an issue "'is capable of repetition and raises concerns of public importance.'" State v. Kinder, 307 Kan. 237, 244, 408 P.3d 114 (2018). "Public importance means more than that certain members of the general public are interested in the decision of the appeal from motives of curiosity or because it may bear upon their individual rights or serve as a guide for their future conduct." State v. Hayden, 52 Kan.App.2d 202, 206, 364 P.3d 962 (2015).
In Kansas, defendants' deaths do not automatically abate their direct appeals. On the death of appealing defendants during the pendency of their appeals from a criminal conviction, an appellate court is not required to address all issues on appeal. Instead, we consider whether the issue "(1) is of statewide...
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