State v. Flowers

• Decision Date: 17 March 2011
• Docket Number: No. 36036–2009.,36036–2009.
• Citation: 249 P.3d 367,150 Idaho 568
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Halton FLOWERS, Defendant–Appellant.

150 Idaho 568

249 P.3d 367

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Respondent,

v.Halton FLOWERS, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 36036–2009.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, February 2011 Term.

March 17, 2011.

Silvey Law Office, Ltd., Kuna, for appellant.

Greg S. Silvey argued. Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Lori A. Fleming argued.

EISMANN, Chief Justice.

In this appeal, the defendant challenges his sentence for statutory rape and the denial of his post-sentencing motion to withdraw his guilty plea on the ground that he had not been advised of the requirement that he register as a sexual offender. We affirm the judgment and the order of the district court.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Twenty-four-year-old Halton Flowers (Defendant) was charged with three felonies: raping a sixteen-year-old girl in violation of Idaho Code § 18–6101(1) ; committing lewd conduct upon a fourteen-year-old girl in violation of Idaho Code § 18–1508 ; and attempting to commit lewd conduct upon a fifteen-year-old girl in violation of Idaho Code §§ 18–306 and 18–1508. All three crimes were alleged to have been committed in August 2007.

The State and Defendant agreed to a plea agreement under which Defendant would plead guilty to the rape charge, the State would dismiss the other two charges, and the State would recommend a sentence of ten years in the custody of the Idaho Board of Correction, with three years fixed and seven years indeterminate.¹ Pursuant to that plea agreement, Defendant pled guilty to the rape charge on October 27, 2008, and the other two charges were dismissed.

On December 15, 2008, the district court sentenced Defendant on the rape charge to fifteen years in the custody of the Idaho Board of Correction, with five years fixed and ten years indeterminate. The following day Defendant filed a motion to reduce the sentence pursuant to Rule 35 of the Idaho Criminal Rules. The court heard that motion on January 26, 2009, and denied it. Defendant filed a notice of appeal on December 31, 2008.

On September 25, 2009, Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea pursuant to Idaho Criminal Rule 33(c). He alleged that he should be permitted to withdraw the plea because the district court had not complied with Idaho Criminal Rule 11(d)(2) by informing him of the requirements to register as a sexual offender. The court denied the motion by order issued on November 10, 2009.² That order was included in the appeal pursuant to Idaho Appellate Rule 11(c)(9) as an "order made after judgment affecting the substantial rights of the defendant or the state."

II. ISSUES ON APPEAL

A. Did the district court abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea?

B. Did the district court abuse its discretion in imposing sentence?

III. ANALYSIS

A. Did the District Court Abuse Its Discretion in Denying Defendant's Motion to Withdraw His Guilty Plea?

Idaho Criminal Rule 33(c) states: "A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty may be made only before sentence is imposed or imposition of sentence is suspended; but to correct manifest injustice the court after sentence may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw defendant's plea." "The rule distinguishes between pleas made prior to and after sentencing, exacting a less rigorous measure of proof for presentence motions." State v. Dopp, 124 Idaho 481, 485, 861 P.2d 51, 55 (1993). To withdraw a guilty plea prior to sentencing, the defendant must show a just reason for withdrawing the plea. Id. If he does so, then the State may avoid the granting of the motion by showing that prejudice would result if the plea were withdrawn. Id. A showing of manifest injustice is necessary in order to withdraw a guilty plea after sentencing. "A motion to withdraw a guilty plea brought after sentencing will only be granted to correct manifest injustice." State v. Heredia, 144 Idaho 95, 97, 156 P.3d 1193, 1195 (2007).

1. Defendant must show manifest injustice. Defendant moved to withdraw his guilty plea nine months after the district court sentenced him. Defendant contends that the motion should be considered as having been made before sentencing because the sentencing was void. According to Defendant, "the court never actually accepted the plea of guilty after it had made the determinations required by I.C.R. 11(c) or adjudged him guilty of the crime." If it did not accept the guilty plea, then Defendant "was never formally adjudged guilty under I.C. § 19–101"; "[s]ince he had never been adjudged guilty, he could not be sentenced"; and "thus his sentence was illegal, and he was being unlawfully held in prison."

Idaho Criminal Rule 11(c) states:

Before a plea of guilty is accepted, the record of the entire proceedings, including reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, must show:

(1) The voluntariness of the plea.

(2) The defendant was informed of the consequences of the plea, including minimum and maximum punishments, and other direct consequences which may apply.

(3) The defendant was advised that by pleading guilty the defendant would waive the right against compulsory self-incrimination, the right to trial by jury, and the right to confront witnesses against the defendant.

(4) The defendant was informed of the nature of the charge against the defendant.

(5) Whether any promises have been made to the defendant, or whether the plea is a result of any plea bargaining agreement, and if so, the nature of the agreement and that the defendant was informed that the court is not bound by any promises or recommendation from either party as to punishment.

In this case, Defendant's attorney recited the plea agreement to the district court, and then the prosecutor agreed with the recitation and moved to dismiss two of the charges. The court granted the motion and asked Defendant if he would like to enter a new plea to the rape charge. Defendant answered that he would, the court asked what the plea was, and Defendant responded, "Guilty." The court then asked some questions about Defendant's knowledge or belief about the victim's age, his understanding that a mistaken belief she was over eighteen years of age was not a defense to the rape charge, and whether the act of sexual intercourse was consensual. The court then said, "I accept the plea of guilty to count one [the rape charge]," and the court then proceeded to question Defendant to make a record of the matters set forth in subsections (1) through (5) of Rule 11(c). Defendant contends that because the court's verbal acceptance of the guilty plea preceded rather than followed the questioning, the court never properly accepted the guilty plea.

Defendant has not pointed to any authority requiring that the court verbally announce that it has accepted a defendant's plea of guilty. Idaho Code § 19–101 states, "No person can be punished for a public offense except upon a legal conviction in a court having jurisdiction thereof." Idaho Code § 19–109 states, "No person can be convicted of a public offense unless by the verdict of a jury, accepted and recorded by the court, or upon a plea of guilty...." "Thus, a conviction occurs ‘by the verdict of a jury ... or upon a plea of guilty’ and it must precede punishment." United States v. Sharp, 145 Idaho 403, 404, 179 P.3d 1059, 1060 (2008). There is no requirement that a court orally announce that it has accepted a guilty plea in order for there to be a conviction. The court questioned Defendant at length to ensure that he had pled guilty voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently, and it then announced a date for imposing sentence. The court obviously had accepted Defendant's guilty plea because it could not proceed to sentencing if it had not done so. Therefore, Defendant was required to show manifest injustice in order to withdraw his plea of guilty.

2. District court's failure to comply with Idaho Criminal Rule 11(d)(2) did not constitute manifest injustice. Defendant contends that his plea was not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered because the district court failed to comply with Idaho Criminal Rule 11(d)(2) by advising him that he would be required to register as a sex offender. "Manifest injustice occurs if this standard requiring a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent waiver is not met." State v. Heredia, 144 Idaho 95, 97, 156 P.3d 1193, 1195 (2007). To determine whether a plea was entered voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently, we examine the record to determine:

(1) whether the defendant's plea was voluntary in the sense that he understood the nature of the charges and was not coerced; (2) whether the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his rights to a jury trial, to confront his accusers, and to refrain from incriminating himself; and (3) whether the defendant understood the consequences of pleading guilty.

State v. Dopp, 124 Idaho 481, 484, 861 P.2d 51, 54 (1993).

Defendant does not contend that he did not understand the nature of the charges, and the record shows that he did. Count 1 of the information alleged, "That the said HALTON LEE FLOWERS, in the County of Bannock, State of Idaho, on or about the 1st day of August, 2007, did accomplish an act of sexual intercourse with a person, under the age of eighteen, A.C. of the present age of sixteen (16) years." The district court stated that before accepting the plea he was going to ask some questions, and the first question was, "In Bannock County, Idaho, on or about August 1, 2007, did you accomplish an act of sexual intercourse with a person under the age of eighteen, being then the age of sixteen?" Defendant answered, "Yes, sir." The court then inquired about Defendant's belief as to the victim's age, his knowledge that a mistake as to her age was not a defense, and his understanding that she could not legally consent to sexual intercourse.

Defendant does not contend that he was coerced into pleading guilty, and during his colloquy with the court, Defendant stated that nobody had threatened him...