State v. Guzman

• Decision Date: 16 May 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-KK-1528., No. 99-K-1753
• Citation: 769 So.2d 1158
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Fernando GUZMAN. State of Louisiana v. Jerry Lynn Stiles.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

769 So.2d 1158

STATE of Louisiana v. Fernando GUZMAN.

State of Louisiana v. Jerry Lynn Stiles.

Nos. 99-K-1753, 99-KK-1528.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

May 16, 2000.

Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, Paul Carmouche, District Attorney, Edward M. Brossette, Asst. Dist. Atty., for applicant in No. 1999-KK-1528.

Howard Lynwood Lawrence, Jr., for respondent in No. 1999-KK-1528.

John Michael Lawrence, for applicant in No. 1999-KK-1753.

Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, James M. Bullers, District Attorney, for respondent in No. 1999-KK-1753.

VICTORY, J.¹

We granted and consolidated these writ applications to consider the effect of a trial court's failure to comply with certain requirements for taking a guilty plea found in Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 556.1. After reviewing the records and the applicable law, we find that the failure to inform a defendant of the mandatory minimum sentence provided by law and of the penalties for subsequent offenses is subject to the harmless error rule. In State v. Guzman, we find that the error was harmless and reverse the court of appeal's ruling. In State v. Stiles, because defendant Stiles did not raise this error as an assignment of error in the court of appeal, we find that the court of appeal erred in considering this issue in its error patent review. However, we affirm the court of appeal's ruling affirming Stiles' convictions and sentences.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On August 6, 1998, Fernando J. Guzman was charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated Second Offense (DWI), based on a prior October 30, 1997 DWI conviction. Guzman filed a Motion to Quash the prior guilty plea, claiming that he "was not properly informed of his constitutional rights" during his prior guilty plea. The trial court denied the motion, but the court of appeal reversed, holding that the trial court failed to comply with La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1(A) and (E), which require that the defendant must be advised of certain enumerated rights before the court may accept his guilty plea. State v. Guzman, 32439-KW (La.App. 2 Cir. 4/1/99). The court of appeal denied rehearing, rejecting the State's argument that La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1 did not apply to misdemeanor offenses. State v. Guzman, 32439-KW (La.App. 2 Cir. 4/22/99). We granted the State's writ primarily to determine whether the trial court's failure to advise defendant Guzman of the mandatory minimum sentence for first offense DWI and the penalties for subsequent offenses, as required by La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1(A) and (E), require that defendant Guzman's motion to quash be granted. State v. Guzman, 99-KK-1528 (La.12/17/99), 751 So.2d 865.

In the consolidated case, defendant Jerry Lynn Stiles was charged with two counts of aggravated incest with his minor daughter, in violation of La. R.S. 14:78.1. On March 2, 1998, defendant Stiles pled guilty. In exchange for defendant's guilty pleas to two counts of aggravated incest, the State agreed to discontinue any further investigation into whether any of the incidents of sexual intercourse occurred before his daughter was 12 years of age, which would have exposed him to a charge of aggravated rape, a capital offense. See La. R.S. 14:42(D)(2)(a). After ordering a pre-sentence investigation, the trial judge sentenced Stiles to the maximum sentence of two consecutive terms of 20 years imprisonment at hard labor, and denied his eligibility for diminution of sentence for good behavior under La. R.S. 15:537. Defendant Stiles appealed this sentence as excessive. In a 2-1 decision, the appellate court affirmed defendant's convictions and sentences, but noted, as error patent, the trial court's failure to comply with the provisions of La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1 when it failed to inform defendant of the mandatory minimum penalty for aggravated incest, which is five years imprisonment at hard labor. State v. Stiles, 31,854-KA (La.App. 2 Cir. 2/24/99), 733 So.2d 612. However, the majority deemed the error harmless because the defendant received the maximum term of imprisonment and because the defendant did not assert and the record did not reveal that the plea was entered unknowingly or involuntarily. Id. at p. 2, 733 So.2d at 613. In addition, the majority found that the sentence imposed was not excessive. One judge dissented, finding that the requirements of 556.1 are mandatory and that the district court's failure to advise the defendant of the mandatory minimum sentence was not harmless. Id. (Peatross, J, dissenting).

In response, defendant Stiles moved for rehearing and for the first time complained about the trial court's failure to advise him of the mandatory minimum penalty. A three-two majority of the Second Circuit granted rehearing en banc and a divided court affirmed defendant's convictions and sentences. State v. Stiles, 31,854-KA (La.App. 2 Cir. 5/27/99), 733 So.2d 612 (on rehearing). We granted defendant's writ to consider whether the failure of the trial court to advise him of the mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated incest is subject to error patent review and, if so, whether this error requires that his sentences be vacated. State v. Stiles, 99-K-1753 (La.12/17/99), 751 So.2d 865.

DISCUSSION

In 1997, the legislature enacted La. C.Cr.P. art. 556.1, which provides:

Art. 556.1. Plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a criminal case; duty of court

A. In any criminal case, the court shall not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, without first addressing the defendant personally in open court and informing him of, and determining that he understands, all of the following:

(1) The nature of the charge to which the plea is offered, the mandatory minimum penalty provided by law, if any, and the maximum possible penalty provided by law.

(2) If the defendant is not represented by an attorney, that he has the right to be represented by an attorney at every stage of the proceeding against him and, if financially unable to employ counsel, one will be appointed to represent him.

(3) That he has the right to plead not guilty or to persist in that plea if it has already been made, and that he has the right to be tried by a jury and at that trial has the right to the assistance of counsel, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him, and the right not to be compelled to incriminate himself.

(4) That if he pleads guilty or nolo contendere there will not be a further trial of any kind, so that by pleading guilty or nolo contendere he waives the right to a trial.

B. In any criminal case, the court shall not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere without first addressing the defendant personally in open court and determining that the plea is voluntary and not the result of force or threats or of promises apart from a plea agreement, and that all constitutional and legal rights are knowingly and intelligently waived.

C. The court shall also inquire as to whether the defendant's willingness to plead guilty or nolo contendere results from prior discussions between the district attorney and the defendant or his attorney. If a plea agreement has been reached by the parties, the court, on the record, shall require the disclosure of the agreement in open court or, on a showing of good cause, in camera, at the time the plea is offered.

D. A verbatim record shall be made of the proceedings at which the defendant enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.

E. In any case where a subsequent offense carries an enhanced penalty, the court shall inform the defendant of the penalties for subsequent offenses.

La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1 (emphasis added).

In each of the consolidated cases, the trial judges failed to inform the defendants of the applicable mandatory minimum sentences as required by La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1(A)(1), and, in State v. Guzman, the trial judge failed to inform the defendant of the penalties for subsequent DWI offenses, as required by La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1(E). However, before reaching the prime issue in this case, which is whether such failures are subject to the harmless error rule, we reach two other issues unique to each case.

Applicability of La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1 to misdemeanor cases

In State v. Guzman, despite the "in any criminal case" language in La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1, the State argues that the code article does not apply to misdemeanors, such as a first offense DWI. The State points to revisions made by the Louisiana State Law Institute which changed the title of the article from "Plea of guilty in felony case; duty of court" to "Plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a criminal case; duty of court." See La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1, Historical and Statutory Notes. The State contends that by modifying the code article's title, the Law Institute impermissibly altered the sense, meaning or effect of the act of the legislature in violation of La. R.S. 24:252. In addition, the State notes that in section (A)(3) of the code article, the court is directed to inform the defendant that he has the right to be tried by a jury, a right not generally available in "misdemeanor" cases.

Notwithstanding the State's arguments concerning the changes made to the code article's title, La.C.Cr.P. art. 10 provides that "[t]he heading of the articles of this Code, and the source notes and comments thereunder do not constitute parts of the law." With this as the backdrop and considering the "in any criminal case" language, the court of appeal correctly determined that La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1 is applicable to misdemeanors as well as felonies.²

Availability of error patent review of La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1 violations

In State v. Stiles, defendant Stiles appealed his conviction and sentence assigning as error only that his sentence was excessive. The Second Circuit noted as part of its error patent review that the trial court failed to comply with La.C.Cr.P. art. 556.1, but that the error was harmless. The dissenting judge, on original hearing, expressed his view that the...