State v. Johnson

• Court: Arizona Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: HAYS
• Citation: State v. Johnson, 484 P.2d 1, 107 Ariz. 169 (Ariz. 1971)
• Decision Date: 21 April 1971
• Docket Number: No. 2054,2054
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Ralph Singleton JOHNSON, Appellant.

Page 1

484 P.2d 1

107 Ariz. 169

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Ralph Singleton JOHNSON, Appellant.

No. 2054.

Supreme Court of Arizona, In Division.

April 21, 1971.

Rehearing Denied May 25, 1971.

Gary K. Nelson, Atty. Gen., by Carl Waag, former Asst. Atty. Gen., and Andrew W. Bettwy, Asst. Atty. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee.

Ross P. Lee, Maricopa County Public Defender, by Anne Kappes, Deputy Public Defender, Phoenix, for appellant.

HAYS, Vice Chief Justice.

Appellant, Ralph Singleton Johnson, entered a plea of guilty to charges of child molesting and lewd and lascivious acts. From the judgment of conviction and sentence he appeals.

On February 17, 1969, appellant was charged by information and entered a plea of not guilty to three counts of child molesting; four counts of lewd and lascivious acts; and two counts of sodomy. Shortly thereafter, a hearing was held during which appellant moved, through his counsel, to enter a plea of guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious acts ¹ and two counts of child molesting. ² Each of the three counts alleged that the victim of the offense was a child under fifteen years of age.

Prior to accepting the change of plea, the trial judge determined that appellant was fifty-five years of age; that he had earned several degrees from various universities; that he was offering the change of plea with the understanding that other charges would be dismissed; that his attorney had previously explained the charges and that he understood them. Appellant also informed the court that he was aware of and wished to waive his right to a jury trial; that no promises had been made with respect to the sentence he would receive and that he was guilty. Appellant further indicated that he was aware of the fact that he could receive from five years to life imprisonment for child molesting and that his sentence could not be determined until a thorough investigation had been made by the probation office. The trial court found that appellant's plea of guilty was made voluntarily, intelligently and with an understanding of the consequences. A plea of guilty was entered to three counts of the information and the six remaining counts were dismissed. Another cause then pending against appellant was dismissed in its entirety. On March 19, 1969, appellant received consecutive sentences of not less than ten nor more than twenty years on each of the three counts.

Appellant contends that his conviction cannot stand because the record does not reflect (1) that the judge determined the factual basis of the charges; (2) that appellant was advised of the range of sentence for the charge of lewd and lascivious acts; or (3) that appellant was informed of the parole, good behavior, and double time restrictions outlined in the statutes he was accused of violating.

Appellant makes no claim that he was in fact ignorant of the foregoing matters at the time he entered his change of plea. Instead, he relies solely upon Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), wherein the United States Supreme Court held, with respect to guilty pleas, that the record itself must show that a defendant entered such plea as a result of his intentional relinquishment of known constitutional rights. Boykin was handed down on June 2, 1969, almost three months after appellant entered his plea of guilty. Since we have previously held that we will apply the mandate of Boykin only prospectively, State v. Griswold, 105 Ariz. 1, 457 P.2d 331 (1969), appellant's claim of error must be judged with reference to the basic fairness of these proceedings rather than to rigid standards subsequently promulgated of which the trial judge could not have been aware.

We are of the opinion that the record, as it stands, fairly and reasonably indicates that appellant entered his guilty plea voluntarily and with an understanding of its significance. Appellant, a well educated man of mature years, gave the judge reasonable grounds to believe that he understood his rights and was entering the change of plea with his eyes open. The fact that appellant discussed the charges with his attorney indicates that he was aware of the possible consequences of entering a plea of guilty. State v. Wheatley, 106 Ariz. 524, 479 P.2d 409 (1971).

In State v. McCallister, 107 Ariz. 143, 483 P.2d 558 (filed April 15, 1971), we indicated that the trial court is not required to detail all possible ramifications of sentencing under a plea of guilty, especially when defendant is represented by counsel.

Appellant next contends that the...