Triplet v. Franklin, No. 06-6247 (10th Cir. 2/5/2010)
| Decision Date | 05 February 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-6247.,06-6247. |
| Parties | STEVEN MONTRAIL TRIPLET, Petitioner-Appellant, v. ERIC FRANKLIN, Warden, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
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v.
ERIC FRANKLIN, Warden, Respondent-Appellee.
(W.D. Okla.), (D.C. No. 5:06-CV-00376-C).
Before KELLY, EBEL, and O'BRIEN, Circuit Judges.
TERRENCE L. O'BRIEN, Circuit Judge.
Steven Montrail Triplet, a state prisoner confined in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC), pled guilty as an adult in state court to attempted escape from custody, a crime he was charged with on July 3, 2002, when he was seventeen years old. He filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition, claiming ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for failing to raise a seminal issue—whether the adult court had jurisdiction because he was a juvenile. The district court denied the petition. We granted a certificate of appealability (COA) and now affirm.
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A juvenile (one under the age of 18) alleged to have committed a crime in Oklahoma can be held accountable as (1) a child, (2) a youthful offender or (3) an adult. If the juvenile is to be treated as a child, the case proceeds in the juvenile division of the district court. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, §§ 7301-1.3(4), 7303-4.3(A) (2000).1 If the court finds the allegations against the juvenile to be supported by the evidence, it enters an order of adjudication declaring the juvenile delinquent. Id. § 7303-4.6(A). An adjudicated delinquent shall not "be deemed a criminal" nor is he subject to the civil disabilities which normally follow a criminal conviction. Id. § 7307-1.7(A).
Some juveniles are required to be treated as youthful offenders due to their age and criminal conduct.2 See id. § 7306-2.6(A), (B). If so treated, the case proceeds in the
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criminal division of the district court (adult court) and the juvenile is treated in much the same manner as that of an adult. Id. § 7306-2.4(A)-(C); see also In re M.B., 145 P.3d 1040, 1047 (Okla. 2006) ("All the rights, protections, and procedures surrounding a criminal trial are in place in a trial of a youthful offender."). Upon a finding or admission of guilt, the juvenile is sentenced as a youthful offender in the "manner provided by law for an adult for punishment of the offense committed" but the sentence may not exceed ten years. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit.10, § 7306-2.9(B); see also In re M.B., 145 P.3d at 1047. However, unlike an adult who is sentenced to the county jail or to the custody or supervision of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC), a juvenile tried and convicted as a youthful offender will generally be sentenced to the custody (juvenile facility) or supervision (probation) of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, §§ 7306-2.6(F), 7306-2.9(A), (B), 7306-2.10(A), (B); Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 991a(A). The Office of Juvenile Affairs must prepare a rehabilitation plan for the juvenile providing (1) the juvenile facility where the juvenile will be placed (if applicable), (2) the objectives the juvenile is expected to achieve and (3) the services the juvenile will be provided to assist him in achieving those objectives. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7306-2.10(A).
The court will review the juvenile's compliance with his rehabilitation plan at least semi-annually. Id. § 7306-2.10(B). If, upon a hearing, the court decides the juvenile has reasonably complied with his rehabilitation plan and the public's safety will not be jeopardized, the court may discharge the juvenile without a judgment of guilt and order
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the verdict or plea expunged. Id. § 7306-2.10(F)(1).3 If, on the other hand, the court determines the juvenile has (1) seriously injured or endangered another person by his violent behavior, (2) escaped from a training school, (3) committed a felony while in the custody or under the supervision of the Office of Juvenile Affairs or (4) failed to substantially comply with his written rehabilitation plan, the court may enter a judgment of guilt and transfer the juvenile to the county jail or to the custody and supervision of the ODOC. Id. § 7306-2.10(F)(5); see also Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 991a(A).
In general, once a juvenile is prosecuted and sentenced as a youthful offender, he will continue to be prosecuted as a youthful offender in all subsequent criminal proceedings until he reaches eighteen. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7306-2.4(G). Prior to reaching eighteen, he will only be treated as an adult in subsequent matters if (1) the court had previously determined, after a hearing and investigation, he should receive an adult sentence because he would not reasonably comply with a rehabilitation plan or the public would not be adequately protected if he were to receive a youthful offender sentence or (2) the court certifies him to stand trial as an adult. Id. §§ 7306-2.4(F), 7306-2.8(A)-(E).
A juvenile may, and sometimes must, be tried as an adult. A juvenile may be certified to stand trial as an adult by the court after it considers determining factors such
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as the seriousness of the offense, whether the offense was committed against persons or property, the juvenile's sophistication and maturity, his previous record and the likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of the juvenile in the juvenile system. Id. § 7303-4.3(B). Juveniles over thirteen years old accused of certain serious crimes are required by statute to be tried as adults. Id. § 7306-1.1(A), (B). If the juvenile is to be treated as an adult, the case proceeds as a criminal action in the district court (adult court) and if convicted, the juvenile may be sentenced to the county jail or the custody or supervision of the ODOC. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 991a(A).
The facts of this case are convoluted because of the number of crimes committed by Triplet. We recite only those facts pertinent to our decision.
On October 18, 2000, Triplet, then fifteen years old, pled guilty to robbery with a firearm in Oklahoma state court.4 Due to his age and the nature of his offense, he was required to be treated as a youthful offender under Oklahoma law. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7306-2.6(A)(5) (2000) ("Any person fifteen . . . years of age who is charged with . . . [r]obbery with a firearm or attempt thereof . . . shall be held accountable for his acts as a youthful offender). He was sentenced to ten years in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. On November 15, 2000, the parties adopted a written plan of
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rehabilitation. Pursuant to that plan, Triplet was placed in a juvenile facility.
On August 3, 2001, Triplet was paroled from the juvenile facility. When he violated the conditions of his parole, he was placed in the county jail. On July 3, 2002, while in custody, Triplet, then seventeen years old, attempted to escape. Sixteen days later, on July 19, 2002, the State charged him as an adult with attempted escape from custody. However, because he was not certified to stand trial as an adult and had not previously received an adult sentence, he should have been treated as a youthful offender in the attempted escape case. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7306-2.4(F), (G) (2002) ("A .. . youthful offender shall be tried as an adult in all subsequent criminal prosecutions [only] if: 1. The . . . youthful offender has been certified to stand trial as an adult . . .; or 2. The youthful offender has been certified for the imposition of an adult sentence as provided by [§] 7306-2.8 of this title and is subsequently convicted of the alleged offense. . . .")
Apparently, Triplet was released from custody after being charged with attempted escape as he went on to commit new crimes in March, September and November 2003, including possession of a controlled dangerous substance (cocaine), conspiracy to commit a felony (armed robbery), concealing stolen property and obstructing an officer, false declaration of ownership to a pawnbroker and uttering two or more bogus checks. He was charged with these offenses in the district court (adult court) sometime in 2003 (after he had turned 18).
On May 19, 2004, Triplet (then nineteen) pled guilty in adult court to the attempted escape from custody charge and the 2003 charges. He was sentenced to two
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years imprisonment in the ODOC on the attempted escape charge. Relevant here, that sentence was ordered to run concurrent with several sentences he received on the 2003 charges, the longest of which was ten years. Triplet was also sentenced to two ten-year sentences (eight years suspended) on the 2003 charges. These sentences were ordered to run concurrent with each other but consecutive to the concurrent series containing the attempted escape sentence (i.e., after he completed ten years).
Triplet immediately sought to withdraw his plea, alleging the district attorney intimidated and coerced him into pleading guilty. The trial court denied relief on June 1, 2004. Triplet, represented by counsel, appealed by filing a petition for writ of certiorari with the OCCA,5 arguing the trial court abused its discretion by not allowing him to withdraw his guilty plea, his sentence was excessive, his plea was not knowing or voluntary, and he was denied due process and equal protection of the law. On November 18, 2004, the OCCA denied the petition and affirmed the judgment.
On November 18, 2005, and again on November 6, 2006, Triplet filed for post-conviction relief in state court challenging his attempted escape conviction. He alleged that because he was under the age of eighteen at the time he was charged with attempting to escape and was never certified to be tried as an adult, his attempted escape conviction was void and his right to due process violated, notwithstanding that he was nineteen
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when he pled guilty.6 Additionally, he claimed his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise the lack of...
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