Vigil v. People, 18190
| Citation | 135 Colo. 313,310 P.2d 552 |
| Decision Date | 29 April 1957 |
| Docket Number | No. 18190,18190 |
| Parties | Dan P. VIGIL, Plaintiff in Error, v. The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Defendant in Error. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Charles S. Vigil, Denver, for plaintiff in error.
Duke W. Dunbar, Atty. Gen., Frank E. Hickey, Deputy Atty. Gen., John W. Patterson, Asst. Atty., Gen., for defendant in error.
We will refer to plaintiff in error as defendant.
September 21, 1953, an information was filed in the district court of Costilla county in which defendant was charged with the crime of rape alleged to have been committed on the 20th day of September, 1953. Defendant was taken at once before the Honorable Robert R. Tarbell, a district judge of the Twelfth Judicial District who was then sitting at Alamosa, in Alamosa county, Colorado, and on September 21, 1953, was there arraigned upon the charge. He entered a plea of guilty and stated to the court at Alamosa that he was twenty-six years of age, and that it was all right with him to have the case heard in Alamosa county instead of Costilla county in which the offense was committed.
Thereupon, the prosecuting witness, a girl twelve years of age, testified that defendant and two other persons forced her into a car and each of them forcibly raped her. The arresting officer testified that defendant admitted the offense. September 25, 1953, defendant was sentenced to imprisonment in the Colorado State Penitentiary for a term of twelve to twenty years.
The sole assignment of error upon which counsel for defendant relies is set forth in the following words:
'It is the contention of the defendant that the trial court must advise an accused of his right to counsel and particularly where the accused is asked to waive the right to be tried in the County where the alleged attack occurred. In this case the accused was taken by the Sheriff from San Luis County to Alamosa County, where he entered a plea of 'guilty'. This, to say the least, is highly irregular even though the accused readily agreed and he did not care where the trial took place.
'Under the circumstances, we feel that he has lost important rights and the case should be reversed and a new trial granted.'
Questions to be Determined.
First: Where in a criminal case the defendant expressly consents to arraignment in a county other than that in which the information was filed but which is in the same judicial district; and where upon said arraignment he enters a plea of guilty, and with his express consent the court hears evidence and enters judgment in the county in which the plea was entered; can defendant thereafter nullify the judgment upon the sole ground that the proceedings took place in a county other than the one in which the information was filed?
This question is answered in the negative. The provisions of Section 16, Article 2 of our Constitution, to the effect that in criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right to 'a speedy public trial by an impartial...
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...until after a plea of not guilty has been made. Where a plea of guilty is accepted by the court, there is no trial. In Vigil v. People, 135 Colo. 313, 310 P.2d 552, it was held that under a constitutional provision providing for a speedy trial where the accused pleads guilty, there is no Af......
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People v. Taylor, 85SA22
...Crim.P. 18.The constitutional and statutory venue provisions are for the benefit of the accused and may be waived. Vigil v. People, 135 Colo. 313, 310 P.2d 552 (1957). When these provisions are not waived, however, it is incumbent upon the prosecution to prove the situs of the crime as alle......
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People v. Rice, 76-929
...arguments. The constitutional provision cited by the defendant is a guarantee of his right to proper venue only. Vigil v. People, 135 Colo. 313, 310 P.2d 552 (1957). This provision is for the sole benefit of the accused and it may be waived. Vigil, supra. Because it involves venue and its e......
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...or herself to the authority of the court by offering a guilty plea, any further objection to venue is deemed waived. Vigil v. People, 135 Colo. 313, 310 P.2d 552 (1957); see also People v. Sandreschi, 849 P.2d 873 (Colo.App.1992) (guilty plea waives all non-jurisdictional Here, defendant ra......