State of Minnesota v. David Lee King

This opinion will be unpublished and
may not be cited except as provided by
Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2014).
STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN COURT OF APPEALS
A14-0838
State of Minnesota,
Respondent,
vs.
David Lee King,
Appellant.
Filed January 20, 2015
Affirmed
Reilly, Judge
Sherburne County District Court
File No. 71-CR-12-1703
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and
Kathleen A. Heaney, Sherburne County Attorney, Samuel Wertheimer, II, Assistant
County Attorney, Elk River, Minnesota (for respondent)
Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Jennifer Lauermann, Assistant
Public Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant)
Considered and decided by Reilly, Presiding Judge; Stauber, Judge; and Chutich,
Judge.
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
REILLY, Judge
In this direct appeal from a judgment of conviction, appellant seeks to withdraw
his guilty plea to third-degree assault. Because we determine that appellant’s guilty plea
was accurate, voluntary, and intelligent, we affirm.
FACTS
On August 27, 2012, appellant David Lee King, an inmate at the Minnesota
Correctional Facility at St. Cloud, committed an assault against fellow-inmate C.J.H.
Appellant testified that C.J.H. “walked by and grabbed my buttocks as we were walking
back to our unit, to our cells, and I took that offensive . . . so I beat him up.” Appellant
admitted to throwing “numerous punches” and kicking C.J.H. during the assault. C.J.H.
was treated for lacerations to his left eye and cheek. The state thereafter charged
appellant with one count of felony third-degree assault, substantial bodily harm, in
violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.223, subd. 1 (2012).
Appellant entered into a resolution with the prosecution to plead guilty to third-
degree assault in exchange for a 15-month consecutive sentence, pursuant to the
sentencing guidelines. The prosecutor informed the district court that because appellant
committed assault while serving a prison term, his sentence would be a presumptive-
consecutive sentence to his current sentence, which means he would not be entitled to
credit for time served. The district court asked appellant if that was “what [he] want[ed]
to do today,” and appellant agreed that it was. After being sworn in, appellant engaged in
the following discussion with his counsel:
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[Defense attorney]: Mr. King, we had the opportunity to go
over this three-page document entitled Petition to Enter a Plea
of Guilty in a Felony Case Pursuant to Rule 15. Did we go
over this document line by line before court?
[Appellant]: Yes.
[Defense attorney]: You understand that you’re pleading
guilty to a third degree assault?
[Appellant]: Yes.
....
[Defense attorney]: And you understand that it is a 15-month
consecutive sentence, meaning 15 months will be added on to
your sentence - -
[Appellant]: Yes.
[Defense attorney]: - - that you’re serving right now? Yes?
[Appellant]: Yes.
Appellant stated that he understood his right to go to trial and waived that right to
enter a guilty plea. The district court received the petition, finding that appellant made an
“adequate, knowing, and voluntary waiver” of his trial rights. Appellant pleaded guilty to
third-degree assault. Appellant admitted that C.J.H.’s injuries constituted substantial
bodily harm and stated that he was not acting in self-defense when he punched and
kicked his victim. The district court found appellant guilty of third-degree assault in
accordance with the plea agreement and committed him to the custody of the
commissioner of corrections “for a period of 15 months consecutive to the sentence
which [he was] already serving.” This appeal followed.
DECISION
“A defendant who wishes to overturn a guilty plea may file a petition for
postconviction relief under Minnesota Statutes section 590.01 (2012), move to withdraw
the plea under Rule 15.05 of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, or seek
withdrawal on a direct appeal from the judgment of conviction.” State v. Miller, 849
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N.W.2d 94, 97 (Minn. App. 2014) (citing Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02, subd. 2; State v.
Anyanwu, 681 N.W.2d 411, 413 (Minn. App. 2004) (“[A] defendant has a right to
challenge his guilty plea on direct appeal even though he has not moved to withdraw the
guilty plea in the district court.”)). The validity of a plea presents a question of law that
we review de novo. State v. Raleigh, 778 N.W.2d 90, 94 (Minn. 2010). Appellant bears
the burden of showing that his plea was invalid. Id.
A criminal defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea
once entered. Perkins v. State, 559 N.W.2d 678, 685 (Minn. 1997). Rather, a defendant
may withdraw a guilty plea after being sentenced only by establishing that it is necessary
to correct a “manifest injustice.” Minn. R. Crim. P. 15.05, subd. 1. A manifest injustice
exists if a guilty plea is invalid. Raleigh, 778 N.W.2d at 94 (citing State v. Theis, 742
N.W.2d 643, 646 (Minn. 2007)). “To be constitutionally valid, a guilty plea must be
accurate, voluntary, and intelligent.” Id. Appellant argues that his guilty plea is invalid
and unconstitutional because it was not accurate, voluntary, or intelligent.1 Appellant
also seeks jail credit dating back to August 27, 2012, the date of the offense.
Accurate
“The main purpose of the accuracy requirement is to protect a defendant from
pleading guilty to a more serious offense than he could be convicted of were he to insist
on his right to trial.” State v. Trott, 338 N.W.2d 248, 251 (Minn. 1983). An accurate
plea must be grounded on a proper factual basis. Raleigh, 778 N.W.2d at 94. Although
1
The focus of appellant’s argument is that his plea was not intelligently made. We
considered all three requirements and determined that the record supports a conclusion
that appellant’s plea is valid.
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appellant argued that his plea was not accurate, he did not identify any evidence to
support his position. The record reflects that the district court developed an adequate
factual basis for the plea by asking appellant, in his own words, to describe what
happened. See id. (stating that district court “typically satisfies the factual basis
requirement by asking the defendant to express in his own words what happened”). The
accuracy requirement is satisfied.
Voluntary
To determine whether a plea is voluntary, we look to what the parties reasonably
understood to be the terms of the plea agreement. Id. at 96. The purpose of the
voluntariness requirement is to ensure that a defendant is not pleading guilty because of
“improper pressures.” Trott, 338 N.W.2d at 251. Although appellant argued that his plea
was involuntary, he did not claim that he was subject to improper pressures or
inducements. A review of the record confirms that the voluntariness requirement is
satisfied.
Intelligent
The intelligence requirement ensures that a defendant “understands the charges,
understands the rights he is waiving by pleading guilty, and understands the
consequences of his plea.” Id. During the plea hearing, appellant agreed that he
understood the charge against him, understood that he was waiving certain rights, and
wanted to enter a plea of guilty. On appeal, appellant argues that his plea was not
“knowingly made” because he did not understand that he was ineligible for jail credit.
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The state charged appellant with felony third-degree assault. The statute provides
that “[w]hoever assaults another and inflicts substantial bodily harm may be sentenced to
imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than
$10,000, or both.” Minn. Stat. § 609.223, subd. 1. Appellant entered a plea of guilty to
this offense and provided an adequate factual basis to support the charge. During the plea
hearing, appellant agreed that he went over the plea petition “line by line” with his
attorney and understood that he was pleading guilty to third-degree assault. Appellant’s
counsel asked appellant if he understood that he would serve a 15-month consecutive
sentence, and specifically that “15 months will be added on to your sentence[.]”
Appellant indicated that he understood. We conclude that the intelligence requirement is
satisfied.
Pursuant to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines, for convictions committed
while an offender is serving an executed prison sentence, it is presumptive to impose the
sentence for the current offense consecutive to the sentence the offender was serving at
the time the new offense was committed. Minn. Sent. Guidelines 2.F.1.a(1)(i) (2012).
Moreover, Minnesota statute is clear that:
If an inmate of a state correctional facility is convicted
of violating [section 609.223] while confined in the facility,
the sentence imposed for the assault shall be executed and run
consecutively to any unexpired portion of the offender’s
earlier sentence. The inmate is not entitled to credit against
the sentence imposed for the assault for time served in
confinement for the earlier sentence.
Minn. Stat. § 609.2232 (2012).
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Because we conclude that the district court properly imposed a consecutive
sentence under a plain reading of the statute, we conclude that appellant is not entitled to
relief on his direct appeal from a judgment of conviction.
Affirmed.
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