Booth v. State
2017 ND 97
| N.D. | 2017Background
- Booth pleaded guilty to multiple drug and endangerment charges, with the district court accepting the plea and imposing ten-year concurrent sentences with time served credit.
- Booth sought sentence reduction; the court denied the motion.
- Booth challenged the legality of his sentence as an illegal habitual-offender enhancement notice issue resolved in a prior appeal (State v. Booth, 2015 ND 59).
- Booth filed a pro se postconviction-relief petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel prior to the guilty plea, claiming several failures by counsel.
- The district court held an evidentiary hearing, found no prejudice from counsel’s alleged deficiencies, and dismissed the remaining claims as barred by misuse of process.
- On appeal, Booth contends he established ineffective assistance of counsel, challenging both trial-court procedures and the voluntariness of his guilty plea.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Booth demonstrated ineffective assistance of counsel prejudicing the guilty-plea outcome. | Booth argues counsel failed to investigate and advise, causing prejudice and a likely trial if properly advised. | State argues Booth cannot show a reasonable probability of a different outcome and his plea was voluntary. | No prejudice shown; conviction upheld. |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. Supreme Court 1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
- Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (U.S. Supreme Court 1985) (guilty-plea prejudice standard under Strickland)
- Premo v. Moore, 131 S. Ct. 733 (U.S. Supreme Court 2011) (deferential review of Strickland; mixed questions of law and fact)
- Bahtiraj v. State, 2013 ND 240, 840 N.W.2d 605 (North Dakota 2013) (plea-specific prejudice standard; objective evidence required)
- Osier v. State, 2014 ND 41, 843 N.W.2d 277 (North Dakota 2014) (mixed question of law and fact; deference on appellate review)
- Thompson v. State, 2016 ND 101, 879 N.W.2d 93 (North Dakota 2016) (reversed for proper Strickland analysis of plea-stage prejudice)
- Damron v. State, 2003 ND 102, 663 N.W.2d 650 (North Dakota 2003) (voluntariness of guilty plea and lack of prejudice from counsel’s errors)
- Greywind v. State, 2004 ND 213, 689 N.W.2d 390 (North Dakota 2004) (voluntary guilty plea limits showing of prejudice from counsel’s investigation)
- Everett v. State, 2015 ND 149, 864 N.W.2d 450 (North Dakota 2015) (clarifies evaluation when standard phrases are ambiguous in prejudice analysis)