Background

• Hill pled guilty to first-degree arson in Lauderdale County Circuit Court on July 30, 2008 under a plea agreement for eight years without parole or probation.
• Hill filed a post-conviction relief (PCR) motion on November 12, 2009, which the circuit court denied.
• On appeal, Hill claims ineffective assistance of trial counsel for not raising a speedy-trial issue and that the guilty plea was involuntary because essential elements of the offense were not explained.
• The court holds Hill waived the right to a speedy trial by pleading guilty and finds no counsel-failure rendering the plea involuntary.
• The record shows the elements of first-degree arson were explained to Hill, supporting the voluntariness of the plea.
• The circuit court’s PCR denial is affirmed.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972) (speedy-trial four-factor test)
• Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance)
• Anderson v. State, 577 So.2d 390 (Miss. 1991) (plea waiver of non-jurisdictional trial rights when voluntary)
• Madden v. State, 991 So.2d 1231 (Miss. 2008) (ineffective assistance waived when plea states waiver of speedy trial)
• Goudy v. State, 996 So.2d 185 (Miss. 2008) (same waiver principle when plea agreement waives speedy-trial rights)
• Roland v. State, 666 So.2d 747 (Miss. 1995) (ineffective assistance may arise if plea involuntary due to counsel)
• Hymes v. State, 703 So.2d 258 (Miss. 1997) (evidentiary considerations on ineffectiveness claims after plea)
• Gardner v. State, 531 So.2d 805 (Miss. 1988) (thorough plea-colloquy evidences voluntariness)
• Bradshaw v. Stumpf, 545 U.S. 175 (2005) (elements of the offense may be implicit; court may assess from record)
• Jones v. State, 936 So.2d 993 (Miss. 2006) (boilerplate plea language cannot alone show understanding of elements)