527 P.3d 826
Utah Ct. App.2023Background:
- Edwards pleaded no contest (Alford/no-contest) to aggravated assault in Feb 2020 as part of a plea deal; other charges were dismissed.
- Sentencing was continued from April to August 2020 due to COVID; at the August hearing defense counsel requested a continuance to evaluate withdrawing the plea and the court granted a ~7-week continuance, later extended to December (about four months total) partly for health reasons.
- At the December sentencing, defense counsel said Edwards wanted to withdraw the plea and requested 24 hours to file a written motion; the State objected and the court construed an oral motion but denied both the motion and the 24-hour continuance.
- The court accepted the State’s representation that the plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered and sentenced Edwards to a suspended prison term on the aggravated assault conviction.
- At sentencing Edwards also identified alleged inaccuracies in the presentence investigation report (PSR); the court made no findings or give time to resolve them.
- Edwards appealed, arguing (1) abuse of discretion in denying the 24-hour continuance to file a written motion to withdraw the plea, and (2) error in failing to resolve contested PSR inaccuracies on the record.
Issues:
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Did the court abuse its discretion by denying a 24-hour continuance to prepare a written motion to withdraw Edwards’s plea? | Edwards: court erred under Ferretti and due process; he needed time to prepare a written withdrawal motion. | State: no abuse; Edwards had months to prepare, plea agreement required pre-sentence motion, and Ferretti is distinguishable; constitutional claim unpreserved. | Affirmed — no abuse of discretion. Court reasonably denied continuance because Edwards had several months to prepare and the plea agreement required filing before sentencing. |
| Did the court err by failing to resolve alleged inaccuracies in the PSR on the record? | Edwards: court was required to resolve contested PSR information or grant time to do so. | State: conceded the court erred by failing to make findings. | Reversed and remanded — court must address and resolve the claimed PSR inaccuracies and make findings on the record. |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Ferretti, 263 P.3d 553 (Utah Ct. App. 2011) (court must afford reasonable time to prepare a written motion to withdraw a plea in appropriate circumstances)
- State v. Beckstead, 140 P.3d 1288 (Utah 2006) (standard of appellate review for plea-withdrawal rulings: abuse of discretion)
- State v. Jaeger, 973 P.2d 404 (Utah 1999) (trial court must resolve contested information in presentence reports on the record)
- State v. Irey, 405 P.3d 876 (Utah Ct. App. 2017) (review of whether court complied with duty to resolve contested sentencing-report information is for correctness)