State v. Ramirez, 1 CA-CR 16-0552-PRPC

Miguel Ramirez was convicted by a jury of misconduct involving weapons (class 4 felony) and sentenced to the presumptive 10 years plus consecutive probation terms; conviction and sentence were previously affirmed on appeal.
Ramirez filed a timely Rule 32 post-conviction petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) under State v. Donald during plea negotiations: counsel did not explain elements/evidence, failed to advise him to accept a plea, and did not reduce a purported verbal five-year offer to writing.
The superior court summarily dismissed the petition; Ramirez sought review, reiterating that counsel advised him not to take a plea and that a five-year offer existed.
Record from settlement conference showed: detailed discussion of charge and evidence, Donald advisements, an actual plea offer of 4.5–7.5 years (with potential concurrency), no formal five-year flat-time offer, and counsel encouraged questions and negotiation.
The court reviewed the full record and concluded Ramirez’s self-serving assertions were contradicted by the record and insufficient to establish deficient performance or prejudice, so no evidentiary hearing was required.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel rendered IAC during plea negotiations by advising Ramirez to reject a plea	Ramirez: counsel failed to explain elements/evidence, urged rejection (promised better offers), and omitted a five-year written offer	State: record shows counsel explained charge, advised, negotiated, no five-year formal offer existed, defendant rejected the actual offer	Court: No IAC; record contradicts Ramirez; no deficient performance or prejudice shown
Whether Ramirez was entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his IAC claim	Ramirez: his uncontested allegations require an evidentiary hearing	State: allegations are self-serving and contradicted by the record; review of the full record shows claims are not colorable	Court: Denied evidentiary hearing; summary dismissal appropriate

State v. Donald, 198 Ariz. 406, 10 P.3d 1193 (App.) (standards for IAC during plea negotiations)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (IAC requires deficient performance and prejudice)
State v. D’Ambrosio, 156 Ariz. 71, 750 P.2d 14 (standard of review for evidentiary hearing denial)
State v. Vallejo, 215 Ariz. 193, 158 P.3d 916 (Donald does not extend to nonexistent plea agreements)
State v. Goswick, 142 Ariz. 582, 691 P.2d 673 (self-serving affidavits insufficient to establish IAC)