Scott Lee Lint appeals from the district court’s order summarily dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. Because we conclude that the district court should have held an evidentiary hearing on some of Lint’s claims, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
I.
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
Lint pled guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance, methamphetamine. I.C. § 87-2732(a)(l)(A). The district court sentenced Lint to a unified term of ten years, with five years determinate. Lint filed an I.C.R. 35 motion for reduction of sentence, which the district court denied. Lint appealed, contending that the district court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence and by denying his Rule 35 motion. In an unpublished opinion, this Court affirmed Lint’s sentence and denial of his Rule 35 motion. State v. Lint, Docket No. 31218 (Ct.App. Aug. 3, 2005).
Lint, acting pro se, filed a verified application for post-conviction relief. Lint’s application set forth claims that his counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to file a motion to compel discovery, failing to file a motion to suppress evidence, and coercing Lint to plead guilty by advising him that the state had enough evidence to convict him. The application also set forth a claim that the state violated Lint’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures. Additionally, Lint’s application set forth claims that the state violated his right to due process by breaking the chain of custody of the evidence, failing to send the evidence to the state crime lab, and failing to respond to his discovery request. 1 Lint attached to his application two police reports and a discovery request from the underlying criminal proceedings. Lint also filed an affidavit in support of his application approximately three weeks later.
The first police report indicates that an officer investigated a call regarding an abandoned vehicle and determined from the license plate number that the vehicle belonged to Lint. The officer then noticed footprints in the snow, leading from Lint’s vehicle to a nearby wooden shed located behind a private residence. The officer contacted the person who resided on the property containing the residence and the shed. The resident stated that Lint worked on the resident’s automobiles but should not have been on the property for any reason that night. With the resident’s permission to “check the property,” the officer proceeded to the shed with the assistance of the lessee’s thirteen-year-old son. The officer could see that the light was turned on in the shed and he yelled Lint’s name. The officer advised Lint to exit the shed, heard “shuffling” and “banging” noises, and again ordered Lint to exit the shed. The officer tried to open the door to the shed but it was locked. Shortly thereafter, Lint exited the shed and indicated that he was working on a motorcycle in the shed but had no answer when the officer asked him why he had parked in the driveway next door to the property containing the shed. The officer entered the shed, smelled a strong chemical odor, and discovered items used to manufacture methamphetamine. The officer arrested Lint and secured the shed until police could obtain a search warrant.
A report by a second officer who conducted a further investigation indicates that Lint was a friend of the resident of the property, and Lint was permitted to keep some of his belongings in the shed. The resident informed the second officer that she had not been in the shed in over one year and that Lint kept a lock on the door to the shed but normally checked in with the resident when he arrived on the property. In Lint’s affidavit, Lint averred that he asked his counsel to
The state filed a motion for summary dismissal of Lint’s application and filed an affidavit sworn by Lint’s counsel. Counsel averred that he discussed the possibility of filing a motion to suppress with a senior attorney at the public defender’s office after reviewing the police reports and the additional evidence provided by the state. According to counsel’s affidavit, Lint never told him that the lessee of the property had rented the shed to Lint in exchange for Lint’s services. Counsel averred that Lint made the decision to enter into the plea agreement after counsel discussed with Lint the possibility of filing a motion to suppress. The district court issued a notice of intent to dismiss Lint’s application. Lint filed a response to both the state’s motion to dismiss and the district court’s notice of intent to dismiss. The district court then summarily dismissed Lint’s application, relying on the reasoning set forth in the notice of intent to dismiss. Lint appeals.
II.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
An application for post-conviction relief initiates a proceeding that is civil in nature.
State v. Bearshield,
Idaho Code Section 19-4906 authorizes summary dismissal of an application for post-conviction relief, either pursuant to motion of a party or upon the court’s own initiative. Summary dismissal of an application pursuant to I.C. § 19-4906 is the procedural equivalent of summary judgment under I.R.C.P. 56. Summary dismissal is permissible only when the applicant’s evidence has raised no genuine issue of material fact that, if resolved in the applicant’s favor, would entitle the applicant to the requested relief. If such a factual issue is presented, an evidentiary hearing must be conducted.
Gonzales v. State,
On review of a dismissal of a post-conviction relief application without an evidentiary hearing, we determine whether a genuine issue of fact exists based on the pleadings, depositions, and admissions to
gether
III.
ANALYSIS
A. Due Process Claims
Lint set forth claims in his application that the state violated his right to due process by breaking the chain of custody of the evidence seized from the shed, failing to send the evidence to the state crime lab, and failing to respond to his discovery request. The district court ruled that these claims were unsupported by admissible evidence and were waived by Lint’s valid guilty plea.
We conclude that the district court properly dismissed these claims on the basis that they were unsupported by admissible evidence. A conclusory allegation, unsubstantiated by any fact, is insufficient to entitle a petitioner to an evidentiary hearing.
Nielson v. State,
B. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel may properly be brought under the post-conviction procedure act.
Murray v. State,
1. Failure to file motion to compel discovery
Lint claims that the district court erred in summarily dismissing his claim that counsel provided ineffective assistance for failing to file a motion to compel discovery. The district court ruled that there was no reason to file a motion to compel discovery because the information requested was provided by the state.
In a post-conviction proceeding challenging an attorney’s failure to pursue a motion in the underlying criminal action, the district court may consider the probability of success of the motion in question in determining whether the attorney’s inactivity constituted incompetent performance.
Boman v. State,
2. Failure to file motion to suppress
Lint asserts that the district court erred in summarily dismissing his claim that his counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to file a motion to suppress evidence found as a result of the officer’s initial entry into the shed. In support of this claim, Lint averred that counsel advised him that there were no grounds to suppress the evidence. Counsel averred in the affidavit filed by the state that there “would have been issues with standing in trying to suppress the evidence found in the shed” and that he discussed those issues with Lint prior to Lint’s decision to plead guilty. Counsel further averred that Lint did not inform him that Lint was “renting” the shed. The district court ruled that this claim failed the deficient performance prong of the Strickland test because, based on the information available to counsel, Lint did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the shed enabling him to successfully challenge the search.
As noted above, the district court may consider the probability of success of the motion in question in determining whether the attorney’s inactivity constituted incompetent performance.
Boman,
A warrantless search is presumptively unreasonable unless it falls within certain special and well-delineated exceptions to the warrant requirement in the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution.
2
State v. Curl,
The United States Supreme Court has held that, in some circumstances, a person may have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the house of another.
See Minnesota v. Olson,
In the present case, the district court relied on
Palmer.
The facts of that case, however, are distinguishable from the facts that Lint alleged and supported with evidence. Based on the police reports Lint submitted with his application, the resident of the property told officers that she had not been in the shed in over one year, and Lint kept a lock on the shed with his belongings inside. The first police report indicated that the resident informed the first officer that Lint had no reason to be on the property on the night in question, and the resident informed the second police officer that Lint normally checked in with the resident when he arrived on the property. Lint averred in his affidavit, however, that he had a “verbal contract” with the lessee to “occupy” the shed. At the summary dismissal stage, we assume this averment is true. If Lint had a rental arrangement to use the shed,
Palmer
does not compel a conclusion that Lint lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in the shed. Indeed, even in the absence of a formal rental agreement, a person may maintain custody and control over a building sufficient to challenge a search by possessing the only key and keeping his business and personal belongings there.
See United States v. Chaves,
The district court also reasoned that Lint’s claim failed because he did not allege that he informed counsel of a rental arrangement. The state has adopted this reasoning on appeal. This approach, however, overlooks the relevant question — whether counsel’s performance was deficient and prejudiced Lint based on the evidence Lint submitted. We must accept as true Lint’s averment that he had a contract to occupy the shed. Although counsel averred that Lint did not inform
The state also asserts that, even if Lint could have established he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the shed, a motion to suppress would have failed because the resident consented to the search. When the state asserts that a warrantless search was conducted with consent, the state bears the burden of proving that the consent was given by one with authority to do so.
State v. Buhler,
Even if the state is correct that the resident possessed apparent authority to consent to a search of the shed, the record at summary dismissal does not establish that she provided the necessary consent. The only evidence of her consent is the first officer’s police report. According to that report, the officer asked the resident if she would like him to “check the property for Lint to find out why he would be entering the residence without permission, at late hours of the night, and from a suspicious location at the rear of the property.” The police report then indicated that the resident told the officer he “could check the property.” This evidence is sufficient to raise a factual issue as to whether the resident’s consent was limited to a search of the property for Lint, not an authorization to search the inside of the shed after Lint was found and had exited that building. Additionally, when Lint exited the shed, his indication that he had been working on a motorcycle was consistent with the resident’s indication to the officer that Lint worked on automobiles in the shed. Based on the evidence in the record, therefore, once the officer located Lint and Lint exited the shed, the officer did not possess consent to enter the shed and discover the strong chemical odor and other evidence of methamphetamine production.
We conclude that the record contains issues of fact material to the determination of whether Lint would have succeeded on a motion to suppress. The district court therefore erred in summarily dismissing Lint’s claim that counsel provided ineffective assistance by fading to file a motion to suppress.
Lint also claims that counsel coerced him to plead guilty by advising him that the state had enough evidence to convict him and there were no grounds to suppress the evidence. According to Lint, counsel’s advice that Lint should accept the guilty plea to avoid a sentence of twenty-five years rendered Lint’s guilty plea invalid. The district court ruled that this claim failed because Lint had not established that counsel performed incompetently in advising Lint to plead guilty.
The longstanding test for determining the validity of a guilty plea is whether the plea represents a voluntary and intelligent choice among the alternative courses of action open to the defendant.
Dunlap v. State,
The district court erred in summarily dismissing this claim without first holding an evidentiary hearing on whether a motion to suppress would have succeeded. According to the district court’s order summarily dismissing Lint’s application, Lint was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and being a persistent violator.
4
When Lint pled guilty to the manufacturing charge, the state dismissed the persistent violator charge. Thus, counsel appears to have negotiated a plea agreement with the state whereby Lint pled guilty to manufacturing in exchange for the state dropping the persistent violator charge. If the probable success of a motion to suppress was questionable, counsel may have performed competently by advising Lint to forego the questionable motion and plead guilty to have the persistent violator sentencing enhancement dropped.
See Huck,
C. Unreasonable Search and Seizure of Evidence
Lint also asserts that the district court erred in summarily dismissing his claim that the state violated his right against unreasonable searches and seizures. There will be no need, however, to address Lint’s Fourth Amendment challenge independent of his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court ruled that Lint waived his right to challenge the search and seizure when Lint pled guilty. A voluntary and intelligent guilty plea inherently waives many rights which otherwise could have been asserted in the trial process, including the right to challenge the admissibility of evidence upon which the state might have relied at trial.
See State v. Gardner,
IV.
CONCLUSION
The district court properly dismissed Lint’s due process claims on the basis that the claims were eonclusory allegations, unsubstantiated by any fact. The district court properly dismissed Lint’s claim that counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to file a motion to compel discovery because the claim failed the deficient performance prong of the Strickland test. The district court erred, however, by summarily dismissing Lint’s claims that his counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to file a motion to suppress and by advising Lint to plead guilty. The district court should hold an evidentiary hearing on those ineffective assistance claims. Regardless of the outcome of that hearing, Lint’s Fourth Amendment challenge independent of his ineffective assistance claims will not entitle him to additional relief, and the district court need not address that Fourth Amendment challenge independent of the ineffective assistance claims. We therefore affirm in part and reverse in part the district court’s order summarily dismissing Lint’s application for post-conviction relief and remand for an evidentiary hearing consistent with this opinion. No costs or attorney fees are awarded on appeal.
Notes
. Lint also filed a motion requesting appointment of post-conviction counsel. The district court denied Lint’s request for counsel after providing Lint with notice of the court’s reasons for the denial.
. Although Lint contends that both constitutions were violated, he provides no cogent reason why Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution should be applied differently than the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution in this case. Therefore, the Court will rely on judicial interpretation of the Fourth Amendment in its analysis of whether a motion to suppress was likely to have succeeded.
See State v. Schaffer,
. The word “standing,” as used in counsel's affidavit, is often employed as useful shorthand referring to whether the defendant had a privacy interest in a place that was searched such that he or she is entitled to the exclusion of the resulting incriminating evidence. This use of the term, however, is technically inaccurate because addressing whether a defendant is able to show a violation of his or her Fourth Amendment rights is a substantive question more properly placed within the purview of substantive Fourth Amendment law than within that of standing.
Minnesota v. Carter,
. Lint did not request that the record or transcripts from his underlying criminal case be included in the record on this appeal. It is the responsibility of the appellant to provide a sufficient record to substantiate his or her claims on appeal.
Powell v. Sellers,
. Lint does not appear to challenge on appeal the district court’s order denying his request for post-conviction counsel. We note, however, that our ruling that Lint is entitled to an evidentiary hearing also compels a conclusion that Lint’s pro se application alleged facts that raise the possibility of valid claims, and the district court should appoint counsel on remand if Lint still desires counsel.
See Charboneau v. State,
