PEOPLE v. CARLISLE
Docket No. 5,931
Appeal from Recorder‘s Court of Detroit
October 29, 1969
Rehearing denied December 12, 1969
19 Mich. App. 680
Application for leave to appeal filed January 2, 1970.
Questioning of a defendant by the trial court, even though exhaustive; regarding his unequivocal desire to plead guilty, without pursuing his apparent intention and willingness to discuss the circumstances behind his plea, constitutes but a minimal compliance with the rule requiring that the court determine whether a guilty plea is being made voluntarily and knowingly inasmuch as the rule additionally requires the trial court to examine the defendant carefully regarding the nature of the accusation, which must contain the elements of the crime charged (
2. CRIMINAL LAW PLEA OF GUILTY-ELEMENTS OF CRIME-BELIEF.
An accused should not plead guilty to a crime which he may not have committed despite his willingness to believe that he committed it.
3. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY-INTERROGATION-PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION.
A plea of guilty is properly taken when the court carefully inquires into the facts and, even though there are elements of the crime charged which are not apparent in those facts revealed by the defendant during this questioning, these elements may be properly provided by reference to the preliminary examination.
REFERENCES FOR POINTS IN HEADNOTES
[1-6] 21 Am Jur 2d, Criminal Law § 484 et seq.
Court‘s duty to advise or admonish accused as to consequences of plea of guilty, or to determine that he is advised thereof. 97 ALR2d 549.
[7-12] 21 Am Jur 2d, Criminal Law §§ 504, 505.
Acceptance of a plea of guilty is proper where the court, after reviewing all available facts, is satisfied that if there were a trial, the defendant might well be convicted.
5. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY-ACCEPTANCE OF PLEA-WALKER HEARING-NECESSITY.
A Walker hearing is necessary to determine the legality of obtaining a defendant‘s confession, upon which defendant‘s guilty plea is based, where a court, in denying defendant‘s motion to withdraw the guilty plea, apparently relied heavily on the confession.
6. CRIMINAL LAW-VOLUNTARINESS OF CONFESSION-PLEA OF GUILTY-INQUIRY-ACCEPTANCE OF PLEA.
The trial court should further inquire into the facts of the case before again accepting a guilty plea if a Walker hearing reveals that a defendant‘s confession was involuntary and thus was improperly considered by the trial court at acceptance of a plea of guilty.
DISSENTING OPINION
V. J. BRENNAN, J.
7. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY-WITHDRAWAL-COURT RULES-NONCOMPLIANCE.
Noncompliance with the prophylactic standards of the rule requiring a trial court to inform an accused of the nature of the accusation, the consequences of a guilty plea, and to determine whether the plea is being made voluntarily and knowingly, does not alone warrant the withdrawal of a convicted defendant‘s guilty plea (
8. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY WITHDRAWAL-JUSTIFICATION.
It must appear that the procedural fault of which defendant complains affected the outcome of his case before withdrawal of a guilty plea is justified.
9. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY-WITHDRAWAL-COURT RULE-NONCOMPLIANCE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE-BURDEN.
A convicted defendant seeking to withdraw his guilty plea has the burden of showing something more than a technical noncompliance with the rule requiring a trial court to inform an accused of the nature of the accusation, the consequences of a guilty plea, and to determine the voluntariness and
10. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY-WITHDRAWAL REASON-INNOCENCE.
The reason accompanying a convicted defendant‘s request to withdraw his guilty plea must relate to that defendant‘s innocence in fact.
11. CRIMINAL LAW-EVIDENCE-CONFESSION-VALIDITY-PLEA OF GUILTY.
Conclusory assertions that a defendant‘s guilty plea was induced by his invalid confession, without stating why the confession is invalid or how it was used to induce a plea of guilty, does not entitle that defendant to an evidentiary hearing to determine the validity of his confession.
12. CRIMINAL LAW-PLEA OF GUILTY PLEA BARGAINING-DISCRETION.
Guilty pleas and plea bargaining are an important part of criminal proceedings, and they should neither be restricted unrealistically nor should appellate review be allowed to replace the discretion of the trial judge, who has the ability to observe through confrontation whether a defendant is pleading voluntarily and knowingly.
Appeal from Recorder‘s Court of Detroit, Gerald W. Groat, retired, and Thomas L. Poindexter, JJ. Submitted Division 1 April 9, 1969, at Detroit. (Docket No. 5,931.) Decided October 29, 1969. Rehearing denied December 12, 1969. Application for leave to appeal filed January 2, 1970.
Doreen Carlisle pled guilty of assault with intent to rob being armed and was placed on probation. At a parole violation hearing she was sentenced to prison. Defendant moved to withdraw her plea of guilty. Motion denied. Defendant appeals. Remanded with instructions.
Charles Burke, for defendant.
Before: LESINSKI, C. J., and FITZGERALD and V. J. BRENNAN, JJ.
FITZGERALD, J. In 1965, when defendant-appellant was 22 years of age, she pled guilty to the offense of assault with intent to rob, being armed.1 She was placed on probation, but she allegedly violated its terms and was sentenced to serve 2 to 20 years in prison. In 1968, she filed a motion to withdraw her plea of guilty alleging failure of the trial court to inquire into the underlying facts and circumstances of the charge before accepting her plea which was heard by the successor to the trial judge. The motion was denied on the grounds that
The trial court exhaustively questioned the defendant as to her unequivocal desire to plead guilty. It did not pursue the apparent intention and willingness of the defendant to discuss the circumstances
The recent case of People v. Bartlett (1969), 17 Mich App 205, is support for this holding that a guilty plea is properly taken when the court carefully inquires into the facts. However, even where there are elements of the crime charged which are not apparent in those facts revealed by the defendant during this careful questioning, they may be properly provided by reference to the preliminary examination. So if the court, reviewing all available facts, is satisfied that if there were a trial, the defendant might well be convicted, then the acceptance of the plea was correct. Such a factual basis is essential.
At the preliminary examination here, a confession by the defendant was read into the record. The confession was given to a detective without counsel present after she had stated to the assistant prosecuting attorney, a few hours previously, that she did not wish to talk, and asked, “If I want a lawyer what do I do?”
She now says she did not question the confession at the taking of the plea because evidence of the prior statement to the assistant prosecuting attorney was not in the court file and she could not know that the confession would be used to provide a factual
The only other evidence offered at the preliminary examination was provided by a patrolman who testified that, based on a description and address of a girl who drove the wounded man to the hospital, he went to defendant‘s house. She there stated that she did drive the man to the hospital after he came to her house and asked her to do so.
If the Walker hearing reveals that the confession was involuntary and thus was improperly taken at the preliminary examination, the trial court should further inquire into the facts of the case before again accepting this plea as was done in Daniels, supra. If the confession was proper, taken together with the testimony of the patrolman, then a sufficient factual basis appears to exist, despite the absence of the desirable examination of the defendant.
Remanded for a hearing on the voluntariness of the confession based on People v. Walker, supra. If the confession is found to have been involuntarily made, then a new trial shall be had, otherwise the cause is affirmed.
LESINSKI, C. J., concurred.
V. J. BRENNAN, J. (dissenting). The defendant contends that her plea of guilty is invalid because (1) the trial court failed to inquire into her conduct
As to the first claim, I cannot accept the majority‘s view that without some evidence on the record indicating the truth of the defendant‘s plea, the plea cannot stand. Although past decisions of both this Court and the Supreme Court adhere to this view,* the Supreme Court has recently held that noncompliance with the prophylactic standards of
“[A convicted defendant] has the burden of showing something more than technical noncompliance with a rule. Absent a showing of violation or denial of constitutional rights, he has the obligation of alleging in a motion to withdraw plea such facts as would, if true, substantiate a finding that there was noncompliance which resulted in a miscarriage of justice.” People v. Winegar, supra, 733.
Without attempting to define the limits of this requirement, it seems that the reason accompanying a request to withdraw a plea must relate to the defendant‘s innocence in fact. See People v. Dunn, supra, 701. In this respect, the present defendant has failed to sustain her burden: the trial court asked her several times whether she was guilty of the crime charged, and she answered without hesita-
Defendant‘s second claim, that her plea is invalid because it was induced by an invalid confession, is founded on People v. Daniels (1966), 2 Mich App 395. Whatever the merit of that case, defendant has not shown that she is entitled to relief under it. Although she asserts in conclusory fashion that her plea was induced by an invalid confession, she does not state why the confession is invalid or how it was used to induce a plea of guilty. Failing to specify the facts underlying her claim, defendant has not established the need for an evidentiary hearing to determine its truth. People v. Scruggs (1968), 14 Mich App 47; People v. Dickerson (1969), 17 Mich App 201.
Neither People v. Daniels, supra, nor the majority of this panel has convinced me that a trial judge need go any further in accepting a plea than to be satisfied that it is tendered voluntarily and understandingly, that it was not induced by threats or promises, and that it reflects the defendant‘s guilt in fact. To require a trial judge to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the admissibility of a confession is to destroy the utility of the guilty plea. If that is to be the criterion, then it only follows that a hearing should be conducted on the admissibility of any evidence acquired before the plea. We might as well then forget pleas and have a full hearing on the merits.
We must accept the fact that guilty pleas and plea bargaining are an important part of criminal proceedings, and, because they are important, we should not restrict them unrealistically. We should not
The record in this case clearly indicates that defendant voluntarily tendered her plea, that she knew what she was doing, and that she was pleading guilty because she said she was guilty. I would affirm the denial of defendant‘s motion to withdraw her plea of guilty.