Lead Opinion
[¶ 1.] In 2012, Wayne Bilben was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. A part II information alleged that he had three prior DUI convictions within the last ten years (in 2003, 2004, and 2007). Bilben moved to strike the prior convictions. He claimed that he pleaded guilty to the prior DUI charges without adequate Boykin advisements, rendering the prior convictions invalid. The circuit court denied his motion. On appeal, Bilben withdraws his challenge to his 2004 conviction, but continues to challenge the validity of his 2003 and 2007 convictions. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for resentencing.
Facts and Procedural History
[¶ 2.] In 2003, Bilben was charged with DUI. At a change-of-plea hearing, the court simultaneously advised all defendants present of their rights, including their Boykin rights: their right to a jury trial, their right to confront their accusers, and their privilege against compulsory self-incrimination. See Boykin v. Alabama,
Court: All right. [Defense Counsel], have you discussed with your client his statutory and constitutional rights and maximum penalties?
Defense Counsel: I have, your Honor. And I understand he was present today, and he heard them before. And I believe he understands them; is that correct?
Bilben: Yes.
Court: Mr. Bilben, you understand your rights?
Bilben: Yes.
Court: You’ve been in court at least on two occasions when your rights have been given to you.
Bilben: Yes.
*338 Court: Do you understand your rights?
Bilben: Yes, sir.
Court: Okay. Have there been any threats or promises made to you, other than this plea agreement that’s been discussed in court, to get you to enter a plea of guilty to this charge.
Bilben: No, sir.
Bilben then pleaded guilty to the 2003 DUI charge.
[¶ 3.] In 2006, Bilben was charged with another DUI. At his plea hearing, he was advised by that court of his rights, including his Boykin rights. However, Bilben was not advised that a guilty plea would waive his Boykin rights.
[¶ 4.] In 2013, Bilben was charged with the DUI that precipitated this appeal. Before trial, Bilben moved to strike his 2003 and 2007 convictions from the part II information. He claimed that his 2003 and 2007 convictions were constitutionally invalid because he pleaded to each charge ■without an adequate Boykin advisement. The circuit court denied the motion. Following a court trial, Bilben was convicted of the 2013 DUI charge, and the court imposed an enhanced sentence based on the prior convictions. Bilben appeals.
Decision
[¶ 5.] Boykin requires that before a defendant pleads guilty, he “be advised of his [federal constitutional] rights relating to self-incrimination, trial by jury, and confrontation,” and “that [he] intentionally relinquish or abandon known rights.” State v. Smith,
[¶ 6.] Regarding the 2003 conviction, Bilben claims that the court only advised him that a guilty plea would waive his right to a jury trial. Bilben contends he was not advised that he would also waive his privilege against self-mcrimination and his right to confront his accusers. We disagree.
[¶ 7.] Shortly after fully advising Bil-ben of all three Boykin rights, the 2003 court advised Bilben that by pleading guilty, he would “give up [his] right to a jury trial and all rights that accompany a jury trial.” (Emphasis added.) Bilben’s right against compulsory self-incrimination and right of confrontation are rights that accompanied his right to a jury trial. Therefore, Bilben was advised that by pleading guilty, he would waive all three Boykin rights. Indeed, we recently upheld a similar general waiver advisement that referenced previously enumerated Boykin rights. See Smith,
[¶ 8.] Bilben, however, argues that Rosen v. Weber,
[¶ 9.] In Rosen, the plea-taking court only advised the defendant that by pleading guilty, he would waive his “rights to a trial[.]” See id. ¶ 3 n. 1. Further, the plea-taking court in Rosen, unlike the plea-taking court in Smith, did not advise that a guilty plea would waive previously enumerated rights. Thus, we noted that there could be no “effective waiver of federal constitutional rights,” as “one must ask how a pleading defendant could have knowingly and voluntarily waived [all] Boykin rights when that defendant was never advised that those rights would be waived by pleading guilty.” Id. ¶¶ 9, 13 (citation omitted).
[¶ 10.] Unlike the defendant in Rosen, Bilben was advised that a guilty plea would waive all previously enumerated rights associated with a trial, which included all three Boykin rights. Therefore, by his guilty plea, Bilben made a knowing decision to waive his Boykin rights.
[¶ 11.] Bilben’s argument fails to recognize that “Boykin ‘does not require the recitation of a formula by rote or the spelling out of every detail by the trial court[.]’ ” Monette,
[¶ 12.] Here, the record reflects that the 2003 court fully advised Bilben of his Boykin rights. The court then gave him a general waiver advisement, similar to the one approved in Smith. And significantly, Bilben makes no claim that, under the totality of the circumstances, his plea was unknowing or involuntary. Therefore, the circuit court did not err in denying Bil-ben’s motion to strike his 2003 conviction.
[¶ 13.] Unlike the 2003 record, the 2007 record does not reflect that Bil-ben was advised that a guilty plea would waive his Boykin rights. The record indicates that the 2007 court failed to give any waiver advisement. “Failing ‘to canvass [a defendant] regarding a waiver of his [or her] Boykin rights invalidates [the] guilty plea even under our less intense’ collateral attack standard of review.” Smith,
[¶ 14.] The State, however, contends that the 2007 advisement was sufficient under the totality of the circumstances. We disagree. “In the [complete] absence of a Boykin canvassing, a ‘critical step’ is missing and the reviewing court does ‘not consider the additional factors under the totality of the circumstances analysis.’ ” Rosen,
[¶ 15.] The State also contends that under State v. Jensen,
[¶ 16.] In Jensen, the defendant contended that his guilty plea was invalid on two grounds: a statutory violation of SDCL chapter 28A-7 requiring certain ad-visements and a constitutional violation for failing to provide a Boykin advisement. See id. ¶¶ 10, 13. The State’s prejudice argument comes from Jensen’s discussion of statutory violations of chapter 23A-7. In Jensen, we explained that “[t]he United States Constitution does not mandate that courts follow the procedure embodied in chapter 23A-7.” Id. ¶ 11 (citation omitted). Therefore, “[b]ecause failure to follow the [chapter 23A-7] procedure is not a constitutional defect, a collateral attack on a predicate conviction on that basis is only proper for our consideration if a defendant can demonstrate prejudice.” Id. (citation omitted). But Jensen did not extend the prejudice requirement to constitutional defects based on Boykin. See id. ¶¶ 13-16.
[¶ 17.] Because Bilben established a constitutional defect based on Boykin, Bil-ben was not required to make a showing of prejudice. See id.; see also Smith,
[¶ 18.] The dissent presents thought-provoking arguments for reexamining the statutory and constitutional underpinnings that govern collateral attacks on predicate convictions used for sentencing enhancement. Although the United States Supreme Court and some states have adopted the dissent’s argument, we must wait for another day to consider the matter. The dissent’s argument was neither presented below nor briefed on appeal. Therefore, it would be imprudent for us to consider it sua sponte. Bypassing the adversarial process today could result in just as significant an oversight as the dissent argues occurred in State v. King,
[¶ 19.] The dissent also presents a compelling argument that our case law, addressing alleged Boykin violations, has incorrectly strayed from a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis toward the two-step approach applied in Rosen and Monette. See Rosen,
[¶ 20.] Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for resentencing without consideration of the 2007 conviction.
Notes
. With respect to the consequences of pleading guilty, the court only advised: "So you are going to get rid of the charge simply by pleading to it and let me decide what happens after listening to the [S]tate and you and [Defense Counsel] tell me what you respectively think.”
. Because the facts concerning Bilben's 2003 and 2007 Boykin advisements are not in dispute, we only review the circuit court's conclusions of law. We review conclusions of law de novo. Rosen v. Weber,
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
[¶23.] I dissent. The procedure used by Bilben — a collateral attack on the validity of a predicate conviction used for enhancement purposes — is a judicial construct. Unlike direct appeal, it is not codified by our Legislature. See SDCL 23A-32-2 (codifying right to appeal from a final judgment of conviction). Unlike a petition for habeas corpus, it is neither a remedy “antecedent to statute” nor “an integral part of our common-law heritage.” Rasul v. Bush,
[¶ 24.] In the posture presented in this case, the remedy first seems to have appeared in State v. King. In King, this Court determined that “a motion to strike is the proper vehicle for attacking such a constitutionally infirm conviction.” Id. at 856-57 (citing In re Rogers,
[¶25.] In King, the Court adopted a very broad rule, despite assertions that this type of collateral attack should be confined to use in a very narrowly-defined category of cases. The State specifically argued in King that only convictions resulting from uncounseled guilty pleas were constitutionally infirm for enhancement purposes, and thus collateral attacks alleging other constitutional deficiencies should not be entertained. Id. (citing Burgett v. Texas,
[¶ 26.] The defendant in Custis v. United States challenged the use of prior convictions to enhance sentencing on federal drug and firearm charges brought against him.
[¶ 27.] On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, Custis argued that the United States Constitution required some procedural avenue through which to challenge the constitutionality of his prior convictions when used for sentence enhancement. Id. at 490,
As we have explained, “[i]nroads on the concept of finality tend to undermine confidence in the integrity of our procedures” and inevitably delay and impair the orderly administration of justice. United States v. Addonizio,442 U.S. 178 , 184, n. 11,99 S.Ct. 2235 , 2240, n. 11,60 L.Ed.2d 805 (1979). We later noted in Parke v. Raley,506 U.S. 20 ,113 S.Ct. 517 ,121 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992), that principles of finality associated with habeas corpus actions apply with at least equal force when a defendant seeks to attack a previous conviction used for sentencing. By challenging the previous conviction, the defendant is asking a district court “to deprive [the] [state-court judgment] of [its] normal force and effect in a proceeding that ha[s] an independent purpose other than to overturn the prior judgmen[t].” Id. at 30,113 S.Ct. at 523 . These principles bear extra weight in cases in which the prior convictions, such as one challenged by Custis, are based on guilty pleas, because when a guilty plea is at issue, “the concern with finality served by the limitation on collateral attack has special force.” United States v. Timmreck,441 U.S. 780 , 784,*343 99 S.Ct. 2085 , 2087,60 L.Ed.2d 634 (1979) (footnote omitted).
Id. at 497,
[¶ 28.] In King we cited Lewis as supporting the proposition that “when the subsequent punishment depends upon the reliability of the former conviction, it becomes constitutionally infirm.” King,
[¶ 29.] Our penalty enhancement statutes impose no greater statutory burden of proving the validity of a prior conviction than the federal law at issue in Custis or Lewis.
[¶ 30.] A number of states have followed the constitutional analysis and policy considerations in Custis and recognized that constitutional considerations do not require courts to entertain collateral attacks on prior convictions used for enhancement purposes unless the defendant claims the predicate conviction was un-counseled. See, e.g., State v. Weber,
[¶ 31.] Although we acknowledge that this Court has the ability to grant greater protection under the South Dakota Constitution than is afforded under the United States Constitution, we have stated that to do so is a “significant undertaking.” Gilbert v. Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe,
[¶ 32.] Despite this cautionary guidance about divergent protection granted under State and federal constitutions, we have continued offering greater protection than that granted by the United States Constitution. We have done so without sound judicial interpretation as to why under due process concerns of the South Dakota Constitution defendants are allowed to raise these collateral attacks, when they are not given that protection under the United States Constitution. This is especially concerning, considering as the Nebraska Supreme Court noted, that allowing these special collateral attacks in enhanced-sentencing proceedings “is inconsistent with limitations which our law places upon collateral attack of criminal convictions under other circumstances.” Louthan,
[¶ 33.] Our judiciary and the South Dakota citizens whose rights and liberties we have pledged to protect have a deeply-rooted interest in the finality of criminal judgments. As we have stated, “[o]ne of the law’s very objects is the finality of its judgments. Neither innocence nor just punishment can be vindicated until the final judgment is known. Without finality,
[¶ 34.] Because the right to collaterally attack a prior conviction used for sentence enhancement is not required by the United States Constitution and serves to undermine the finality of judgments of the courts of this State, I urge this Court to seriously reconsider the wisdom of allowing the sort of unrestrained collateral attack brought by Bilben in this case. We should not continue to undermine the finality of judgments in this State, nor continue utilizing precious judicial resources on these collateral attacks without a clear interpretation why our State Constitution offers greater protection in this area than the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution.
[¶ 35.] To exacerbate the problem created by our expanded notion of the right to collaterally attack a predicate conviction, the Court today also follows the recent direction taken by this Court, away from a totality-of-the-circumstances review of guilty pleas and toward a two-step approach developed in Monette and Rosen. Under the Court’s approach, “[i]n the complete absence of a Boykin canvassing, a ‘critical step’ is missing” and the Court does not analyze the situation under the totality of the circumstances. As was one of my stated concerns in Rosen, this approach threatens to place form over substance, creating an analytical framework where we require “the recitation of a formula by rote or the spelling out of every detail by the trial court” in order to find a guilty plea knowing and voluntary. Rosen,
[¶ 36.] Prior to Monette, we looked to the totality of the circumstances surrounding a guilty plea to determine whether a plea was entered knowingly and intelligently. See, e.g., State v. Apple,
[¶ 37.] In a habeas action the petitioner “carries the burden of proving an involuntary plea and that his rights were violated.” See Monette,
[¶ 38.] The record in this case reflects, not just “in some manner ”
[¶ 39.] The judge first informed Bilben that he had a right to a jury trial. The judge then informed Bilben that “At the trial, you have a right to remain silent” and to “confront your accusers.” Although the judge did not use the word “waive,” the rights available at trial were prefaced with the phrase “At the trial[.]” The judge then placed the two options before Bilben: he could plead guilty, or have a trial. Because the Boykin rights were prefaced by the phrase “At trial,” Bilben should have understood that he would not get those rights if he pleaded guilty — the choice presented to Bilben as the alternative to trial.
[¶ 40.] Beyond the words spoken by the judge, the totality of the circumstances strengthens the conclusion that Bilben voluntarily and intelligently waived his rights when he pleaded guilty. Had Bilben been a first time offender, unrepresented by counsel, one may question whether Bilben would have understood from the advisement that he did not get the rights available at trial if he pleaded guilty. However, the record reflects that Bilben was familiar with the court system. The 2007 conviction was Bilben’s third time before the court on DUI charges in approximately five years. At the very beginning of the plea hearing, Bilben acknowledged that he had been in front of the court too many times in too short a period of time. More specifically, he was familiar with pleading guilty. He had done it in the past and experienced the consequences. The record also reflects that Bilben was represented by an attorney. The record reflects that Bilben took time, off the record to discuss the plea with his attorney before entering the plea.
[¶ 41.] It is telling in this case that Bilben does not claim on appeal that he was actually coerced or misunderstood his rights prior to pleading guilty in his 2007 conviction. The totality of the circumstances, including the advisement of rights given to Bilben, his past experience with the court system, and the fact that he was represented by an attorney, all support the conclusion that Bilben knew the nature of his rights and the consequences of his guilty plea, including waiver of certain rights. However, the Court takes too narrow a view of the proceedings and incorrectly determines Bilben’s 2007 conviction to be invalid based on Boykin. For this reason, and because Bilben has no constitutional or statutory right to collaterally attack a predicate conviction used for enhancement purposes, I dissent.
[¶ 42.] SEVERSON, Justice, joins this dissent.
. King also noted “a constitutionally infirm conviction cannot be used to enhance the sentence under our habitual offender statutes.” Id. (citing Application of Garritsen,
. See In re Rogers,
.
.
. The United States Supreme Court further curtailed the ability to raise such a collateral attack in Nichols v. United States, where the Court clarified that an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction may also be used for enhancement purposes, so long as no prison term was imposed for the misdemeanor conviction.
. Compare SDCL 32-23-4.6 (imposing enhanced penalty for fourth DUI conviction “[i]f conviction for a violation of [SDCL] 32-23-1 is for a fourth offense”), and SDCL 22-7-7 (imposing enhanced penalty ”[i]f a defendant has been convicted of one or two prior felonies under the laws of this state or any other state or the United States”), with Custis,
. SDCL 21-27-3.3.
. See also Lackawanna Cnty. Dist. Attorney v. Coss,
As we said in Daniels [v. United States,532 U.S. 374 ,121 S.Ct. 1578 ,149 L.Ed.2d 590 (2001)], "[t]hese vehicles for review ... are not available indefinitely and without limitation.” A defendant may choose not to seek review of his conviction within the prescribed time. Or he may seek review and not prevail, either because he did not comply with procedural rules or because he failed to prove a constitutional violation. In each of these situations, the defendant’s conviction becomes final and the State that secured the conviction obtains a strong interest in preserving the integrity of the judgment. Other jurisdictions acquire an interest as well, as they may then use that conviction for their own recidivist sentencing purposes, relying on "the ‘presumption of regularity’ that attaches to final judgments."
Id. (citations omitted).
. Under this test, for example, if a criminal defense attorney with decades of experience were to plead guilty to a crime, but the judge didn’t explain to him on the record that pleading guilty waived his Boykin rights, the validity of the plea could be challenged, years later, as having not been entered ’'knowingly.”
. Majority Opinion ¶ 11 (citations omitted).
.The advisement in this case was similar to those in Jones v. State,
