STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. DONALD J. SLATER
Supreme Court of Connecticut
Argued January 10—decision released July 1, 1975
HOUSE, C. J., LOISELLE, MACDONALD, BOGDANSKI and LONGO, Js.
The remaining assignments of error that have been briefed have been reviewed and found to have no merit.
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
William F. Gallagher, special assistant state‘s attorney, with whom, on the brief, was Arnold Markle, state‘s attorney, for the appellee (state).
LONGO, J. In the first part of a two-part information containing ten cоunts, the defendant was charged with three counts of kidnapping (
The numerous proсeedings before the court in this case necessitate the following recitation: On March 18, 1970, the defendant, represented by his court-appointed special public defender, Attorney Robert E. Reilly, pleaded not guilty to the first part of the information and elected a trial by jury. On August 26, after the jury had been selected and after prior negotiations, but before any evidence was taken, and pursuant to consultation with his counsel, a recommendation of a sentence of not less than nine nor more than twenty-five years was accepted by the defendant. After a thorough interrogation by the court (Grillo, J.), the defendant pleaded guilty to the fifth and tenth counts of the
The briefed assignments of error relate to (1) the claimed failure of the court (Palmer, J.) to warn the defendant of his “Miranda type” rights, to appoint new counsel and to continue the case for another hearing when the court was informed that the defendant and his counsel did not agree that the defendant should withdraw his guilty pleas and enter pleas of not guilty; (2) the court‘s denial (Healey, J.) of the motion to “reopen” the judg-
I
Mere disagreement between counsel and client is not sufficient reason to require the court to terminate summarily the attorney-client relationship, absent a request by counsel or the accused or a judgment of the trier that the representation was no longer tenable in view of the disagreement and would not be in the best interest of the accused. It is sufficient to note that the defendant had counsel who had appeared for him and there was no withdrawal of his appearance as well as no request for other or new counsel. See LaReau v. Warden, 161 Conn. 303, 309, 288 A.2d. 54. Accordingly, the court did not commit error in intеrrogating the defendant further after he informed the court of the reasons and circumstances which prompted his pro se motion to reinstate his former not guilty pleas, namely, that he was “pretty well upset“; that he only had a five minute recess within which to make his decision; that he felt he was under a threat of a long sentence if he proceeded to a trial; that he felt that he was not guilty of the charges; and that he had made a bad choice in pleading guilty. The court should not be faulted for conducting an inquiry relating to the viability of the attorney-client relationship. Nor is there merit to the defendant‘s claim that the court was required to warn the defendant of his rights when his counsel informed the court that he did not recommend a change of plea, since no evidence was adduced which could have prejudiced the trial of his case, and since the client still had the benefit of being represented by counsel.
The defendant further claims thаt the court abused its discretion on August 6, 1971, by refusing to “reopen” the judgment and by not allowing the defendant to withdraw his guilty pleas and enter pleas of not guilty. In accordance with the great weight of authority, a guilty plea once entered cannot be withdrawn except by leave of the court, and the decision lies within the sound discretion of the court. United States v. Fernandez, 428 F.2d 578 (2d Cir.); Szarwak v. Warden, 167 Conn. 10, 23-24, 355 A.2d 49; State v. Dukes, 157 Conn. 498, 255 A.2d 614; State v. Brown, 157 Conn. 492, 496, 255 A.2d 612; State v. Dennis, 150 Conn. 245, 246, 188 A.2d 65. The defendant has the burden of satisfying the court that there are grounds for a withdrawal of the guilty pleas. See Vena v. Warden, 154 Conn. 363, 367, 225 A.2d 802. In State v. Brown, supra, 496, this court held that it was error for a trial court to base its decision on whether a plea of guilty should be withdrawn upon its evaluation of what it felt was in the best interests of the client, even if thе risks taken by the defendant in electing trial were severe. The case reinforced the proposition that it is in the sound discretion of the trial court whether to permit the withdrawal of a guilty plea. “This court has never attempted to lay down specific guidelines for the assistance of a trial court in deciding the mеrits of an application to withdraw a plea in a criminal case. Indeed, since of necessity each case must depend on its own facts and circumstances, it is doubtful that any hard and fast rule can be laid down which will fit every case.” Id., 495. In reviewing the record, we noted that “[n]one of the usual reasons to deny such an
The record must show, however, that the plea of guilty was entered intelligently and voluntarily. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242, 89 S. Ct. 1709, 23 L. Ed. 2d 274. The material findings, which were supported by evidence printed in the appendix to the defendant‘s brief, show that оn August 20, 1970,
These conclusions must stand unless they are legally and logically inconsistent with the facts found or unless they involve the application of
III
The defendant has assigned error to the admission by Judge Healey of the transcript of the proceedings before Judge Palmer. The motion to vacate the guilty pleas was heard by Judge Healey on August 6, 1971. At that hearing, the state called Attornеy Reilly to testify as a witness. Both Attorney Frechette and Attorney Reilly objected, on the ground that the testimony would be in violation of the attorney-client privilege existing between the defendant and Attorney Reilly. Before the court ruled thereon, the state offered the transcript of the hearing before Judge Palmer. Again, the defendant objected on the sole
We have reviewed the remaining assignment of error with respect to the court‘s ruling on evidence. Even if the court‘s ruling were erroneous, it does not appear that it was harmful to the defendant and hence it was not reversible error.
In this opinion HOUSE, C. J., LOISELLE and MACDONALD, Js., concurred.
BOGDANSKI, J. (dissenting). The defendant should have been permitted to withdraw his pleas of guilty. The facts of this case are almost identical to those of State v. Brown, 157 Conn. 492, 255 A.2d 612. The pleas of guilty were entered just before trial; the court questioned the dеfendant about the “voluntariness” of the pleas before accepting them; and shortly thereafter, but prior to sentencing, the defendant changed his mind, claiming that the pleas were not voluntary because he did not understand the proceeding and because counsel was overly persuasive. The motion to withdraw the pleas was not unseasonably made and there was no indication that it was motivated by an attempt to delay or that the state had been prejudiced. “Under all these circumstances, in exercising its judicial discretion, the court should have left the decision as to a plea to the defendant and fоllowed ‘the universal practice in this State . . . for the court to exercise that discretion in favor of the accused, and to permit him to change his plea and have a jury decide the question of his guilt.’ . . . [State v. Carta, 90 Conn. 79, 82, 96 A. 411].” State v. Brown, supra, 497.
By rejecting the guidelines set forth in State v. Brown, supra, and by falling back on the naked proposition that the decision “lies within the sound discretion of the trial court,” the mаjority opinion leaves the judges of this state without any standards or guidelines on plea withdrawal. This can only lead to arbitrary and inconsistent rulings which
A guilty plea is “perhaps the most devastating waiver possible under our Constitution.” Dukes v. Warden, 406 U.S. 250, 258, 92 S. Ct. 1551, 32 L. Ed. 2d 45 (concurring opinion of Stewart, J.). It involves a waiver of the privilege against self-incrimination, the right tо trial by jury, and the right to confront one‘s accusers. Boykin v. Alabama, supra, 243; State v. Bugbee, supra, 533. When an accused changes his mind shortly after waiving those constitutional rights, claiming that he was confused and under pressure and that he didn‘t understand what he was doing, the court should show solicitude for the defendant and allow him to undo the waiver, especially when there is no prejudice to the state and no attempt to delay the proceeding. State v. Brown, supra. “‘Any requirement that a defendant prove the “merit” of his reason for undoing this waiver would confuse the obvious difference between the withdrawal of a guilty plea before the government has relied on the plea to its disadvantage, and a later challenge to such a plea, on appeal or collaterally, when the judgment is final and the government clearly has relied on the plea.‘” Szarwak v. Warden, supra, 49 (opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part by Bogdanski, J.), citing Dukes v. Warden, supra (concurring opinion of Stewart, J.).