Case Title: Kochevar v. State

Citation: 281 N.W.2d 680

Docket Number: 

State: minnesota

Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Date: 1979-06-08T00:00:00Z

Document:
281 N.W.2d 680 (1979) John Robert KOCHEVAR, Petitioner, Appellant, v. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent. No. 49201. Supreme Court of Minnesota. June 8, 1979. *682 C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, and J. Christopher Cuneo, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for petitioner, appellant. Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, Keith M. Brownell, County Atty., Duluth, Mark Rubin, Asst. County Atty., Virginia, for respondent. Heard before SHERAN, C. J., KELLY, and SCOTT, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc. SCOTT, Justice. This is an appeal from the postconviction order of the Sixth Judicial District Court which denied appellant's request to vacate his conviction for third-degree murder and to permit him to withdraw his guilty plea. We affirm. On June 20, 1974, appellant was arrested for the shooting death of Janice Misquadace, a woman he had lived with for about five years. He was arraigned on July 1, 1974, after being indicted for first-degree murder by a grand jury. Appellant pleaded not guilty and went through various pretrial *683 hearings. On October 31, 1974, after the jury was selected, but before it was sworn, appellant decided to accept the state's offer to plead guilty to murder in the third degree in exchange for a recommendation by the state that a cap of twelve years be placed on the sentence. Pursuant to this agreement, appellant appeared before the district court on the afternoon of October 31, 1974, to withdraw his plea of not guilty and plead guilty to the charge of third-degree murder. At the hearing, the trial court questioned defendant regarding the voluntariness of the plea and the rights he was waiving. After some inconsistency in his statements, he ultimately stated that he entered his plea voluntarily because he was guilty of third degree murder. Appellant was then put under oath and asked some preliminary questions by the court. Thereafter, at the request of the court, appellant was questioned by the prosecutor to establish a factual basis for the guilty plea. Appellant testified that he and the victim, Janice Misquadace, had been living together for about five years. They had two children. On June 20, 1974, appellant and Misquadace went to a local tavern and drank 3.2 beer for several hours. From there they went to another tavern and continued to drink beer until about 12:30 a. m. They arrived home about 1 a. m. and drank a six-pack of beer in the car. While in the car, they "were sort of arguing back and forth" about a "[f]amily mix-up." Misquadace then wanted to go back to the tavern for some more beer, but appellant suggested that they go into the house. As they entered the home, they were still arguing. Appellant stated that, after entering the house, Misquadace immediately went into the front room and got a gun. Appellant also got a gun from the front room. She had a .22 rifle which she said was loaded, and he had a loaded .410 shotgun. Appellant was able to take the .22 (which was actually unloaded) away from Misquadace. He then loaded the rifle with a shell and fired a shot "to scare her." She dropped to the floor, apparently, according to appellant, "playing possum." Appellant stated that he had no intention to shoot Misquadace. She remained on the floor for a few seconds, during which time appellant ejected an empty cartridge from the .22, put another shell in the chamber, and set the gun by the telephone in the kitchen. He also told Misquadace not to touch the gun because it was loaded. Appellant testified as follows as to what occurred next: Appellant was asked whether he hit Misquadace over the head with the stock of the .410 shotgun. He responded that he did not think that happened, but "it might have been possible." Appellant also stated that he did not remember saying to Misquadace, "I am going to shoot you * * *." In addition, appellant was questioned about a statement he gave police in which he said that he shot Misquadace. Appellant claimed that he had really said "she got shot" and had mentioned the error in wording previously. The prosecutor, in conclusion, inquired of appellant as follows: Upon further questioning by the court, appellant again stated that he did not intend to kill Misquadace, but admitted that he had used a weapon against her for the purpose of scaring her or causing her to have fear. At the request of the court, the prosecutor then stated for the record the evidence he would offer should the case go to trial. The state's primary evidence was the anticipated testimony of John Misquadace, the victim's brother, who slept at appellant's residence on the night in question. According to the prosecutor, the witness would give the following testimony: The prosecutor also stated that other state evidence would show that Misquadace was shot as she was lying on the floor, with the barrel of the rifle being two to three feet from the point at which the bullet entered her head. There was no objection to this recitation by the prosecutor. The defense attorney then spoke to the advisability of the plea. He stated that, in his opinion, there would be a "definite possibility" that a jury could return a verdict of first, second, or third degree murder against appellant, and therefore he advised appellant that if he was "concerned about limiting his prison time" he should accept the state's offer. When asked by the court whether he agreed that appellant's testimony satisfied the felony-murder rule portion of the third-degree murder statute, appellant's trial attorney said that he did, "[v]iewing the entire incident between the first shot and the death as res gestae, all one behavioral incident * * *." Shortly thereafter, the court accepted appellant's plea of guilty to murder in the third degree and stated: On December 31, 1974, the court sentenced appellant to imprisonment for an indeterminate term not to exceed twelve years. Subsequently, appellant petitioned the district court for postconviction relief on the grounds that his guilty plea was not properly accepted by the district court and that the recently-adopted "matrix" system adversely affects the terms of his plea agreement. He sought to have his conviction for third degree murder vacated and to be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea. In the alternative, he requested a credit, as time served, for the 66 days he spent in jail while unable to secure pretrial release on bail due to indigency. On April 4, 1978, a postconviction hearing was held in Virginia, Minnesota. Appellant's counsel, at the time he pled guilty, testified that during plea negotiations appellant was very concerned about the amount of time he might have to serve in prison. He stated that he told appellant "[t]hat on a zero-to-12 sentence, that if everything went well, that if he had a very clean record at Stillwater, and that if the parole board acted favorably on his first application, that with good luck he could or he might be out in as early as two to three years." Later, he testified that he informed appellant that it was "possible" that he could be released from prison within 2 to 3 years. Appellant stated at the hearing that defense counsel had told him that, if he "behaved," three years "might" be the maximum on a 0-12 year sentence. He claimed that being released from prison within 3 years was an important factor in deciding to plead guilty, and that he "kind of took it like a promise." The prosecutor who negotiated the plea testified that during plea negotiations he had informally discussed with defense counsel the length of time appellant might actually serve. He indicated he thought it would be "maybe a couple of years." He said that appellant may have overheard the discussion. However, he stated that he made no "promises" as to the amount of time appellant would actually be imprisoned. After appellant began to serve his sentence, the Minnesota Corrections Board instituted a "matrix system" under which the time to be served in prison is computed on the basis of the severity of the offense and a ranking given to the inmate's risk of failure on parole. According to the "matrix" appellant, who has received the best possible ranking with respect to his risk of failure on parole, must serve at least six years of prison time, because of the severity of the crime to which he pled, before he will be considered for parole. *686 On July 7, 1978, the court filed its findings of fact, conclusions of law, order and memorandum. Appellant was granted 66 days of jail time credit, but his petition in all other respects was denied. The following issues are therefore presented: (1) Was an adequate factual basis established for the acceptance of defendant's guilty plea to third-degree murder? (2) Was appellant's guilty plea induced by an unfulfilled promise so as to permit appellant to withdraw his plea? (3) Should appellant's sentence be modified to conform to his alleged expectations? 1. Before a guilty plea may properly be accepted by the trial court it must be established that a factual basis exists for concluding that the defendant actually committed an offense at least as serious as the crime to which he pled guilty. State v. Goulette, 258 N.W.2d 758 (Minn.1977); State v. Hoaglund, 307 Minn. 322, 240 N.W.2d 4 (1976). Although it is preferable for the factual basis to be established from the defendant's own testimony when he pleads, see, e.g., Holscher v. State, 282 N.W.2d 866 (Minn.1979); State v. Goulette, supra, recent decisions have acknowledged that this is not the exclusive method. See, State v. Holscher, supra, (factual basis consisted of prosecutor's summarization of state's evidence, which was unchallenged by defendant); State v. Neumann, 262 N.W.2d 426 (Minn.1978) (factual basis supplied by testimony from partial trial); State v. Goulette, supra, (defendant denied he was guilty, factual support for plea based on defense counsel's summarization of state's proposed evidence); State v. Hague, 304 Minn. 139, 229 N.W.2d 168 (1975) (factual basis established, in part, by testimony of complainant); State v. Fisher, 292 Minn. 453, 193 N.W.2d 819 (1972) (defendant had no recollection of the crime, factual support provided by proposed evidence). Under the circumstances surrounding this plea, a factual basis was established by both the state's proposed evidence and defendant's testimony at the time he pled. The state's evidence, as summarized by the prosecutor, would have shown that the victim was lying on the floor with the barrel of the gun about two to three feet from her at the time she was shot. A state witness would testify that he saw appellant aiming the gun at Misquadace just before she was killed and also heard appellant say he was going to shoot her. These facts, if believed by a jury, would support a conviction of either first- or second-degree murder.[2] But, more significantly, appellant's own testimony provides a factual basis for his plea. The felony murder doctrine is properly applied when the underlying felony is aggravated assault.[3] See, State v. Carson, 300 Minn. 527, 219 N.W.2d 88 (1974); State v. Smith, 295 Minn. 65, 203 N.W.2d 348 (1972); State v. Morris, 290 Minn. 523, 187 N.W.2d 276 (1971). In this case, the felony and the killing, according to the testimony of appellant, are parts of one continuous transaction and thus the felony murder rule is applicable. See, 58 A.L.R.3d 851 (1974). Appellant stated that he fired once at Misquadace to scare her and as a result she dropped to the floor. Appellant then reloaded the rifle, setting it in the kitchen. Within seconds Misquadace rose from the floor, fought with defendant over the rifle and was shot. This unbroken sequence of events, from the felony to the killing, justifies application of the felony murder rule.[4] *687 It should be noted that appellant also contends that the plea was not intelligently made because the court did not inform him of the specific defenses which he might assert at trial, i. e., intoxication and self-defense. This contention is without merit. It is well settled that a defendant must have an understanding of the law as it relates to the facts. McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 89 S. Ct. 1166, 22 L. Ed. 2d 418 (1969). However, a trial court need not specifically inform him of all his constitutional rights, State v. Chounard, 299 Minn. 216, 216 N.W.2d 908 (1974); State v. Propotnik, 299 Minn. 56, 216 N.W.2d 637 (1974), nor must it delineate all possible defenses which may be assertable at trial. State v. Nace, 308 Minn. 170, 241 N.W.2d 101 (1976). As this court stated in Nace: The record in this case discloses that appellant's trial counsel, an experienced criminal attorney, thoroughly discussed with appellant the various alternatives available to him, including the advantages, disadvantages and probabilities associated with each. Accordingly, consistent with the Nace decision, appellant's contention that his guilty plea was improperly accepted because the trial court failed to specifically inform him of possible defenses must be rejected.[5] 2. Appellant claims that he should be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea because it was induced by an unfulfilled promise, to wit: if appellant "behaved himself" he would be entitled to parole within 2-3 years. It is well settled that an unqualified promise which is part of a plea arrangement must be honored or else the guilty plea may be withdrawn. Olness v. State, 290 Minn. 198, 186 N.W.2d 706 (1971); Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 92 S. Ct. 495, 30 L. Ed. 2d 427 (1971). Appellant, however, has failed to show that the representations made to him constitute an unqualified promise, and accordingly his contention must be rejected. The postconviction court found that no such "promise" was made to appellant. As the court stated in its findings of fact: Factual findings, such as this, of a postconviction court will not be disturbed if supported by sufficient evidence. Barness v. State, 290 Minn. 509, 187 N.W.2d 111 (1971). Since the record contains abundant support for the court's finding, it must be sustained. For example, appellant's trial counsel testified at the postconviction hearing as follows: Appellant himself stated that he thought that on a zero-to-12 year sentence he could "possibly get a parole within three years if I behaved myself down there. But it would be up to the parole board at that time to be the judge of my behavior and everything, * * *." Similarly, the record discloses that at the time he pled, appellant understood the total ramifications of his plea: And, finally, the record shows that the sentencing court instructed appellant as follows: The above evidence adequately supports the postconviction court's finding that no unqualified promise was made to appellant. In this case the record shows that appellant understood he was subject to the full punishment of the law and thus he should not be allowed to withdraw his plea because an "unwarranted hope" has not been realized. See, Olness v. State, supra. In a related argument, appellant claims that his plea was not voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently made because he was not informed that he would have to serve six years of prison time before he was realistically eligible for parole. As discussed above, though, appellant knew that the amount of time he would be in prison was a matter within the discretion of the corrections authorities. Subsequently, in their discretion, the corrections authorities *689 have adopted a matrix system[6] for determining when an inmate should be released, which assigns a target release date of six years to appellant. Accordingly, appellant was accurately advised of the possible time of parole and thus his plea was knowingly made. 3. Appellant's final contention is that his sentence should be modified to reflect the intentions of the sentencing court. The postconviction court did not refer to this argument, apparently because the claim was not raised in appellant's memorandum to the court.[7] A critical part of appellant's argument is that the intent of the sentencing court, in imposing sentence on appellant, was to make him eligible for an early parole, i. e., within two to three years. However, the record does not reflect such an attitude of the sentencing court. Rather, the court seemed primarily interested in giving effect to the negotiated plea agreement which placed a maximum of twelve years on appellant's sentence.[8] As discussed above, the court, consistent with pertinent legislation, intended for the corrections authorities to determine when, within this twelve-year range, appellant might be paroled. Thus, contrary to appellant's claim, the intentions of the sentencing have not been frustrated by the implementation of the matrix system.[9] The record clearly shows that the sentencing court's intentions have not been frustrated by the implementation of the matrix procedure. The court was primarily concerned with placing a maximum on appellant's sentence in accordance with the plea agreement. The judge specifically informed appellant at the time of sentencing that eligibility for parole "will have to be left to the wisdom and good judgment of the Minnesota Corrections authority." The postconviction court's decision is therefore affirmed.[10] Affirmed. [1] The pertinent legislation defining third degree murder, Minn.St. 609.195, reads as follows: "Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by either of the following means, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years: * * * * * * "(2) Commits or attempts to commit a felony upon or affecting the person whose death was caused or another, except criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence within the meaning of section 609.185." Minn.St. 609.225, subd. 2, reads: "Whoever assaults another with a dangerous weapon but without inflicting great bodily harm may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years * * *." [2] See, Minn.St. 609.185(1) and 609.19. [3] The felony murder rule is codified in Minn.St. 609.195(2), and aggravated assault, a felony, is proscribed by Minn.St. 609.225. See, n. 1, supra. [4] The postconviction court similarly reasoned: "* * * Here the time lapse between the first shot and the fatal second shot was a matter of seconds. According to petitioner's own statement he fired once to scare the decedent and she dropped to the floor. He then reloaded the rifle and, retaining control over it, leaned it against the wall next to his chair. She rose from the floor, struggled with him for possession of the rifle, and was fatally shot. Under these facts this court is convinced that there had been no termination of the aggravated assault so as to preclude application of the felony murder rule. The killing was part of the res gestae of the petitioner's assault upon decedent with a loaded rifle. They were part of one continuous course of conduct." [5] See, Rule 15, Rules of Criminal Procedure (effective July 1, 1975), now controlling, for the procedures to be followed in accepting a defendant's guilty plea. [6] It should be noted that the validity of the matrix system was recently upheld by this court in State ex rel. Taylor v. Schoen, 273 N.W.2d 612 (Minn.1978). In that case, the court specifically held that the matrix system does not constitute determinate sentencing in contravention of pertinent legislation, nor does it invade the inherent powers of the court. Additionally, it must be pointed out that the matrix is not mechanically applied to all inmates, but is used as a guide by the parole board in making its determinations. [7] This issue, however, was raised in appellant's pro se petition for postconviction relief, dated September 6, 1977. Accordingly, the question was adequately raised below and thus is properly before this court. [8] Appellant, of course, benefited greatly. If appellant had gone to trial on the crime charged, first-degree murder, and been convicted, he would have been sentenced to life in prison. See, Minn.St. 609.185. Thus, as the record shows, appellant pled guilty to third-degree murder to limit his exposure to prison. The trial court, in imposing sentence, merely gave effect to the plea agreement entered into between the state and appellant. [9] We also note that the record contains a letter from the sentencing judge to appellant, written in response to appellant's correspondence, which indicates that the adoption of the matrix system has not interfered with the judge's intentions. [10] We note that subsequent to the filing of the briefs in this case appellant has raised the argument that application of the matrix system to him constitutes an ex post facto law. In support of this contention, appellant relies on the decision in Geraghty v. U. S. Parole Commission, 579 F.2d 238 (3 Cir. 1978), cert. granted, ___ U.S. ___, 99 S. Ct. 1420, 59 L. Ed. 2d 632 (1979) (No. 78-572). We are unpersuaded by the Geraghty reasoning. Rather, we agree with the position taken in Shepard v. Taylor, 556 F.2d 648 (2 Cir. 1977), and Ruip v. United States, 555 F.2d 1331 (6 Cir. 1977), that the subsequent adoption of guidelines designed to aid the correction authorities in making their parole decisions does not constitute an ex post facto law. Accordingly, we reject appellant's claim.