Case Title: DANNY LEE WILLIAMS
v.
State of Indiana

Citation: 

Docket Number: 21S-CR-00113

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 2021-03-16T00:00:00Z

Document:
I N  T H E  
Indiana Supreme Court 
Supreme Court Case No. 21S-CR-113 
Danny Lee Williams, 
Appellant, 
–v– 
State of Indiana, 
Appellee. 
Decided: March 16, 2021 
Appeal from the Clark Circuit Court 
No. 10C02-1805-F2-22 
The Honorable Bradley B. Jacobs, Judge 
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals 
No. 20A-CR-910 
Per Curiam Opinion 
Chief Justice Rush and Justices David, Massa, Slaughter, and Goff concur. 
 
 
 
FILED
C L E R K
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
Mar 16 2021, 12:27 pm
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 21S-CR-113 | March 16, 2021 
Page 2 of 3 
Per curiam.  
Danny Lee Williams pleaded guilty to Dealing in Methamphetamine, a 
Level 3 felony, and Dealing in a Narcotic Drug, a Level 4 felony. The plea 
agreement called for the two sentences to run concurrently, with 
sentencing left to the discretion of the trial court, and Williams checked a 
box that stated, “DEFENDANT WAIVES RIGHT TO APPEAL.” The trial 
court sentenced Williams to six years for the Level 3 felony charge and 
two years for the Level 4 felony charge, for a total of six years executed.  
At the sentencing hearing, the judge advised Williams that by pleading 
guilty, he was waiving the right to appeal his conviction; but the judge 
failed to clarify whether Williams also was waiving the right to appeal his 
sentence. Despite this failure to clarify, the sentencing order stated that 
Williams waived his right to appeal “the sentence imposed by the Court 
that is within the range set forth in the agreement.” The court then 
appointed a public defender “for purposes of preparing and filing an 
appeal in this matter.” After Williams filed his appellant’s brief, in which 
he argued his sentence is inappropriate, the Court of Appeals granted the 
State’s motion to dismiss the appeal on grounds that Williams waived the 
right to appeal his sentence.   
In Johnson v. State, 145 N.E.3d 785, 786-87 (Ind. 2020), we held that a 
plea agreement’s generalized statement that the defendant “waives right 
to appeal,” without more, was insufficient to establish the knowing and 
voluntary waiver of the defendant’s right to appeal his sentence. Here, it 
is not apparent from the plea agreement or the colloquy at the sentencing 
hearing that Williams knowingly and voluntarily waived the right to 
appeal his sentence. We grant transfer for the sole purpose of reminding 
trial judges that the plea agreement, guilty plea and sentencing hearing 
colloquy, and sentencing order must be clear and consistent as to whether 
a defendant waives only the right to appeal the conviction or the right to 
appeal the conviction and sentence. We affirm the sentence imposed by 
the trial court, which allows Williams to seek a sentence modification 
upon his successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program 
and is not one of the outliers Appellate Rule 7(B) is intended to leaven. See 
Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1225 (Ind. 2008). 
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 21S-CR-113 | March 16, 2021 
Page 3 of 3 
Rush, C.J., and David, Massa, Slaughter, and Goff, JJ., concur.  
A TT O R N E Y F O R  A PP E LLA N T  
Raymond T. Lowe 
Lowe Law Office 
New Albany, Indiana 
A TT O R N E YS F O R  AP P EL LE E  
Theodore E. Rokita 
Attorney General of Indiana 
Evan M. Comer 
Deputy Attorney General 
Indianapolis, Indiana