Case Name: Joe Earl SWEAT, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2004-11-30
Citations: 910 So. 2d 12
Docket Number: No. 2003-CP-00909-COA
Parties: Joe Earl SWEAT, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
Judges: KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., BARNES AND ISHEE, JJ., CONCUR.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 910
Pages: 12–23

Head Matter:
Joe Earl SWEAT, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
No. 2003-CP-00909-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
Nov. 30, 2004.
Rehearing Denied March 1, 2005.
Certiorari Granted June 16, 2005.
Joe Earl Sweat, Appellant, Pro Se.
Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, attorney for appellee.

Opinion:
IRVING, J.,
for the Court.
¶ 1. On June 10, 2002, Joe Earl Sweat a/k/a Joe Sweat, a prior convicted felon, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of Ita-wamba County to conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. His plea was accepted, and he was sentenced to twenty yeai-s in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with twelve years suspended and five years of post-release supervision.
¶2. On January 9, 2003, Sweat filed a motion for post-conviction relief which the trial court summarily dismissed. Sweat now appeals and list the following issues: (1) that the sentence given him was illegal because the trial court lacked the authority to suspend any portion of the sentence, (2) that the trial court was required to hold a hearing on his claim of illegal sentence, (3) that he was entitled to withdraw his guilty plea, (4) that his plea bargain agreement was breached, (5) that the statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutional, (6) that defense counsel was ineffective, and (8) that he was the victim of an illegal wiretap.
¶ 3. We initially note that the arguments which Sweat makes in his pro se brief do not follow precisely his stated issues. Nevertheless, we consider what we determine to be the central claims made by Sweat in this appeal and find no merit in any of the issues except the first issue. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the trial court on all issues except the first one. However, we find merit in Sweat's first issue and we reverse and remand Sweat's sentence for proper resentencing.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES
1. The Legality of Sweat's Sentence
¶ 4. The relevant portion of Sweat's sentencing order reads as follows:
IT IS, therefore ordered and Adjudged by the Court that the Defendant be and he/she is hereby sentenced to serve a term of twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections at a facility to be designated by said department, that twelve years of said sentence shall be and the same is hereby suspended and that the defendant shall be placed under post-release supervision upon the release from the term of incarceration for a period of five years pursuant to Mississippi Code section 47-7-34 and the suspension of said sentence is based upon the following conditions .
¶ 5. It is not disputed that, at the time of sentencing, Sweat was a prior convicted felon. Therefore, Mississippi Code Annotated sections 47-7-33 and 34 (Rev.2004) come into play. Section 47-7-33 reads in pertinent part:
When it appears to the satisfaction of any circuit court or county court in the State of Mississippi, having original jurisdiction over criminal actions, or to the judge thereof, that the ends of justice and the best interest of the public, as well as the defendant, will be served thereby, such court, in termtime or in vacation, shall have the power, after conviction or a plea of guilty, except in a case where a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed or where the defendant has been convicted of a felony on a previous occasion in any court or courts of the United States and of any state or territories thereof, to suspend the imposition or execution of sentence, and place the defendant on probation as herein provided....
(emphasis added).
¶ 6. Section 47-7-34 reads in pertinent part:
When a court imposes a sentence upon a conviction for any felony committed after June 30, 1995, the court, in addition to any other punishment imposed if the other punishment includes a term of incarceration in a state or local correctional facility, may impose a term of post-release supervision. However, the total number of years of incarceration plus the total number of years of post-release supervision shall not exceed the maximum sentence authorized to be imposed by law for the felon committed. The defendant shall be placed under post-release supervision upon release from the term of incarceration. The period of swpervision shall be established by the court, (emphasis added).
¶ 7. We need not dwell on this issue since section 47-7-33 is plain and unambiguous. A trial court does not have the authority to suspend the imposition or execution of sentence of a defendant who has been convicted of a felony on a previous occasion. Therefore, we hold that the trial court erred when it suspended a portion of Sweat's twenty year sentence. We have considered attempting to rectify the problem without remanding the case to the trial court, but have concluded that we do not have the authority to do so, as sentencing is the prerogative of the trial courts. Wallace v. State, 607 So.2d 1184, 1188 (Miss.1992). Therefore, we vacate the sentence and remand the case to the trial court for entrance of a proper sentencing order. On remand, the trial court may give whatever sentence it chooses except that if it chooses to give a greater or harsher sentence than initially imposed, it should be guided by the guideline requirements set forth in Ross v. State, 480 So.2d 1157, 1160-61 (Miss.1986).
¶ 8. The dissent observes that we cite the relevant statutory law but suggests that the ease law construing the relevant statutes permits us to modify Sweat's sentence. Our reading of the cases suggests otherwise. The first case cited by the dissent, Miller v. State, 875 So.2d 194 (Miss.2004), does not speak to the issue before us and, contrary to the assertion made by the dissent, is not factually similar to our case.
¶ 9. In Miller, the trial judge sentenced the defendant to "one year in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections followed by supervised probation under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a period of ten years or until the court in termtime or the judge in vacation shall alter, extend, terminate or direct the execution of the above sentence." Id. at 199(¶ 11). This Court reversed that portion of the sentence imposing ten years of post-release supervision and remanded the case to the trial court for correction of the sentence. Miller v. State, 856, So.2d 420, 425 (¶¶ 27-29). On writ of certiorari, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed our finding that the trial court had no authority to place the defendant on ten years of post-release supervision. Miller, 875 So.2d at 200(¶ 12).
¶ 10. The distinguishing factor in Miller, is that the trial judge, not the appellate court, sentenced the defendant to ten years of post-release supervision. While there is no doubt that under Miller, the trial judge could have sentenced Sweat to eight years of incarceration and twelve years of post-release supervision, there is likewise no doubt that we, as an appellate court, lack the authority to sentence criminal defendants, for sentencing is the exclusive prerogative of the trial courts. Therefore, we reject the dissent's suggestion that we remove the twelve-year suspended portion of the sentence and substitute it with twelve years of post-release supervision. Following the dissent's suggestion would correct the illegal sentence by resentencing. Only the trial court has that authority, and we choose not to invade the province of our trial courts. Moreover, changing Sweat's sentence to twelve years of post-release supervision constitutes a greater sentence than that given him by the trial judge. The trial judge gave Sweat five years of post-release supervision which begins to run when Sweat is released from incarceration. Sweat, under the sentence handed to him by the trial judge, will have completely paid his debt to society after the expiration of the five years following his release from incarceration and could not thereafter under any circumstances be returned to prison on the charge. On the other hand, under the sentence proposed by the dissent, while Sweat will be supervised by the Mississippi Department of Corrections for only five years, his debt to society will not be over until after the expiration of twelve years following his release from incarceration. Therefore, his exposure to being returned to prison on the charge would be extended for a period of seven years beyond the exposure he has under the sentence given him by the trial judge.
¶ 11. The dissent also cites Graves v. State, 822 So.2d 1089 (Miss.Ct.App.2002), Gaston v. State, 817 So.2d 613 (Miss.Ct. App.2002), and McGleachie v. State, 800 So.2d 561 (Miss.Ct.App.2001) for the proposition that giving a prior convicted felon a suspended sentence is not sufficient grounds for relief. What the dissent fails to appreciate is that, in each of those cases, the relief sought was a vacating of the guilty plea and conviction because of the illegal sentence. Our denial of relief in those cases is consistent with what we are doing here. We are not disturbing Sweat's guilty plea and conviction because of the illegal sentence.
¶ 12. Although we have determined that Sweat received an illegal sentence and that this case is being reversed and remanded for resentencing, we turn to the other issues that still need to be addressed notwithstanding our resolution of the first issue.
¶ 13. Sweat also argues that the sentence he received exceeded the maximum sentence allowed by law. We need not address this issue in light of the fact that we are vacating the sentence imposed and remanding for proper sentencing. It is sufficient to say though that there is no merit in this issue. The maximum sentence allowed by law for the crime of which Sweat was convicted is twenty years and a fine of $500,000. See Miss.Code Ann. § 97-1-1 (Rev.2000). Mississippi Code Annotated section 47-7-34 (Rev. 2004) provides that "the total number of years of incarceration plus the total number of years of post-release supervision shall not exceed the maximum sentence authorized to be imposed by law for the felony committed." Sweat was sentenced to a twenty-year term with twelve years suspended and a five-year term post-release supervision. Thus, the time that Sweat was sentenced to be incarcerated plus the time on post-release supervision does not exceed the statutory maximum punishment.
2. Involuntary guilty plea
¶ 14. Sweat argues that his guilty plea was not voluntarily and intelligently entered. Sweat claims he pled guilty due to an "improper inducement" that he would be given a five-year sentence. According to the record, the district attorney initially offered to recommend that Sweat be sentenced to a twenty-year term with fifteen years suspended, leaving only five years to serve. However, the district attorney subsequently revoked this offer and offered to recommend that twelve years of the sentence be suspended leaving eight years to serve.
¶ 15. Ultimately, Sweat's guilty plea was offered as an open plea with no recommendation by the State. The trial court exercised its judgment in sentencing and decided to follow the last recommendation made by the State.
¶ 16. A plea is considered "voluntary and intelligent" if the defendant knows of the elements of the charge against him, understands the charge's relation to him, what effects the plea will have, and what sentence the plea may bring. Alexander v. State, 605 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss.1992). It is clear from the transcript of the guilty plea hearing that Sweat understood that the maximum sentence for his crime was twenty years, that his plea was an open plea, and that the trial court could sentence him to the maximum, regardless of the State's recommendation. Martin v. State, 635 So.2d 1352, 1355 (Miss.1994).
¶ 17. Sweat testified that he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and had not been promised anything or coerced into pleading guilty. Statements such as these made in open court under oath are viewed as highly credible. Gable v. State, 748 So.2d 703, 706(¶11) (Miss.1999). These statements along with the transcript of the guilty plea hearing contradict Sweat's claim that his guilty plea was involuntarily and unintelligently entered.
¶ 18. Sweat makes the additional argument that he was induced to enter the guilty plea because of the offer of a suspended sentence, an improper inducement since he was at the time a prior convicted felon. He then reasons that since his guilty plea was based on an improper inducement, he was entitled to withdraw it.
¶ 19. We have already found that Sweat made an open plea, that is, his guilty plea was not made pursuant to a plea bargain. Therefore, there was no inducement. But even if Sweat had been induced to enter his guilty plea by the promise of a recommendation of an illegal but lenient suspended sentence, he would not be entitled to a withdrawal of his guilty plea after having enjoyed the benefits of the favorable illegal bargain. See Graves v. State, 822 So.2d 1089 (Miss.Ct.App.2002) where we clarified our holding in Weaver v. State, 785 So.2d 1085 (Miss.Ct.App.2001) that a defendant who had been induced by a lenient illegal sentence was entitled to enter a new plea and exercise his right to a new trial. In Graves we held:
Weaver should not be read as permitting a prior convicted felon to withdraw a guilty plea induced by a beneficial though illegal plea bargain if the convicted felon has enjoyed the benefits of the favorable illegal bargain. Weaver applies to situations in which a guilty plea was induced at least in part by a recommendation that some part of the sentence be suspended. If the State later seeks to rescind that suspension solely because the sentence was statutorily barred and not because of an alleged violation of the terms of the probation, then removing the suspension would also require that the defendant be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea.
Graves, 822 So.2d at 1092(¶ 11).
3. Illegal Search
¶ 20. Sweat claims there are material facts not previously presented which require this Court to vacate the order of his conviction and sentence. Specifically, Sweat asserts he was subjected to an illegal search. He contends that the State's allegedly illegal surveillance of his telephone calls, effected by placing a digital tape recorder on his telephone, violates his Fourth Amendment right against an unreasonable search and seizure. Sweat argues that any evidence obtained from the wire tap is inadmissible and should not be used against him. However, Sweat is not entitled to relief since he waived his right to challenge the State's evidence by entering a valid guilty plea. Young v. State, 797 So.2d 239, 246(¶ 17) (Miss.Ct.App.2001).
¶ 21. Furthermore, the record indicates that this evidence was previously presented to and addressed by the trial court, as such allegations were the basis of a motion to suppress that was filed by Sweat's counsel prior to Sweat entering a guilty plea. Thus, Sweat entered his guilty plea with knowledge that the motion to suppress had been filed. We find no merit to this issue.
A Denial of Due Process
¶ 22. Sweat argues that his due process rights were violated and that the statute under which he was convicted was unconstitutional. The record reflects that there was no issue raised before the trial court as to any violation of due process or unconstitutional statute. Issues not previously submitted to the trial court for a ruling may not be considered for the first time on appeal. Williams v. State, 752 So.2d 477, 480(¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App.1999). Therefore, these issues are without merit.
5. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
¶ 23. Sweat claims he did not receive effective assistance of counsel. In order to prove a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Sweat has the burden of showing that his counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficient performance prejudiced him in such a way that he was denied a fair trial. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Stringer v. State, 454 So.2d 468, 476-77 (Miss.1984). There is a wide area of reasonable professional assistance and it is presumed that the attorney's conduct was adequate. Moore v. State, 676 So.2d 244, 246 (Miss.1996).
¶ 24. Sweat believes he was not effectively represented since his attorney was not successful in negotiating a five-year sentence. Additionally, Sweat argues that his attorney breached the plea agreement made with the prosecution for the five-year sentence. However, the record reflects that the negotiated agreement was withdrawn not because of the attorney's actions or inactions but because of Sweat's felony history and his use of family members in his criminal activities. Accordingly, we find no merit to this issue.
¶ 25. THE JUDGMENT OF THE ITAWAMBA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT DISMISSING APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF IS AFFIRMED ON ALL ISSUES EXCEPT THE CLAIM THAT APPELLANT RECEIVED AN ILLEGAL SENTENCE. AS TO THIS CLAIM, THE JUDGMENT IS REVERSED, AND THE CASE IS REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR PROPER RESENTENCING CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. ALL COSTS ARE ASSESSED TO ITAWAM-BA COUNTY.
KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., BARNES AND ISHEE, JJ., CONCUR.