Opinion ID: 1684595
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: voluntariness of zakrzewski's guilty pleas

Text: Zakrzewski next argues that the trial court erred in finding that his guilty pleas to the three murders were voluntary. The law is that [a] plea of guilty must be voluntarily made by one competent to know the consequences of that plea and must not be induced by promises, threats or coercion. Porter v. State, 564 So.2d 1060, 1063 (Fla.1990) (quoting Mikenas v. State, 460 So.2d 359, 361 (Fla.1984)). Zakrzewski does not assert that he did not understand the consequences of his pleas, but claims that his guilty pleas were involuntary due to his counsel's unfulfilled promise that the crime scene photographs showing his wife and children would not be shown to the jury during the penalty phase. [7] In denying this claim, the trial court found that the testimony of Mr. Koran and Mr. Killam regarding their discussions with the Defendant regarding the introduction of the crime scene photographs of victims is credible. Both Mr. Koran and Mr. Killam empathetically deny that they assured the Defendant that the photographs would be suppressed. The Defendant was told that he was entitled to a trial on the case and if he wanted to contest his guilt, he could; however, he chose to plead guilty and counsel believed that he understood this was his best option. Counsel testified that they had discussions with the Defendant regarding the presentation of evidence during the penalty phase and a motion was filed to try to limit the crime scene photographs that were shown to the jury; however, at no time was the Defendant ever told that the evidence would be excluded. Moreover, prior to the Defendant pleading guilty in open court, the Court made the decision to determine the admissibility of the crime-scene photographs when tendered for admission into evidence during the penalty phase proceeding. The Defendant then entered his pleas of guilty and indicated that he had read and understood his written plea agreement, which contained no promise that the photographs would be excluded. The Court has had the opportunity to observe the Defendant on the witness stand and believes that the Defendant is intelligent and fully understood the plea agreement and the discussions with his counsel concerning the admissibility of the crime-scene photographs. (Emphasis supplied.) Although Zakrzewski testified that he pled guilty to the three murder charges based solely on counsel's promise that the photographs of the bodies of his wife and children would not be introduced into evidence, both Koran and Killam testified that they in no way said anything to Zakrzewski that could have been mistaken for such a promise and had in fact never successfully obtained suppression of all photos of a homicide victim. Further, Zakrzewski has expressly stated that he does not contend that either Koran or Killam testified falsely at the evidentiary hearing. Rather, Zakrzewski asks this Court to reverse the trial court's findings on this issue based on his assertion that he is also a credible witness and that Koran and Killam simply do not recall making the promise about the suppression of the photos. Findings on the credibility of evidence by a lower court are not overturned if supported by competent, substantial evidence. Roberts v. State, 840 So.2d 962, 973 (Fla.2002). Here, the trial court not only found Killam's and Koran's testimony to be credible, but further found that Zakrzewski fully understood both the plea agreement and his discussions with counsel about the admissibility of the photographs. The trial court's factual findings are supported by competent, substantial evidence presented at the hearing. The findings are also supported by the original trial record, which indicates that Zakrzewski was present when the trial court deferred ruling on the motion to suppress, just prior to Zakrzewski entering his pleas in open court. For all these reasons, we conclude that Zakrzewski has not demonstrated that his guilty pleas were involuntary, and we affirm the trial court's denial of relief on this claim.