Opinion ID: 1163403
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Filing of Second Amended Information.

Text: [3] Brett contends the trial court erred in allowing the filing of the second amended information and in refusing to accept his plea of guilty to felony murder. We review the granting of a motion to amend an information under an abuse of discretion standard. See State v. Haner, 95 Wn.2d 858, 631 P.2d 381 (1981). The first amended information charged Brett in two separate counts with first degree premeditated murder (count 1) and first degree felony murder (count 2). At arraignment, the State moved to file the second amended information which charged a single crime, first degree murder, by alternate means, felony murder and premeditated murder. Brett objected and attempted to plead guilty to count 2. The trial court granted the State's motion, and Brett was unable to enter a guilty plea to felony murder. See State v. Bowerman, 115 Wn.2d 794, 801, 802 P.2d 116 (1990). [4] Defendants do not have a constitutional right to plead guilty, but this state has conferred such a right by court rule. CrR 4.2(a) provides: A defendant may plead not guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty. See State v. Martin, 94 Wn.2d 1, 4, 614 P.2d 164 (1980). The State also has a right to amend an existing information to include an alternate means of committing a crime formerly charged anytime before the verdict if substantial rights of the defendant are not prejudiced. CrR 2.1(d); State v. Smith, 93 Wn.2d 329, 610 P.2d 869, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 873 (1980); State v. Powell, 34 Wn. App. 791, 793, 664 P.2d 1 (1983), review denied, 100 Wn.2d 1035 (1984). Brett's right to plead guilty must be harmonized with the State's right to amend the information. See State v. Wernick, 40 Wn. App. 266, 270, 698 P.2d 573 (1985) (quoting and citing Seattle v. Crockett, 87 Wn.2d 253, 256, 551 P.2d 740 (1976) and Emwright v. King Cy., 96 Wn.2d 538, 543, 637 P.2d 656 (1981)). Such harmonization is provided by CrR 2.1(d) which allows informations to be amended if substantial rights of defendants are not prejudiced thereby. In this case, Brett has failed to show such prejudice. Brett contends he was deprived of the ability to argue to a penalty phase jury that he accepted responsibility for Mr. Milosevich's death based upon a guilty plea to felony murder. Brett informed the jury, starting with voir dire, that he accepted responsibility for the death. He has not established the lack of a guilty plea had a detrimental effect. A jury might speculate a plea to a noncapital crime was motivated out of fear rather than integrity. Brett also asserts he was deprived of the ability to claim that a subsequent aggravated murder charge would violate double jeopardy. Parties have a right to raise issues at trial and on appeal upon compliance with applicable court rules. See CrR 8.2; CR 7(b); RAP 10.3(a). Brett, however, does not have a substantial right to raise this particular issue. Moreover, it would be within the Clark County Prosecutor's discretion whether subsequently to charge Brett with aggravated murder. Lastly, Brett argues he gave up substantial statutory and constitutional rights when he withdrew his objection to the filing of the first amended information and agreed to the stay of counts 3 through 6, and, therefore, he should have been able to plead to the crimes charged in that information. The stay of counts 3 through 6, however, was not disturbed by the filing of the second amended information. We hold the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the filing of the second amended information and its refusal to accept Brett's plea of guilty to count 2 of the first amended information.