Opinion ID: 2337925
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: N.J., 168 Wash.2d at 107, 225 P.3d 956.

Text: ¶ 15 The Court of Appeals' opinion was published before A.N.J. was announced, and the State has not briefed the impact of that recent opinion on this case. In its pre- A.N.J. briefing, the State relied on Codiga to argue that the defendant had contractually assumed the risk that additional criminal history would be found. Codiga, 162 Wash.2d at 928, 175 P.3d 1082. We find that Codiga is consistent with the trial court's decision allowing Robinson to withdraw his guilty plea. We recognize that there are some factual similarities. In Codiga, the defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of first degree child molestation. Id. at 916, 175 P.3d 1082. He disclosed his felony criminal history during plea negotiations. Id. at 919, 175 P.3d 1082. He did not disclose his misdemeanors. Id. at 920, 175 P.3d 1082. But for those misdemeanors, one of Codiga's prior offenses would have washed out. Id. After he was sentenced, Codiga moved to withdraw his plea on several grounds, including that he was not informed of the consequences of his plea. Id. at 921, 175 P.3d 1082. Given that Codiga had already been sentenced, the trial court transferred the motion to the Court of Appeals for consideration as a personal restraint petition. Id. We noted that under the plea agreement, Codiga had contractually assumed the risk that additional criminal history would be found. Id. at 928, 175 P.3d 1082. We concluded that [a]llowing the defendant to assume this risk is both fair and reasonable. Id. But we also concluded that a defendant should not be charged with knowing the legal impact of his or her criminal history on the offender score. Where a criminal history is correct and complete, but the attorneys miscalculate the resulting offender score, then the defendant should not be burdened with assuming the risk of legal mistake. Id. at 929, 175 P.3d 1082. Under the circumstances, we found that Codiga had not established a manifest injustice sufficient to warrant withdrawal of the plea. Id. at 930, 175 P.3d 1082. ¶ 16 Codiga is different from the case at bar in three critical ways. First, a review of the opinion and the briefs filed in Codiga reveals that he offered no explanation for why he did not disclose his prior offenses. By contrast, the trial judge found Robinson reasonably believed that his juvenile convictions did not count as part of his criminal history. Second, Codiga waited until after sentencing to move to withdraw his plea. Id. at 921, 175 P.3d 1082. Robinson, like A.N.J., moved immediately upon learning of the mistake and before sentencing. CP at 31; A.N.J., 168 Wash.2d at 96, 225 P.3d 956. And perhaps most critically, in this case, the trial judge found that the plea was not knowing and voluntary and concluded that allowing the plea to stand would be a manifest injustice. The trial court's judgment is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Zhao, 157 Wash.2d at 197, 137 P.3d 835 (citing Marshall, 144 Wash.2d at 280, 27 P.3d 192). No trial court findings of manifest injustice appear in Codiga. The question of deference to a trial court's exercise of discretion did not arise. ¶ 17 Again, due process requires that a defendant's guilty plea be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. In re Pers. Restraint of Isadore, 151 Wash.2d 294, 297, 88 P.3d 390 (2004) (citing Boykin, 395 U.S. at 242, 89 S.Ct. 1709). We typically regard valid plea agreements as binding contracts. In re Pers. Restraint of Breedlove, 138 Wash.2d 298, 309, 979 P.2d 417 (1999) (citing State v. Talley, 134 Wash.2d 176, 182, 949 P.2d 358 (1998)). However, we permit `a defendant to withdraw his plea of guilty whenever it appears that the withdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice.' Taylor, 83 Wash.2d at 595, 521 P.2d 699 (quoting CrR 4.2(f)). The timing of a defendant's motion to withdraw should be given weight when the motion is made promptly after discovery of a previously unknown consequence. A.N.J., 168 Wash.2d at 107, 225 P.3d 956. Here, Robinson promptly moved to withdraw his plea after he discovered that the law now counted his previously washed juvenile convictions. ¶ 18 Not only does the timing of Robinson's motion support the trial court's determination that his guilty plea was not knowing, voluntary, or intelligent, but also the trial court's decision was entirely reasonable. As the trial judge noted, [I]t was eminently reasonable for Mr. Robinson to believe that these convictions no longer existed against him. They were not used against him when he was sentenced in 1994 on a murder charge; why would he think that they could be used against him in 2008 on lesser felony charges? VRP at 28. We agree.