Opinion ID: 2633135
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: first petition for post-conviction relief

Text: ¶ 6 Four years later, in 1991, Medel filed his first petition for post-conviction relief. Following an evidentiary hearing, the first petition was dismissed in January 1993. Medel then filed a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Judge Medley denied the motion in April 1995, finding that Medel's pleas were knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Judge Medley's decision noted that before Medel entered his pleas, he reviewed detailed probable cause statements, demonstrating that [he] understood the nature and elements of the offenses to which he pled. Judge Medley also noted that defense counsel reviewed each affidavit with Medel paragraph by paragraph, line by line prior to entry of the pleas and that the district court performed a detailed plea colloquy. Based on the record as a whole, Judge Medley found that Medel's guilty pleas to all four first degree felonies were knowing and voluntary. Medel appealed. In an unpublished memorandum decision, the court of appeals affirmed the judgment, with one exception regarding sentencing. ¶ 7 After Medel's petition for a writ of certiorari was denied by this court in 1998, he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the federal district court of Utah. The federal court denied the petition, and Medel appealed the denial without success. [5]