Opinion ID: 2365392
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: this court lacks jurisdiction to address mr. ott's guilty plea because mr. ott failed to move the court to withdraw his plea

Text: ¶ 17 Utah Code section 77-13-6 (2008) governs the withdrawal of guilty pleas, including the Alford plea in Mr. Ott's case. Section 77-13-6 states: (1) A plea of not guilty may be withdrawn at any time prior to conviction. (2)(a) A plea of guilty or no contest may be withdrawn only upon leave of the court and a showing that it was not knowingly and voluntarily made. (b) A request to withdraw a plea of guilty or no contest, except for a plea held in abeyance, shall be made by motion before sentence is announced. Sentence may not be announced unless the motion is denied. For a plea held in abeyance, a motion to withdraw the plea shall be made within 30 days of pleading guilty or no contest. (c) Any challenge to a guilty plea not made within the time period specified in Subsection (2)(b) shall be pursued under Title 78B, Chapter 9, Post-Conviction Remedies Act, and Rule 65C, Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. ¶ 18 We have previously held that failure to withdraw a guilty plea within the time frame dictated by section 77-13-6 deprives the trial court and appellate courts of jurisdiction to review the validity of the plea. State v. Rhinehart, 2007 UT 61, ¶¶ 12-14, 167 P.3d 1046; see also Grimmett v. State, 2007 UT 11, ¶ 8, 152 P.3d 306 (Utah Code section 77-13-6(2)(b) establishes the filing limitations that govern a criminal defendant's right to withdraw a guilty plea. These filing limitations are jurisdictional.) Section 77-13-6(2)(b) `imposes a jurisdictional bar on late-filed motions to withdraw guilty pleas,' and failure to comply with its requirements `extinguishes a defendant's right to challenge the validity of the guilty plea on appeal.' Grimmett, 2007 UT 11, ¶ 8, 152 P.3d 306 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); State v. Merrill, 2005 UT 34, ¶¶ 13-20, 114 P.3d 585 (addressing jurisdictional nature of section 77-13-6(2)(b) prior to significant 2003 amendment). In Rhinehart, we further held that a defendant may not overcome a failure to timely withdraw his guilty plea even if the failure is styled as a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. 2007 UT 61, ¶ 14, 167 P.3d 1046. ¶ 19 Mr. Ott did not move to withdraw his guilty plea within the time restrictions of section 77-13-6. He argues that this court should disregard his failure to timely move to withdraw his guilty plea because his guilty plea constitutes a misplea. We stated in State v. Kay that a misplea may be granted where obvious reversible error has been committed in connection with the terms or the acceptance of the plea agreement and no undue prejudice to the defendant is apparent[,] . . . . in situations where some fraud or deception by one party leads to the acceptance of the plea agreement[,]. . . . [and] other circumstances where the balancing of the interests and legitimate expectations of the defendant and the public. 717 P.2d 1294, 1305 (Utah 1986), overruled on other grounds by State v. Hoff, 814 P.2d 1119, 1123 (Utah 1991). Obvious reversible error occurs when manifest necessity is present. Id. at 1303. ¶ 20 We decline to discuss whether Mr. Ott's plea met the requirements for a court to grant a misplea because we hold that the misplea doctrine in Mr. Ott's case cannot be used to circumvent jurisdictional requirements. Furthermore, neither the State nor Mr. Ott made any motion to the trial court that a misplea occurred, a factor which is considered in cases that have granted a misplea. See Id. at 1296-97; State v. Lopez, 2005 UT App 496, ¶¶ 2-8, 14-27, 128 P.3d 1; State v. Bernert, 2004 UT App 321, ¶¶ 2-5, 7-12, 100 P.3d 221; State v. Horrocks, 2001 UT App 4, ¶¶ 2-7, 12-32, 17 P.3d 1145; State v. Moss, 921 P.2d 1021, 1022-27 (Utah Ct.App. 1996). The Utah Court of Appeals has recognized that a trial court may sua sponte set aside a guilty plea even after the time restrictions of section 77-13-6 have expired. Lopez, 2005 UT App 496, ¶ 19, 128 P.3d 1. In this case, however, the trial court never exercised this discretion. Moreover, unlike the circumstance here, sentencing had not yet occurred in Lopez. We therefore do not have jurisdiction to determine the validity of Mr. Ott's guilty plea.