Opinion ID: 1092410
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: alexander's guilty plea

Text: Alexander, 33 years of age, had gone through the ninth grade in school and could read and write some. He had no prior convictions. Apparently he appeared before the court, withdrew his plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty shortly after Morris had withdrawn his not guilty plea and pleaded guilty. There is no transcript of what occurred or what was said at the time. The minutes reflect only the usual formal action: This day came the State of Mississippi by her District Attorney and the accused, Leroy Alexander, represented by his attorney, Hon. F.W. Stratton, and being placed at the bar of this Court in the custody of the Sheriff of this County, having been arraigned at a former term of this Court and having entered a plea of NOT GUILTY of Grand Larceny, asks leave of this Court to withdraw his former plea of Not Guilty of Grand Larceny and upon leave being granted by the Court the defendant, Leroy Alexander entered a plea of Guilty to the said charge of Grand Larceny and was remanded to the custody of the Sheriff for sentence thereupon at a later day of the term. Alexander owned ten cows located in a pasture which also contained a number of other cattle belonging to several different people. At the hearing on the motion to vacate, he testified that he removed the cow, but he thought it belonged to him. (His employer later testified that the cow was identical with some of Alexander's cattle.) Attorney Stratton said that he explained to Alexander the possible maximum sentence, but told him his plea was a decision he alone would have to make. He stated that shortly before both defendants pleaded guilty, they admitted that they knew it was not Alexander's cow. Stratton said that, before permitting withdrawal of the not guilty plea and accepting the guilty plea, the court had conducted a short examination of the defendants, and he believed they pleaded individually. In short, it cannot be determined affirmatively from this record what occurred at the hearing when Alexander withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty. There is no transcript of any questioning of Alexander by the judge. In several cases this Court has placed the affirmative duty upon the state to show an intelligent and competent waiver of counsel. Conn v. State, 251 Miss. 488, 170 So.2d 20 (1964), involved conviction of a felony after a jury trial. It was there stated that it was not shown that he (appellant) waived the appointment of counsel. The case requires that such a waiver, if any, be understandably made. Citing several decisions of the United States Supreme Court, this Court concluded: In accordance with these mandatory decisions we hold that there must be an intelligent and competent waiver of counsel by the defendant and that the trial court should so determine, and, further, that such determination, as well as the facts on which it is based, should appear in the record. (251 Miss. at 495, 170 So.2d at 23). In Clarke v. State, 251 Miss. 627, 170 So.2d 575 (1965), defendant was convicted of a felony. He was tried without an attorney representing him. Subsequently, an attorney acting for defendant filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied by the circuit court. On appeal the motion was sustained, and the Court held: The proceedings in the instant case do not comply with the foregoing requirements. As there stated, the trial court has the responsibility to determine affirmatively, and the record should reflect the pertinent facts on these issues. The court should advise the accused of his right to the assistance of counsel, should ascertain whether he is indigent, and should determine by inquiries reflected in the record whether there is an intelligent and competent waiver of counsel by the defendant. (251 Miss. at 630, 170 So.2d at 576). To the same effect is Bruno v. Cook, Superintendent of State Penitentiary, 224 So.2d 567 (Miss. 1969); see 21 Am.Jur.2d, Criminal Law § 461 (1965). These cases established in this jurisdiction a requirement that before a defendant can be tried for a felony without counsel, there must be an intelligent and competent waiver, and that this must be evidenced affirmatively by a record or transcript of the trial judge's interrogation of the defendant, precedent to his determination that there was a voluntary and intelligent waiver of counsel. Of equal importance, in a crucial stage of a criminal proceeding, is the decision of an accused to plead guilty to a felony charge. The trial court should not accept a guilty plea or a change from a not guilty to a guilty plea without first addressing the defendant personally and determining that the plea is made voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea. A transcript or record of that proceeding is essential. However, this does not preclude other types of clear and convincing evidence which shows that accused voluntarily and understandingly elected to plead guilty. Anything else is insufficient to establish waiver. In short, a record should be made of what transpires at the pleading stage, which is sufficient to support the acceptance by the trial court of the guilty plea and to reflect that it was made voluntarily and understandingly by the defendant. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), has recently made these standards a federal constitutional right required of the states under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Boykin pleaded guilty to common-law robbery, and after a jury trial on penalty he was sentenced to death. The Albama Supreme Court affirmed, with three judges dissenting on the ground that the record was inadequate to show that the defendant had intelligently and knowingly pleaded guilty. The United States Supreme Court reversed the judgment and held: It was error, plain on the face of the record, for the trial judge to accept petitioner's guilty plea without an affirmative showing that it was intelligent and voluntary.    The requirements that the prosecution spread on the record the prerequisites of a valid waiver is no constitutional innovation. In Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U.S. 506, 516, 82 S.Ct. 884, 890, 8 L.Ed.2d 70, 77, we dealt with a problem of waiver of the right to counsel, a Sixth Amendment right. We held: Presuming waiver from a silent record is impermissible. The record must show, or there must be an allegation and evidence which show, that an accused was offered counsel but intelligently and understandingly rejected the offer. Anything less is not waiver. We think that the same standard must be applied to determining whether a guilty plea is voluntarily made. For, as we have said, a plea of guilty is more than an admission of conduct; it is a conviction. Ignorance, incomprehension, coercion, terror, inducements, subtle or blatant threats might be a perfect cover-up of unconstitutionality. The question of an effective waiver of a federal constitutional right in a proceeding is of course governed by federal standards.    Several federal constitutional rights are involved in a waiver that takes place when a plea of guilty is entered in a state criminal trial. First is the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and applicable to the States by reason of the Fourteenth.    Second is the right to trial by jury.    Third, is the right to confront one's accusers.   We cannot presume a waiver of these three important federal rights from a silent record. What is at stake for an accused facing death or imprisonment demands utmost solicitude of which courts are capable in canvassing the matter with the accused to make sure he has a full understanding of what the plea connotes and of its consequence. When the judge discharges that function, he leaves a record adequate for any review that may be later sought. (395 U.S. at 242-244, 89 S.Ct. at 1711-1712, 23 L.Ed.2d at 279-280.) Since as to Alexander the State made no affirmative showing, spread on the record, of the prerequisites of a valid waiver, namely, that appellant voluntarily, intelligently, and understandingly waived his constitutional rights and changed his plea of not guilty to guilty, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court overruling the motion to vacate Alexander's conviction, and render judgment here vacating his plea of guilty and sentence. Our judgment will make a similar adjudication as to Morris. Reversed, pleas of guilty and sentences vacated, and cause remanded for further proceedings under the indictment. RODGERS, JONES, BRADY and INZER, JJ., concur.