Opinion ID: 561289
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Voluntary and Intelligent Character of the Pleas

Text: 13 Taylor contends that his guilty pleas were not voluntary and intelligent. Before the trial court may accept a guilty plea, the court must ensure that the defendant has a full understanding of what the plea connotes and of its consequence. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 244, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1712, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). A plea is involuntary, and thus insufficient to support a conviction, if the defendant has such an incomplete understanding of the charge that his plea cannot stand as an intelligent admission of guilt. Henderson v. Morgan, 426 U.S. 637, 645 n. 13, 96 S.Ct. 2253, 2257 n. 13, 49 L.Ed.2d 108 (1976). The record reflects that Taylor expressly waived his legal rights and conceded the factual basis for the charged offenses. Following customary procedure, the trial court extensively questioned the petitioner regarding his understanding of the indictments. Taylor admitted that he had violated the Louisiana murder statutes, acknowledging that first degree murder under Louisiana law included felony murder and specific intent murder. He expressed no discomfort with his decision to enter guilty pleas. These facts amply support the district court's conclusion that Taylor's guilty pleas were voluntary and intelligent. 14 Taylor argues that he did not have a correct understanding of the legal effect of his pleas. He contends that he would not have entered guilty pleas on both the murder and armed robbery counts if he had realized that convictions on these counts raised potential double jeopardy concerns. In determining if a plea is voluntary and intelligent, however, the critical issue is whether the defendant understood the nature and substance of the charges against him, and not necessarily whether he understood their technical legal effect. Id. at 644, 96 S.Ct. at 2257; United States v. Nieuwsma, 779 F.2d 1359, 1362 (8th Cir.1985). We conclude, as did the magistrate judge and the district court, that Taylor clearly understood the nature and substance of the charges against him. 15 We recognize that the Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that a defendant can waive constitutional rights only if the defendant deliberately relinquishes those rights. See, e.g., Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 528-29, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 2191, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972) (speedy trial); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) (freedom from self-incrimination); Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U.S. 506, 516, 82 S.Ct. 884, 890, 8 L.Ed.2d 70 (1962) (right to counsel); Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464-65, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 1023, 82 L.Ed. 1461 (1938) (right to counsel). The constitutional right against double jeopardy is ordinarily no exception. A defendant who enters a guilty plea despite indictments or a trial court record that evince on their face a double jeopardy violation must expressly relinquish his rights against double jeopardy; otherwise, he has not waived his right to challenge the double jeopardy violation. 16 We conclude, however, that the deliberate relinquishment requirement does not apply to double jeopardy violations that are not apparent on the face of the indictments or trial court record at the time the defendant enters his plea. A violation of the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy, unlike many constitutional protections, 7 can be obscure: as in the instant case, a double jeopardy violation may be apparent only if the district court conducts an evidentiary hearing in which the State admits that it intends to prosecute the defendant twice for the same offense. 8 The fact that a double jeopardy violation is not apparent does not invalidate a guilty plea. This Court has previously determined that the failure to inform the defendant of every conceivable consequence of a guilty plea does not render the plea involuntary and unintelligent. See United States v. Woods, 870 F.2d 285, 288 (5th Cir.1989) (failure to inform defendant that his conviction on a guilty plea might enhance a sentence following a subsequent conviction is not constitutional error); Meaton v. United States, 328 F.2d 379, 380-81 (5th Cir.1964) (failure to inform defendant that his conviction on a guilty plea might forfeit his rights to vote and travel abroad is not constitutional error), cert. denied, 380 U.S. 916, 85 S.Ct. 902, 13 L.Ed.2d 801 (1965). The same rule applies here. The failure to inform the defendant that his convictions raise double jeopardy concerns that are not apparent on the face of the indictments or record does not render a guilty plea involuntary and unintelligent. 9 A contrary conclusion would be unworkable, requiring that the trial court and defense counsel predict, and then inform the defendant, that seemingly valid convictions might under a given set of circumstances offend the constitutional proscription against double jeopardy. 17 In the instant case, the trial court record and the indictments against Taylor do not evince on their face a double jeopardy violation. Perhaps the State of Louisiana has unconstitutionally placed Taylor in double jeopardy; we do not know. We can ascertain, however, that Taylor adequately understood the nature of the charges against him. The fact that Taylor was not informed that these charges might present double jeopardy concerns in this case does not affect the voluntary and intelligent nature of his pleas.