Opinion ID: 1104955
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Significance of a Silent Record Under Beach

Text: It is undisputed that: (1) Mr. Kelly's 1995 and 1997 misdemeanor DUI offenses were each punishable by more than six months' imprisonment; (2) Kelly was indigent and, thus, entitled to court-appointed counsel; and (3) counsel was not appointed to represent Kelly. However, the State and Kelly dispute the significance of the absence of an on-the-record plea colloquy, which could have confirmed Kelly's alleged waiver of counsel. Kelly relies upon Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), for the proposition that courts may not presume a waiver of constitutional rights from a silent record. It is well-established that the State cannot do so in direct proceedings; however, the same cannot be said concerning collateral proceedings. Compare Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969) (Presuming waiver from a silent record is impermissible.... Anything less is not waiver. (citations and quotations omitted)), with Parke v. Raley, 506 U.S. 20, 29, 113 S.Ct. 517, 121 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992) (To import Boykin's presumption of invalidity [regarding direct review of a conviction based upon an uninformed guilty plea] into th[e] very different context [of collateral review of a prior conviction's validity] would, in our view, improperly ignore another presumption deeply rooted in our jurisprudence: the `presumption of regularity' that attaches to final judgments, even when the question is waiver of constitutional rights.). The United States Supreme Court has thus modified Boykin's broad rule that a waiver of constitutional rights cannot be implied from a silent record by restricting that rule to direct proceedings. The Court stated in Parke: On collateral review, we think it defies logic to presume from the mere unavailability of a transcript (assuming no allegation that the unavailability is due to governmental misconduct) that the defendant was not advised of his rights. In this situation, Boykin does not prohibit a state court from presuming, at least initially, that a final judgment of conviction offered for purposes of sentence enhancement was validly obtained. 506 U.S. at 30, 113 S.Ct. 517 (emphasis supplied). As the Parke Court recognized, the states remain free to adopt different approaches, which afford greater protection for defendants' constitutional rights. See Parke, 506 U.S. at 34, 113 S.Ct. 517 ([W]e hold that the Due Process Clause permits a State to impose a burden of production on a recidivism defendant who challenges the validity of a prior conviction under Boykin.  (emphasis supplied)). This Court appears to have resolved this issueat least as far as felony DUI is concernedin State v. Beach, 592 So.2d 237 (Fla.1992), which was decided just over one month after the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Parke. In Beach, we clarified the procedural framework required to assert an action based on Hlad error (i.e., a claim that the State may not use prior uncounseled misdemeanors to enhance a later offense from a misdemeanor to a felony). We placed the initial burden of showing entitlement to counsel on the defendant because Hlad error does not exist if the defendant did not possess a right to counsel in the prior proceedings. Beach, 592 So.2d at 239. The initial burden, however, appears minimalistic, and isas explained below properly viewed as a burden of production. See Black's Law Dictionary 209 (8th ed. 2004) ([B]urden of production. A party's duty to introduce enough evidence on an issue to have the issue decided by the fact-finder, rather than decided against the party in a peremptory ruling....). The defendant need only assert under oath: (1) that the offense involved was punishable by more than six months of imprisonment or that the defendant was actually subjected to a term of imprisonment; (2) that the defendant was indigent and, thus, entitled to court-appointed counsel; (3) [that] counsel was not appointed; and (4) [that] the right to counsel was not waived. Beach, 592 So.2d at 239 (emphasis supplied). If the defendant sets forth these [minimal] facts under oath, then the burden shifts to the state to show [1] either that counsel was provided or [2] that the right to counsel was validly waived. Id. (emphasis supplied). Hence, if the defendant adequately presents each of the four Beach elementsthereby saddling the State with a burden of persuasionthe State cannot then point to a silent record to claim that a purely hypothetical plea colloquy cured any error surrounding the waiver issue. See Black's Law Dictionary 209 (8th ed. 2004) ([B]urden of persuasion. A party's duty to convince the fact-finder to view the facts in a way that favors that party. (emphasis supplied)). Several factors support our interpretation of the Beach framework as placing a burden of production upon the defendant, which, if satisfied, shifts a burden of persuasion to the State to prove either that the trial court appointed counsel or that the defendant waived that right. First, this Court has held on several occasions that when the State prosecutes a defendant for felony DUI, the State has the additional burden of proving the existence of three or more prior misdemeanor DUI convictions. State v. Harbaugh, 754 So.2d 691, 694 (Fla.2000). Hence, the requirement of three prior misdemeanor DUI[s] ... is considered an element of felony DUI.  State v. Finelli, 780 So.2d 31, 33 (Fla.2001) (emphasis supplied); see also State v. Woodruff, 676 So.2d 975, 977 (Fla. 1996) (same). As a result, the State has the burden of proving three valid prior misdemeanor convictions beyond a reasonable doubt, while the defendant shares no comparable burden. See In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 361-65, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970) (holding that it is the prosecution's constitutional burden to prove each element of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt); Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109, 114-15, 88 S.Ct. 258, 19 L.Ed.2d 319 (1967) (holding that convictions obtained in violation of a defendant's right to counsel are void). [7] Second, the United States Supreme Court has characterized the initial burden placed upon a recidivist defendant challenging the validity of prior convictions as a burden of production.  Parke, 506 U.S. at 34, 113 S.Ct. 517 (emphasis supplied). Third, where the written plea agreement is deficient on its faceas it appears to be in this casethe State should bear the risk of loss if it cannot produce a record of the plea colloquy, as [t]he language of [Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure] 3.172(c) is mandatory. The rule does not permit a written plea agreement to substitute for an on-the-record plea colloquy, and the plea colloquy must reflect that the defendant has personally been addressed pursuant to the requirements of Rule 3.172(c) and has expressed an understanding of the rights guaranteed therein. Perry v. State, 900 So.2d 755, 757 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (quoting Perriello v. State, 684 So.2d 258, 260 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)); see also Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.111(d)(2) (1992) (A defendant shall not be deemed to have waived the assistance of counsel until the entire process of offering counsel has been completed and a thorough inquiry has been made into both the accused's comprehension of that offer and the accused's capacity to make an intelligent and understanding waiver.). Fourth and finally, this Court held in Beach post- Parke that [a]bsent such evidence in the record of the trial court's prior proceedings, waiver cannot be presumed.  Beach, 592 So.2d at 239 (addressing a collateral challenge to a prior DUI conviction) (emphasis supplied). Given the facts of this case, the State cannot, on one hand, fail to acknowledge the inaccuracy inherent in its plea forms and then, on the other hand, claim protection under a presumption of validity that normally attaches to final judgments. Mr. Kelly's satisfactory Beach affidavit, his presentation of facially misleading plea forms, and his testimony at the evidentiary hearing satisfied the Beach burden of production. This created prima facie evidence that Kelly did not validly waive his right to counsel. In response to that evidence, the State failed to satisfy its burden of proving that Kelly was either provided counsel or validly waived that right. The State conceded that Kelly did not receive counsel and then simply attempted to rely on the same inaccurate plea forms as creating a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of the right to counsel. Cf. Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.111(d)(1) (1992) (The failure of a defendant to request appointment of counsel or the announced intention of a defendant to plead guilty shall not, in itself, constitute a waiver of counsel at any stage of the proceedings.  (emphasis supplied)). The danger of misleading plea forms is self-evident; if an indigent defendant, like Mr. Kelly, cannot afford an attorney and believes that he has no right to appointed counsel, he is more likely to plead guilty or no contest even when he did not commit the underlying offense. For these reasons, the State may not rely upon a misleading plea formand a record which is silent concerning whether the defendant received a constitutionally sufficient plea colloquyto contend that the defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his or her right to counsel. Cf., e.g., Durocher v. Singletary, 623 So.2d 482, 485 (Fla.1993) ([T]he [S]tate has an obligation to assure that the waiver of ... counsel is knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.  (emphasis supplied)). Voluntariness is a necessarybut not a sufficientcondition to demonstrate an effective waiver; in addition, the State must also establish a knowing and intelligent relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege. See, e.g., Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 82 L.Ed. 1461 (1938). If a defendant does not intelligently understand when he or she is entitled to the representation of appointed counsel, then a fortiori the defendant cannot effectively waive that right. This is why we require accurate plea forms and accurate plea colloquies. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.111(d)(2), 3.171, 3.172; see also Perry, 900 So.2d at 757 (explaining that rule 3.172(c) and associated case law do not permit a written plea agreement to serve as a substitute for a constitutionally sufficient plea colloquy). The State, therefore, did not carry its Beach burden of proving that Kelly validly waived his right to counsel with regard to his 1995 and 1997 misdemeanor DUI convictions (further, the State has not undertaken this responsibility with regard to Kelly's 1987 conviction). With that question resolved, we now address the second issue presented in this case: whether this Court will continue to follow Hlad and Beach or will, alternatively, incorporate Nichols as part of Florida's right-to-counsel jurisprudence.