Opinion ID: 2037079
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Effect of the Guilty Plea on the Conflict Claim

Text: The entry of a guilty plea and the subsequent acceptance of it by the court is meant to be a final adjudication of the defendant's guilt. Once a defendant has waived his right to a trial by pleading guilty, the State is entitled to expect finality in the conviction. State v. Mann, 602 N.W.2d 785, 789 (Iowa 1999). This is true because [a] plea of guilty is more than a confession which admits that the accused did various acts; it is itself a conviction. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1711, 23 L.Ed.2d 274, 279 (1969). Accordingly, any constitutional challenge that would undermine the defendant's conviction, with certain exceptions[,]... is waived. Mann, 602 N.W.2d at 789. This court has previously recognized five challenges which are not waived by a plea of guilty. A defendant may allege insufficient trial information or facial constitutional vagueness of the statute he was convicted under. State v. White, 545 N.W.2d 552, 554 (Iowa 1996); State v. Robinson, 618 N.W.2d 306, 312 (Iowa 2000), overruling in part State v. Hunter, 550 N.W.2d 460, 462 n.1 (Iowa 1996) (holding previously that a guilty plea did not waive an as applied challenge of the convicting statute). A defendant does not waive the claim that his plea was uninformed or involuntary. State v. Nikkel, 597 N.W.2d 486, 487-88 (Iowa 1999). We have previously said the claim of double jeopardy is not foreclosed by a guilty plea. State v. Baehler, 604 N.W.2d 601, 602 n.1 (Iowa 1999). But see United States v. Broce, 488 U.S. 563, 569, 109 S.Ct. 757, 762, 102 L.Ed.2d 927, 935-36 (1989). A defendant may still challenge the sentencing statute. Mann, 602 N.W.2d at 789-90. Lastly, the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel which calls into question the voluntariness of the defendant's plea may be brought following a guilty plea. Mott v. State, 407 N.W.2d 581, 582-83 (Iowa 1987). LaRue alleges that a conflict of interest was created when his former attorney was appointed to represent his co-defendant. This claim does not nicely fit within one of the above exceptions. LaRue makes no challenge that his guilty plea was involuntary, that it was based on inadequate trial information, or the result of a defective statute. Double jeopardy is also not at issue in this case. LaRue does argue that his own counsel was ineffective, but this has no relation to the conflict of interest claim. We will discuss the availability of the defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim later in this opinion. We are persuaded that a guilty plea taken in conformity with Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 8(2)(b) waives all defenses and objections. State v. Antenucci, 608 N.W.2d 19, 19 (Iowa 2000). The fact that a constitutional right may be involved does not change our decision. A constitutional right, like any other right of an accused, may be waived ... [when] defendant plead[s] guilty in open court, with assistance of counsel.... State v. Delano, 161 N.W.2d 66, 73 (Iowa 1968); see also Mann, 602 N.W.2d at 788 (recognizing guilty plea waives the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate oneself, the Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury, and the Sixth Amendment right to confront accusers (citing Boykin, 395 U.S. at 243, 89 S.Ct. at 1712, 23 L.Ed.2d at 279)). LaRue wants this court to promulgate a rule that the alleged conflict of interest present in this case should be judicially noticed and the former attorney disqualified by the court even though no objection was made. LaRue's claim that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights by approving the counsel substitution is one unique to this jurisdiction. Moreover, we can find no other court across the country that has addressed this issue. LaRue phrases it as a Sixth Amendment conflict of interest claim, but the State argues it is actually a Fifth Amendment Due Process claim. Without passing judgment on whether LaRue's claim constitutes a Sixth Amendment claim or a Fifth Amendment Due Process claim, we hold that it was waived by LaRue's guilty plea.