Court Opinion

ID: 9483108
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 09:11:23.655238+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:49:25.790729
License: Public Domain

O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:
David Adams appeals from the district court’s dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Adams claims that his Oregon convictions for burglary, rape, and sodomy violated his right to due process of law because a state court judge entered judgment on stipulated facts and failed to advise him on the record of the legal consequences of the stipulation. We now affirm.
I
In November 1981, Adams, who was seventeen years old at the time, was indicted in the Lane County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree rape, sodomy, and burglary of a female schoolteacher. Adams agreed to stipulate to certain facts at trial rather than to proceed through the more usual presentations of evidence by both the prosecution and the defense. Adams so agreed on the advice of his attorney, who indicated that Adams’s prior juvenile record, along with the nature and cir-*837eumstances of his crime, might lead to a harsher sentence if he was convicted following an extended trial. In addition, in return for Adams’s agreeing to a stipulated-facts trial, the state agreed to dismiss two other indictments then pending against him.
Adams repeatedly told his attorney that he wanted to testify. On three separate occasions, however, his attorney explained to Adams that, if he agreed to a stipulated-facts trial, he could testify only at sentencing.
The written stipulation, which tracked the language of the indictment, provided that “the evidence of the State would establish the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt”: on September 7, 1981, (1) Adams, without consent, legal authority, or other justification, entered and remained in the residence of one Marylee Donley with the intent to commit the crimes of rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse (Count I); (2) Adams unlawfully and knowingly caused his penis to penetrate Donley’s vagina, and at the time of this sexual intercourse, Don-ley was subjected by Adams to forcible compulsion (Count II); and (3) Adams unlawfully and knowingly caused his penis to contact Donley’s anus, and at the time of this deviate sexual intercourse, she was subjected by Adams to forcible compulsion (Count III). Stipulation at 1, State v. Adams, No. 10-81-10777 (Or.Cir.Ct, Lane County) (Jan. 18, 1982) [hereinafter “Stipulation”]. The stipulation concluded that “[b]ased on this stipulation, it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of Count I, Count II, and Count III.” Id. at 2.
During the stipulated-facts trial, the following colloquy took place between the state trial judge and Adams:
THE COURT: You’ve discussed your manner of trial with your attorney?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I did.
THE COURT: You are freely and voluntarily waiving your right to trial by jury?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
THE COURT: Election to waive jury will be entered. You’re consenting to have this matter tried by stipulated facts?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor.
MR. HANSEN [DEFENDANT’S ATTORNEY]: Your Honor, we’ve both reviewed the stipulation and executed it.
THE COURT: Stipulated facts will be filed with the clerk, and I’ll read those over. You may be seated.
All right, I would find the Defendant guilty of Count I, Burglary in the First Degree; Count II, Rape in the First Degree, and Count III, Sodomy in the First Degree.
Transcript of Proceedings, State v. Adams, No. 10-81-10777 (Jan. 18, 1982) [hereinafter “Trial Transcript”].
Between conviction and sentencing, Adams gave his attorney a written statement of his version of the assault in which he denied committing the crimes of rape and sodomy. However, Adams told his attorney that he did not want his attorney to withdraw the previously stipulated facts. At the sentencing hearing, the court questioned Adams on the circumstances of the rape. After listening to Adams’s testimony, the court imposed the statutory maximum of twenty years of imprisonment for the rape, a consecutive maximum of twenty years for the sodomy, but no additional sentence for the burglary. Adams appealed on the ground that the sentence was excessive. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed without opinion. State v. Adams, No. A24436 (Or.App. Oct. 13, 1982).
Adams subsequently petitioned for post-conviction relief in Oregon state court, contending that his stipulated-facts trial was constitutionally invalid. He argued that he had not voluntarily and intelligently agreed to such a trial. At a hearing on this petition, the following colloquy took place between Adams and his new attorney:
Q Okay did you — did—when did you have discussions with your attorney regarding the stipulated facts trial? When in relationship to when you actually did it?
A Weeks prior to it.
*838Q Okay what did he tell you that a stipulated facts trial was?
A That I would be waiving my right to a jury and it would be my testimony against the victims [sic]. That I would get up and go to a regular trial without the jury.
Q Did you assume that the judge would make the decision?
A Yes. That I would just go in front of the judge.
Q Did you assume that you would have the right to give testimony on your behalf?
A Yes. Yes I did.
Q —so during that stipulated facts trial it kind of came to your attention that this isn’t a regular trial?
A Yes.
Q Did you say anything to your attorney about it?
A Well my attorney — I kind of looked at him and he gave me a nod and I guess he knew what he was doing.
Q Okay did you talk with him specifically about it while you were doing it?
A No.
Q Did you simply believe that he had things under control?
A Yes.
Q Okay were there any of these charges that you didn’t believe you were guilty of?
A Yes.
Q What, if any, of those?
A The rape and sodomy.
Transcript of Proceedings at 6, 8, 11-12, Adams v. Sullivan, No. 140,109 (Or.Cir. Ct., Marion County) (Nov. 4, 1983) [hereinafter “Post-Conviction Transcript”]. Adams was thereafter cross-examined by respondent’s attorney:.
Q Had you completed the eleventh grade prior to this criminal proceeding?
A Yes I did.
Q And you got your GED out at OSCI?
A Yes.
Q Can you read?
A Yes I can.
Q All right, let’s go a piece at a time then. You were placed in a county jail and an attorney was appointed to represent you, correct?
A Yes.
Q At some time later there was a discussion about entering into a stipulated facts trial, correct?
A Yes.
Q And after that you received a document from your attorney which you have in your hand relating to the stipulated facts that were going to be introduced before the judge, didn’t you?
A Yes.
Q And you received that in the county jail, right?
A Yes.
Q And he left it with you so you, could read it at your leisure, didn’t he?
A Uhm, man — well I’m not sure. I can’t say exactly if he did or not. He left me a lot of material so I’m not sure whether to answer yes or no because there was a lot of things that he did leave me.
Q All right returning again now to the stipulated facts document on the second page above your signature read that last paragraph out loud to the court, would you please.
A Based on this stipulation it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of count one and two and count three.
Q What does that mean to you?
A That — that I will be found guilty based on this.
Q And you understood that at that time too, didn’t you?
A Yes.
Id. at 15, 17, 18.
After the state post-conviction hearing, a state court made the following factual findings: (1) at the stipulated-facts trial Adams understood the written stipulation and that judgment would be based solely upon it; (2) at the stipulated-facts trial Adams un*839derstood that he was waiving all of his statutory and constitutional trial rights; and (3) Adams voluntarily agreed to a trial based on the stipulated facts and voluntarily executed the stipulation. The court therefore denied Adams’s petition for post-conviction relief. This ruling was affirmed without opinion by the Oregon Court of Appeals; the Oregon Supreme Court denied review.
Adams then filed the current habeas corpus petition, which the district court dismissed. We have jurisdiction over Adams’s timely appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
II
A
Adams argues that his stipulation of facts at trial constituted a de facto guilty plea and that he was therefore entitled to the procedural protections attendant to the entering of such a plea. Specifically, he claims that he was entitled to be advised by the judge in open court of his constitutional rights (a) against compulsory self-incrimination, (b) to be tried by a jury, and (c) to confront his accusers, and that the court had a constitutional obligation to establish on the record that he voluntarily and intelligently waived these rights. See Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 243, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1712, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969).1 While we agree that a stipulated-facts proceeding is subject to certain constitutional restrictions, see infra Part III, we are not persuaded that the stipulation at issue was a de facto guilty plea.
Adams and the state agreed “that the evidence of the State would establish the [facts in question] beyond a reasonable doubt.” Stipulation at 1. Following the recitation of facts, the stipulation stated, “[b]ased on this stipulation, it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of Count I, Count II, and Count III.” Id. at 2.
Adams never stipulated that he was guilty of the crimes of burglary, rape, and sodomy; in fact, Adams pled not guilty to all three counts on which he was convicted by the trial court. Adams only stipulated that the enumerated facts were supported beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence that the state possessed and would present at trial. A stipulation to facts from which a judge or jury may infer guilt is simply not the same as a stipulation to guilt, or a guilty plea. “A plea of guilty is more than a confession which admits that the accused did various acts; it is itself a conviction; nothing remains but to give judgment and determine punishment.” Boykin, 395 U.S. at 242, 89 S.Ct. at 1711. If the Boykin Court itself recognized this distinction, then we are hardly in a position to ignore it — or to hold that the full Boykin protections extend to the circumstance of a stipulation.2
We have previously ruled in analogous circumstances that a defendant in Adams’s position is not entitled to the full protections that attend the entry of a guilty plea. In United States v. Terrack, 515 F.2d 558 (9th Cir.1975), we considered whether Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which imposes certain procedural requirements upon a federal court’s acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, also applies to its acceptance of a stipulation of facts for a criminal trial. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11. We determined that Rule 11 *840does not apply to stipulations and emphasized that to read Rule 11 otherwise
would unduly encumber trials now often shortened by stipulation of evidence and [stipulations] to identify exhibits, to specify the chain of custody, and other important matters. To require a Rule 11 examination on every stipulation containing a vital admission of the defendant would add ritualistic formalities where none are needed nor required.... If Rule 11 were to be applied only to stipulations constituting de facto pleas of guilty, when and how is that determination made? Every stipulation of a vital fact is an admission tending to establish guilt. Rule 11 specifically applies to pleas of guilty and nolo contendere and not to trials. These are areas with a clear division between them. They are either black or white. To create a gray area where stipulations, as a part of a trial, would be governed by the rules on the acceptance of pleas would further complicate the trial judge’s duties and push him further into the role of an advocate.
Terrack, 515 F.2d at 561 n. 3 (emphasis added); see also United States v. Schuster, 734 F.2d 424, 425 (9th Cir.1984) (per cu-riam) (holding that a plea of not guilty combined with a stipulation of facts sufficient to establish guilt does not constitute a de facto guilty plea and therefore does not implicate the procedural protections of such a plea), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1189, 105 S.Ct. 959, 83 L.Ed.2d 965 (1985); United States v. Miller, 588 F.2d 1256, 1263-64 (9th Cir.1978) (stipulation that defendant “knowingly, willfully and defiantly committed the illegal acts” charged not a de facto guilty plea), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 947, 99 S.Ct. 1426, 59 L.Ed.2d 636 (1979); United States v. Nixon, 545 F.2d 1190, 1191 (9th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1110, 97 S.Ct. 1148, 51 L.Ed.2d 565 (1977); United States v. Garcia, 450 F.2d 287, 288 (9th Cir.1971) (per curiam); accord Lyons v. Pearce, 298 Or. 569, 694 P.2d 978 (1985) (as a matter of Oregon law).
Several other circuits have also declined to treat inculpatory stipulations of fact as equivalent to guilty pleas for Rule 11 purposes. See United States v. Robertson, 698 F.2d 703, 705 (5th Cir.1983) (defendant charged with escape stipulated that he “unlawfully and willfully escaped” from custody at a federal institution); United States v. Stalder, 696 F.2d 59, 60 (8th Cir.1982) (defendant stipulated to every fact in the indictment); Witherspoon v. United States, 633 F.2d 1247, 1250 (6th Cir.1980) (defendant stipulated to facts including that charged acts were done knowingly), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 933, 101 S.Ct. 1396, 67 L.Ed.2d 367 (1981); United States v. Lyons, 898 F.2d 210, 215 (1st Cir.) (collecting cases), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 295, 112 L.Ed.2d 249 (1990). Only the District of Columbia Circuit apparently disagrees, and that only in dicta. See United States v. Lawson, 682 F.2d 1012, 1015 (D.C.Cir.1982) (“Rule 11 inquiries may ... be required if by stipulation or otherwise a defendant has effectively admitted his guilt and waived trial on all issues.”).
We recognize that Terrack differs from the case before us in two significant respects. First, Adams was convicted in state court, not in federal court; Rule 11, therefore, does not apply here. See United States v. Newman, 912 F.2d 1119, 1123 (9th Cir.1990). Second, Adams has challenged the procedural aspects of his convictions on constitutional grounds, not on statutory or rule-based grounds.
Nonetheless, we conclude that the rationale of Terrack is equally applicable in the current context and, indeed, is persuasive. The fact that Adams was convicted in a state proceeding rather than a federal proceeding is of no moment; he has brought a federal constitutional challenge, and the level of procedural protection mandated by the federal Constitution for the entry of a stipulation or plea to be valid is certainly no greater in a state forum than it is in a federal forum. See Henderson v. Morgan, 426 U.S. 637, 653, 96 S.Ct. 2253, 2261, 49 L.Ed.2d 108 (1976) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting on other grounds).3
We are not persuaded that the Rule 11 cases can be distinguished on the basis that *841Rule 11(c), by its terms, applies only to pleas of guilty and nolo contendere. Rule 11(c), as amended in 1974, codifies the constitutional requirements set out in Boykin. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11, advisory committee’s note on 1974 amendments; United States v. McWilliams, 730 F.2d 1218, 1223 (9th Cir.1984). Admittedly, Rule 11 also provides additional protections beyond the minimum required by the Constitution. See Haase v. United States, 800 F.2d 123, 127 (7th Cir.1986) (constitutional rights that attend entry of a guilty plea have “more limited scope” than rights conferred by Rule 11); see also United States v. Sherman, 474 F.2d 303, 307 (9th Cir.1973) (Hufstedler, J., dissenting on other grounds) (“When compliance with Rule 11 is not in issue because the plea is taken in state court ... the validity of the plea rests on compliance with the less rigorous demands of due process.”). Nonetheless, the dispute in most of the Rule 11 cases, including Terrack, see 515 F.2d at 562-63 (Ely, J., dissenting) and Schuster, see 734 F.2d at 425, was over the due process requirements incorporated into Rule 11, not over the additional protections included in the Rule. Indeed, unless based on the assumption that due process is satisfied by a determination that the stipulation has been entered into voluntarily and knowingly, the Terrack line of cases would make little sense even in the federal realm: what Rule 11 requires would be largely irrelevant — and hardly worthy of analysis — if the dictates of due process required more.
In short, we hold that Adams was not entitled to the full constitutional protections that apply to the tendering of a guilty plea.4 To the extent that Quiroz v. Wawrzaszek, 749 F.2d 1375 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1055, 105 S.Ct. 2119, 85 L.Ed.2d 483 (1985), is inconsistent with this holding, it is hereby overruled.
B
In determining that the parties’ stipulation did not constitute a guilty plea, we *842consider the purposes of the defendant and his counsel in choosing this method of presenting evidence to the trier of fact. The affidavit of Adams’s trial counsel, submitted during the Oregon post-conviction proceeding and refiled as an exhibit to the state’s motion for summary judgment below, explained the defense’s thinking as follows:
The evidence against Mr. Adamas [sic] was fairly overwhelming. It included bite marks on the victim’s body that were matched by plaster molds and experts from California to Mr. Adams’[s] own teeth. These bites were in places that were incosistent [sic] with Mr. Adams’[s] description of how things occurred.
Mr. Adams did express to me repeatedly that his preference and desire would be to take the stand and make his own statement to the judge. It was the State’s position that if there was going to be any testimony by the defendant, they would want to have a complete full trial. If there was going to be a trial, then there was no need for them to dismiss the other charges that were currently pending against Mr. Adams, charges that they would insist on pursuing and requesting the maximum [penalty for]. His prior juvenile record made it seem imminently [sic] reasonable that consecutive sentences might well be in order. # * # * * *
I had the stipulation put in writing specifically to avoid a lengthy and inflammatory recitation of the facts by the District Attorney. Mr. Adams signed the stipulation in open court.
Affidavit of R. Chris Hansen at 2, 3-4, Adams v. Sullivan, No. 140,109 (Sept. 1, 1983) [hereinafter “Affidavit”].
In the defense’s own understanding, therefore, Adams clearly did not plead guilty; he professed his innocence and pursued a trial strategy designed to avert what his attorney perceived to be potentially more damaging and perhaps prejudicial: a full-scale recitation of the evidence before the judge or jury. Perhaps wisely, the defense viewed the stipulation as (a) the most effective and least inflammatory method for presenting the facts to the trial court and (b) the most effective means of foreclosing any effort by the state to prosecute Adams to the full extent of the law. Indeed, Adams himself has admitted that a prime motivation for his agreeing to the stipulation was to have two indictments pending against him dropped. Under such circumstances — where the defense itself does not intend its actions to be construed as an admission of guilt and where it has strategic reasons to support its decision to stipulate — it would be curious indeed for the trial court to hold that the parties’ stipulation does constitute a plea of guilty.
From our vantage point, it may appear to us (and clearly it now appears to Adams) that the defense made an unfortunate choice. Although the stipulation prevented an “inflammatory recitation of the facts,” the trial judge nevertheless sentenced Adams to the maximum period of incarceration. We decline to adopt a rule, however, that would require a state trial judge to inquire in every instance into the motive behind a stipulation, and the likelihood that the strategy pursued will succeed. There may be a variety of strategic reasons for proceeding by a stipulated facts trial, ranging from preservation of issues for appeal to attempting to mitigate the sentence by a partial acceptance of responsibility or by controlling the evidence presented to the sentencer. See United States v. Lyons, 898 F.2d 210, 214 n. 5 (1st Cir.1990). We decline, as well, to adopt a rule applying Boykin to those stipulations which appear, to a federal court later presented with a habeas petition, ill-considered. We hold, instead, that a plea of not guilty in combination with a stipulated facts trial is simply not equivalent to a guilty plea for Boykin purposes, even if the stipulation is to all elements necessary to a conviction and even if it might appear to a reviewing court that the stipulation serves little purpose.5
*843III
Having determined that the stipulation was not a de facto guilty plea and that Adams was therefore not entitled to the full measure of protection that attends such a plea, we must now determine what due process protections are required for the present stipulation and convictions to be valid. The answer here is clear and mandated by our prior decisions: Adams’s convictions are valid only if he voluntarily and knowingly agreed to the stipulation. See United States v. Ferreira-Alameda, 815 F.2d 1251, 1253 (9th Cir.1986); Schuster, 734 F.2d at 426; Miller, 588 F.2d at 1264; Garcia, 450 F.2d at 288. Reviewing de novo the district court’s denial of Adams’s petition for habeas relief, see Weygandt v. Ducharme, 774 F.2d 1491, 1492 (9th Cir.1985), we address first the voluntariness of Adams’s stipulation, and then whether it was knowing.
A
Adams claims that his agreement to a stipulated-facts trial was involuntary. The state court that heard Adams’s post-conviction petition found otherwise:
3. Petitioner voluntarily agreed to a trial based on stipulated facts and voluntarily executed the stipulation setting forth the facts on which he was tried.
Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment at 2, Adams v. Sullivan, No. 140,109 (Jan. 1, 1984) [hereinafter “Findings”]. “Factual findings underlying a court’s conclusion of voluntariness are given deference in a habeas proceeding and reviewed for clear error on appeal. Deference is not accorded to a state court's determinations of mixed questions of law and fact or of purely legal questions, and thus the ultimate question of voluntariness is reviewed de novo.” Torrey v. Estelle, 842 F.2d 234, 235 (9th Cir.1988) (citations omitted).
Upon review of the record, we reject Adams’s argument that his agreement to a stipulated-facts trial was involuntary. Adams was faced with an admittedly difficult choice. He could proceed to an extended trial on the merits, replete with witnesses and potentially damning evidence, or he could agree to a stipulated-facts trial and receive a dismissal of two other indictments pending against him. As his attorney indicated, he chose to proceed to trial by stipulated facts because, after consultation with his attorney, he determined that the benefits outweighed the costs. Indeed, the defense decided to have the facts “put in writing specifically to avoid a lengthy and inflammatory recitation of the facts.” Affidavit at 3-4. Furthermore, Adams indicated to the trial judge that his attorney had discussed the manner of trial with him:
THE COURT: You’ve discussed your manner of trial with your attorney?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I did.
THE COURT: You are freely and voluntarily waiving your right to trial by jury?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
THE COURT: Election to waive jury will be entered. You’re consenting to have this matter tried by stipulated facts?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor.
Trial Transcript at 2. The record indicates that, rather than being coerced, Adams weighed the costs and benefits of the stipulated-facts trial procedure and made a rational decision to pursue that route.
In short, we reject Adams’s argument that his actions at trial were involuntary and accept the Oregon state court’s determination that he “voluntarily agreed to a trial based on stipulated facts and voluntarily executed the stipulation setting forth the facts on which he was tried.”
B
Adams next argues that he did not act intelligently in agreeing to a stipu*844lated-facts trial. A stipulation is valid and binding if the defendant understands the contents of the stipulation, the nature of the stipulated-facts trial, and the likelihood of a guilty finding. The state post-conviction court found that Adams’s stipulation met this test, entering the following finding:
1. At the time of petitioner’s trial on stipulated facts, petitioner understood the facts set forth in the written stipulation presented to the court; petitioner understood that the court would determine petitioner’s guilt or innocence solely on the basis of such stipulated facts; and petitioner understood that it was expected that the court would find petitioner guilty on the basis of such stipulated facts.
Findings at 2. The state court’s findings on this issue are entitled to a presumption of correctness pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Derrick v. Peterson, 924 F.2d 813, 823 (9th Cir.1990), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 161, 116 L.Ed.2d 126 (1991).
Here again, the record amply supports the state court’s conclusion that Adams’s action was a “knowing, intelligent act[] done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences.” Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 748, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 1469, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970). Indeed, Adams testified at his post-conviction hearing that he was aware at trial of the consequences of the stipulation:
Q All right returning again now to the stipulated facts document on the second page above your signature read that last paragraph out loud to the court, would you please.
A Based on this stipulation it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of count one and two and count three.
Q What does that mean to you?
A That — that I will be found guilty based on this.
Q And you understood that at that time too, didn’t you?
A Yes.
Post-Conviction Transcript at 18 (emphasis added). Adams’s trial attorney also submitted evidence to the state court which rejected Adams’s post-conviction argument that his plea had not been voluntary or intelligent. His affidavit reads in part as follows:
After reviewing the files, I do recall fairly clearly the circumstances surrounding the stipulated facts trial. The evidence against Mr. Adamas [sic] was fairly overwhelming. It included bite marks on the victim’s body that were matched by plaster molds and experts from California to Mr. Adams’[s] own teeth. These bites were in places that were incosistent [sic] with Mr. Adams’[s] description of how things occurred. Mr. Adams did present me with a written statement as to his version of the assault on Ms. Donley_ This statement was presented, incidentally, after the stipulated facts trial took place and prior to sentencing. I asked Mr. Adams at that time whether he wanted to attempt to withdraw the stipulated facts trial when I received this written statement, and he said he did not want to do that.
Prior to the trial date, I had discussed with Mr. Adams, on at least two separate occasions, the effect and impact of the stipulated facts trial. I did so because Mr. Adams, while fairly intelligent, was unsophisticated in the more arcane aspects of the criminal law, including the meanings of a stipulated facts trial. Mr. Adams did express to me repeatedly that his preference and desire would be to take the stand and make his own statement to the judge.... I explained to him on at least two separate occasions and then again on the morning that we actually went before Judge Beckett with the stipulation, that any statement he would make to the Court would have to be at sentencing and would not be at the stipulated facts trial. I tried to do this in as non-technical a fashion as possible, and I clearly recall that Mr. Adams understood what I was telling him and that, albeit reluctantly, he would agree.
*845On January 18, 1982, we went before Judge Beckett with the stipulation. The stipulation was in writing, and Mr. Adams had a chance to read it in advance and I explained the words to him. I had the stipulation put in writing specifically to avoid a lengthy and inflammatory recitation of the facts by the District Attorney. Mr. Adams signed the stipulation in open court.
Affidavit at 2-4 (emphasis added). This further supports the state court’s conclusion that Adams acted knowingly in agreeing to a stipulated-facts trial.
In short, given Adams’s own testimony at his post-conviction hearing and the other evidence in the record, we hold that Adams has failed to overcome the presumption of correctness accorded to the state court’s finding that he understood the nature and consequences of his agreement to a stipulated-facts trial. We therefore reject his claim that he acted unknowingly.6
IV
Adams, a relatively educated young man, wanted the benefits of a stipulated-facts trial: a hoped-for lighter sentence, the dismissal of two other indictments pending against him, and the avoidance of a drawn-out presentation of the facts. He also wanted the benefits of a more elaborate trial, including the opportunity to testify in his own behalf. Faced with a mutually exclusive choice between these two options, he chose a stipulated-facts trial. Because his choice was voluntary and intelligent, we must affirm the district court’s dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
AFFIRMED.

. Adams apparently concedes and the record indisputably reveals that he did voluntarily and intelligently waive his second "Boykin right,” the constitutional right to a jury trial, after being questioned by the trial judge in open court. The pertinent issue on appeal, therefore, is whether the trial court committed constitutional error in failing to procure voluntary and intelligent waivers of the other two “Boykin rights.”

. Nor do the parties’ expectations change the analysis. An expectation that the trier of fact will find that the facts as stipulated demonstrate the defendant's guilt does not render the stipulation a de facto guilty plea. When presented with a stipulation of fact, an Oregon trial court is under no statutorily or judicially imposed obligation to find the defendant guilty. See Lyons v. Pearce, 298 Or. 569, 694 P.2d 978, 980 (1985). The stipulation is only a method for introducing the evidence, and the parties’ expectations are only their views on what the trial’s outcome will be.

. Indeed, if it has any significance at all, the federal-state distinction seems to weigh against *841appellant’s position. Terrack involved the direct appeal of a federal conviction; the present case, on the other hand, involves the collateral review of state convictions — which have already been collaterally reviewed and thereafter validated by the state judicial system. In a similar context, another court has explained;
The standard of review in a collateral attack upon a guilty plea [under 28 U.S.C. § 2255] is entirely different from that on a direct appeal. In collateral proceedings the courts have held that a conviction will be vacated for a Rule 11 violation only if it amounts to "a fundamental defect which inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice (citations omitted).” Carreon v. United States, 578 F.2d 176, 179 (7th Cir.1978).... On direct appeal, the rule generally applied is that “any noncompliance with Rule 11 is reversible error.” McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 464 n. 9, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 1170 n. 9, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969)....
United States v. Fels, 599 F.2d 142, 149 n. 5 (7th Cir.1979) (per curiam); see also Haase v. United States, 800 F.2d 123, 127 (7th Cir.1986) (collateral Rule 11 challenges under section 2255 are reviewed under a more deferential standard than direct Rule 11 challenges).
If a more deferential standard applies to the collateral review of a federal guilty plea than applies to the direct review of that same plea, then certainly an even more deferential standard must apply when, as here, the court collaterally reviews what is alleged to be a state guilty plea. Comity, respect for the state’s own procedural rules, and respect for the state’s sovereign interest in the administration of its own criminal justice system pose an additional reason for deference that is wholly absent from the purely federal context.

. We recognize that this circuit, along with two others, has held that an admission of prior convictions which subject a defendant to an enhanced sentence under a multiple offender statute is the functional equivalent of a guilty plea to a separate charge. Wright v. Craven, 461 F.2d 1109 (9th Cir.1972), aff'g 325 F.Supp. 1253 (N.D.Cal.1971); see also Virgin Islands v. George, 741 F.2d 643, 648-49 (3d Cir.1984); Cox v. Hutto, 589 F.2d 394, 396 (8th Cir.1979); contra Joseph v. Butler, 838 F.2d 786, 790-91 (5th Cir.1988). Wright is not inconsistent with the rule we adopt here. We had no occasion in that case to consider the applicability of Boykin, because the defendant’s trial had preceded the Boykin decision. We agreed with the district court that the admission of prior convictions could “not be accepted unless the defendant understood] the consequences of the admission.” 461 F.2d at 1109. The Eighth Circuit later construed Wright to require only that the court determine "whether [the defendant] knowingly and voluntarily agreed to the stipulation,” Cox v. Hutto, 589 F.2d 394, 396 (8th Cir.1979), citing our decision in Terrack. We agree with this interpretation. Admissions of prior convictions which may subject a defendant to enhanced penalties under a recidivist statute must satisfy the test of volun-tariness we set out for stipulations, infra Part III.

. Unlike our dissenting colleagues, we do not believe our holding invites prosecutorial abuse. *843Prosecutors simply do not control the information available to a defendant in these circumstances. First, as we hold in Part III, a stipulation is valid only if knowingly entered. Second, defense counsel of course has an obligation to inform the defendant fully of the consequences of either a plea or a stipulation. And third, no prosecutor can prevent the trial judge from going through the Boykin litany. We hold only that, in the case of a stipulated facts trial, the federal constitution does not mandate a Boykin examination.

. Even if we were to hold that Boykin applied to this stipulation, we would not grant Adams’s petition. The state court findings following the post-conviction hearing demonstrate that Adams voluntarily and intelligently agreed to waive his Boykin rights. See Findings at 2 ("At the time of petitioner’s trial on stipulated facts, petitioner understood that by proceeding in such manner he would be giving up all of his statutory and constitutional trial rights, including, but not limited to, the right to testify and to confront and cross-examine witnesses produced against him.).’’