Court Opinion

ID: 9460254
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 21:45:48.090306+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:36:32.750158
License: Public Domain

CELEBREZZE, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
I must respectfully dissent from the majority.
If there existed undue pressure by counsel on Defendant to enter a guilty plea, the Defendant owed a duty to the Court to answer honestly the question put to him by the Court at the time of the entry of the plea.
The record discloses that the trial judge, in questioning Ray, very thoroughly inquired into the voluntariness of Ray’s guilty plea and the consequences which would result therefrom. In no uncertain terms, Ray stated that his plea was being entered voluntarily and without pressure of any kind.1 The record thus discloses that Ray “voluntarily and understanding” entered his plea of guilty. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969).
We are now asked to vacate the plea because it is alleged that it was in fact the result of coercion. Thus, we are asked to ignore the record in this case. In so doing, the Court leaves open for attack convictions which have been obtained in a manner specifically designed for the protection of the defendant. Indeed, the very reasons for conducting a thorough on the record examination of the defendant are to guard against the entering of a guilty plea which is not an intelligent and knowledgeable plea and to insulate the conviction from attack on the basis that it did not comport with due process. Boykin v. Alabama, supra, 395 U.S. at 244 n. 7, 89 S.Ct. 1709.
Although we expressly reserved judgment on the issue presently before us, we previously determined that allegations involving the same conduct of Ray’s attorneys as is involved here, did not support a finding that Ray was not properly defended. Ray v. Foreman, 441 F.2d 1266 (6th. Cir. 1971).
I would affirm the District Court’s denial of the writ.
APPENDIX TO DISSENTING OPINION
THE COURT: This is a compromise and settlement on a plea of guilty to murder in the first degree and an agreed settlement of 99 years in the Penitentiary, is that true ?
MR. FOREMAN: That’s the agreement, your Honor.
THE COURT: Is that the agreement? Alright, I’ll have to voir dire Mr. Ray, James Earl Ray, stand. Have you a lawyer to explain all your rights to you and do you understand them?
A Yes, Sir.
THE COURT: Do you know that you have a right to a trial by jury on a charge of Murder in the First Degree *293against you, the punishment for Murder in the First Degree ranging from death by electrocution to any time over 20 years. The burden of proof is on the State of Tennessee to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty and the decision of the jury must be unanimous, both as to guilt and punishment. In the event of a jury verdict against you, you would have the right to file a Motion for a New Trial addressed to the Trial Judge. In the event of an adverse ruling against you on your Motion for a New Trial, you would have the right to successive appeals to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court of Tennessee and to file a Petition for Review by the Supreme Court of the United States. Do you understand that you have all of these rights ?
A Yes, Sir.
THE COURT: You are entering a plea of guilty to Murder in the First Degree as charged in the indictment and are compromising and settling your case on an agreed punishment of 99 years in the State Penitentiary. Is this what you want to do ?
A Yes, I do.
THE COURT: Is this what you want to do?
A Yes, Sir.
THE COURT: Do you understand that you are waiving, which means giving up a formal trial by your plea of guilty although the laws of this State require the prosecution to present certain evidence to a jury in all cases on pleas of guilty to Murder in the First Degree? By your plea of guilty, you are also waiving your right to one, your Motion for a New Trial; two, successive appeals to the Supreme Court, to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court of Tennessee and three, Petition to Review by the Supreme Court of the United States. By your plea of guilty, you are also abandoning and waiving your objections and exceptions to all the motions and petitions in which the Court has heretofore ruled against you in whole or in part among them being one, Motion to Withdraw Plea and Quash Indictment; two, Motion to Inspect the Evidence; three, Motion to Remove Lights and Cameras from the Jail; four, Motion for Private Consultation with Attorney; five, Petition to Authorize Defendant to Take Depositions; six, Motion to Permit Conference with Huie; seven, Motion to Permit Photographs; eight, Motion to Designate Court Reporters; nine, Motion to Stipulate Testimony, ten, Suggestion of Proper Name. You are waiving or giving up all these rights. Has anything besides this sentence of 99 years in the Penitentiary been promised to you to get you to plead guilty? Has anything else been promised to you by anyone ?
A No, it has not.
THE COURT: Has any pressure of any kind by anyone in any way been used on you to get you to plead guilty?
A No, No one, in any way.
THE COURT: Are you pleading guilty to Murder in the First Degree in this case because you killed Dr. Martin Luther King under such circumstances that it would make you legally guilty of Murder in the First Degree under the law as explained to you by your lawyers?
A Yes, legally, yes.
THE COURT: Is this plea of guilty to Murder in the First Degree with an agreed punishment of 99 years in the State Penitentiary freely, voluntarily and understandingly made and entered by you ?
A Yes, Sir.
THE COURT: Is this plea of guilty on your part the free act of your free will made with your full knowledge and understanding of its meaning and consequences ?
A Yes, Sir.
THE COURT: You may be seated. Alright, are you ready for a jury?
MR. FOREMAN: Yes, your Honor.

. The examination of Ray by the District Court is included in the appendix to dissenting opinion.