Court Opinion

ID: 9513790
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:40:35.979734+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:06:02.273263
License: Public Domain

MARING, Justice,
concurring in the result.
[¶ 17] I respectfully concur in the affir-mance of the dismissal of Gamboa’s application for post-conviction relief. I, however, would affirm based on the reasoning of the trial court that Gamboa failed to establish any facts from which any inference of ineffective assistance of counsel could be drawn, and not based on the untimeliness of Gamboa’s request to withdraw his guilty plea in this post-conviction relief proceeding.
*25[¶ 18] Although timeliness was an issue raised by the State, it was raised only in a conclusory manner without adequate briefing. I would prefer to address the issue of dismissal of post-conviction relief based on untimeliness where the issue had been squarely raised and fully briefed by the State and the defendant.
[¶ 19] The American Bar Association recently published a report based on research and testimony gathered from 22 states about the delivery of legal representation to indigent defendants in their respective jurisdictions. Gideon’s Broken Promise: America’s Continuing Quest for Equal Justice, American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (December 2004). The report states, “[a]ll too often, defendants plead guilty, even if they are innocent, without really understanding their legal rights or what is occurring.” The report notes that as of December 2004, the Innocence Project lists 154 people, convicted in 31 different states and the District of Columbia, who served a total of 1,800 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. DNA- evidence exonerated each of these individuals between 1989 and 2004. The report also cites the problem of “meet’em and plead’em lawyers,” where lawyers in some states often negotiate a plea agreement the first day they meet their clients.
[¶ 20] Because of the fact the legislature has not provided a time limit on application for post-conviction relief, consideration of this recent study, the lack of adequate briefing, and the dearth of other jurisdictions moving in the direction the majority wants to take our Court, I concur in the result only.
[¶ 21] MARY MUEHLEN MARING