Court Opinion

ID: 9855411
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:24:30.753946+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:16.339211
License: Public Domain

LUMPKIN, Judge,
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent to the Court’s decision that the conviction must be reversed and remanded with directions to allow the Appellant to withdraw his plea of guilty.
The record reveals that Appellant entered a blind plea of guilty to the charge of Robbery by Force and Fear on March 7, 1986. He did so knowing the jury was present and ready to try his case that day. In addition, he understood the sentencing was entirely at the judge’s discretion, i.e. there was not a binding plea agreement, *485and there was not a maximum on the potential sentence he could receive. He acknowledged to the judge that he had prior felony convictions and those convictions would be revealed in the pre-sentence report the judge would order prior to sentencing. Prior to accepting the plea, the trial judge thoroughly inquired of the Appellant utilizing the guidelines of King v. State, 553 P.2d 529 (Okl.Cr.1976). The trial judge did incorrectly advise the Appellant that punishment was not less than five years in the state penitentiary, but emphasized that there was not a ceiling on the possible punishment. The record is clear that the Appellant entered a free, voluntary and knowing plea of guilty to the charge of Robbery by Force and Fear understanding it was solely the judge’s decision as to the punishment, which was limited only to the minimum possible sentence of five years. Thus, the issue becomes whether the fact that the prior felonies raised the minimum possible sentence to twenty (20) years ipso facto extinguishes that free and voluntary plea. That is, did the fact the Appellant got more than he had hoped for detract from the fact he knew what type of a chance he was taking when he entered the plea? I do not think so.
During the hearing on Appellant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea, Appellant testified, in response to direct questioning by his attorney, as follows:
Q. Billy, do you feel that the sentence was appropriate for the crime?
A. No, I don’t.
Q. What do you think would have been an appropriate sentence?
A. Appropriate for the crime?
Q. Uh-huh, yes.
A. I think thirty-five or forty years. [Tr. 3]
Upon further questioning by his attorney, Appellant acknowledged that he remembered his attorney telling him the judge “could sentence him to whatever the judge wanted.” [Tr. 6] On cross-examination he admitted to prior convictions for Burglary, First Degree in 1975, Burglary of Automobile in 1972, Assault with Intent to Commit Rape in 1969, and Burglary of Automobile in 1972. [Tr. 6-8]
Merely because the Appellant did not receive the sentence he thought he should have received is not a basis for the withdrawal of the plea. The Appellant clearly acknowledged complete understanding of the effects of a blind plea and the latitude granted to the judge in sentencing. I find that the record supports a finding that the criteria established by Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), and adopted by this Court for a free and voluntary plea have been met. The sentence given by the judge was within the range of punishment explained to Appellant at the time he entered the plea. Appellant took a chance by entering a blind plea. He understood what he was doing and the chance he was taking. Based on the Appellant’s previous criminal record and the evidence presented to the trial judge, the sentence is not excessive. I would affirm the conviction and sentence.