Court Opinion

ID: 9744164
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:55:08.503429+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:47.094552
License: Public Domain

HOFFMAN, Judge,
dissenting.
I dissent.
There was sufficient evidence in the record to establish the requisite factual basis for accepting the guilty plea.
In voting to reverse the conviction the majority has adopted an erroneous interpretation of IC 1971, 35 — 4.1—l-4(b). That statute provides:
“The court shall not enter judgment upon a plea of guilty unless it is satisfied from its examination of the defendant that there is a factual basis for the plea.” (Emphasis supplied.)
where a criminal conviction occurs the sentence is the judgment. Schalkle v. State (1979), Ind., 396 N.E.2d 384; McMinoway v. State (1973), 260 Ind. 241, 294 N.E.2d 803, at 806; see also: People v. Stillman (1978), *96361 Ill.App.3d 446, 18 Ill.Dec. 896, 378 N.E.2d 360. It therefore seems apparent that under the statute the determination of the factual basis for a guilty plea may be done at any time prior to sentencing and not just at the time when the plea is accepted. Several other jurisdictions which also require the ascertainment of a factual basis prior to the entry of judgment have embraced this position. Burton v. United States (9th Cir. 1973) 483 F.2d 1182; United States v. Romanello (D.Conn.1975) 425 F.Supp. 304; State v. Brooks (1978), 120 Ariz. 458, 586 P.2d 1270; People v. Carlisle (1975), 25 Ill.App.3d 1022, 324 N.E.2d 234. Thus a trial court may use any portion of the record which is before it prior to sentencing in determining the factual basis for a plea. People v. Johnson (1978), 66 Ill.App.3d 84, 22 Ill.Dec. 840, 383 N.E.2d 648.
In Hitlaw v. State (1978), Ind.App., 381 N.E.2d 527, it was held that evidence other than sworn testimony could serve as an adequate basis for acceptance of a plea. There a presentence report which included the defendant’s criminal record, the investigator’s version of the events, the probable cause affidavit upon which the arrest was based and an officer’s report of the incident was considered by the trial court as evidence of a factual basis.
Here the presentence report, which was available for the trial court’s consideration prior to sentencing, contained Anderson’s criminal record, a police report of the incident and Anderson’s contradictory recollections about his presence at the burglarized premises. This report was evidence that a factual basis existed for Anderson’s plea.
Also in the record was the probable cause affidavit of Mrs. Kohl. While this affidavit was not introduced at the guilty plea hearing, this fact does not appear to be of any consequence. A trial court may take judicial notice of its own records. Apple; Oakes v. Greenfield Banking Co. (1971), 255 Ind. 602, 266 N.E.2d 13.
At the guilty plea hearing, the prosecutor recited the following from Mrs. Kohl’s report of the alleged burglary:
“MR. WALKER: Mrs. Kohl was asleep in bed in the early evening, about seven o’clock as I recall, was awakened by a noise, observed the defendant, whom she knows personally, fiddling with the safe, a safe that was located in the bedroom. The defendant gave two verbal statements to the police, the first denying that he was even in the victim’s home, the second admitting his presence in the victim’s home but to see if a washing machine was repaired or something.
“THE COURT: Was the defendant arrested the same evening, do you recall?
“MR. WALKER: Yes, for another crime.”
Moreover, at this same hearing defense counsel admitted that there was a substantial risk of conviction if Anderson were to proceed to trial. It is well settled that a factual basis for a plea may be satisfied by statements made by the defendant and his counsel or by a recitation by the prosecutor of evidence to be offered at trial. Williams v. State (1975), Fla., 316 So.2d 267; People v. May (1975), 25 Ill.App.3d 1, 322 N.E.2d 606; State v. Newton (1976), 87 Wash.2d 363, 552 P.2d 682; White v. State (1978), 85 Wis.2d 485, 271 N.W.2d 97.
Finally, the information filed against Anderson for the alleged burglary has relevance on the question of a factual basis. It has been recently held that an indictment, if sufficiently specific, may be used to establish a factual basis. United States v. Isble (E.D.Tenn.1979), 468 F.Supp. 152; Sassoon v. United States (5th Cir. 1977), 561 F.2d 1154; State v. Lemburg (1977), Iowa, 257 N.W.2d 39. Here the information was factually precise enough to develop that Anderson’s conduct on the occasion involved was within the ambit of that defined as criminal.
In light of these many sources of evidence indicating a factual basis for the guilty plea, the conviction ought to be affirmed.