Brown v. State
Brown v. State
Opinion
The appellant, Douglas Brown, was indicted for the unlawful distribution of cocaine. With the appellant's consent, the indictment was amended to charge him with the unlawful possession of cocaine. The appellant pleaded guilty to the amended charge, was adjudicated guilty of that charge, and was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. He was also fined $500 and was ordered to pay $50 to the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund.
The same court appointed attorney represented the appellant at both the plea proceeding and the subsequent sentencing hearing. Although appointed counsel filed notice of appeal on the same date that sentence was imposed, he did not raise any objections at either the plea proceeding or the sentencing hearing, nor did he challenge the plea by way of a motion to withdraw the plea or a motion for new trial.
On May 22, 1992, appointed counsel filed an appellate brief that did not comply with Anders v. California,
On June 15, 1992, current appellate counsel, who appears to have been retained, filed a notice of appearance with this Court. Appellate counsel also filed a list of issues on appeal, and, on July 7, 1992, filed a supplemental brief arguing those issues. In this brief, appellate counsel challenges *Page 1196 the competence of appointed trial counsel and the determination of the sentence imposed on the appellant. The brief filed by the State on August 18, 1992, after a 14-day extension was granted, does not address the issues raised in the supplemental brief. Instead, the State responds only to the insufficientAnders brief filed by appointed trial counsel.
In Ex parte Jackson,
The appellant pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of cocaine, which is a Class C felony. Ala. Code 1975, §
The sentence hearing was held less than a month later and was held before a different judge.5 This hearing was extremely short, taking less than two and one-half pages of the transcript. The sentencing judge first "studie[d] the presentence report," then asked the appellant if he had "anything to say as to why sentence of law should not be pronounced upon him at this time." SR. 4. Defense counsel stated that a codefendant had been acquitted and that the appellant had entered a guilty plea "due to the difficulty the undercover officer had in identifying this defendant." Id. Without responding to defense counsel's comments, the sentencing judge confirmed that two felony convictions appearing on the presentence report occurred after the instant offense and "did not apply for the purpose of the Habitual Offender Statute." Id. The following then occurred:
"THE COURT: Okay. Mr. McCollough, there is nothing in this report relative to sentencing.
"PROBATION OFFICER McCOLLOUGH: Recommend the maximum sentence.
"THE COURT: I hereby sentence you to imprisonment in the penitentiary of the State of Alabama for a period of ten years. I order you to pay a fine of five hundred dollars. There is no restitution in this case and I order you to pay a victims' compensation assessment of fifty dollars. You will have credit for all time spent incarcerated pending trial. You have forty-two days in which to file an appeal.
"MR. DECKER [Defense Counsel]: We make oral notice for an application for probation.
"THE COURT: You are applying for probation?
"MR. DECKER: Yes, sir.
"THE COURT: And, based on Mr. Brown's extensive record of criminal involvement, including two felonies in the State of Georgia, I am denying the request for probation.
"MR. DECKER: Yes, sir."
SR. 5-6. After an off-the-record conference between the appellant and defense counsel, the sentence hearing was concluded.
There was clearly no objection to the sentence on any ground at the sentence hearing. As we have previously noted, the appellant's guilty plea was not challenged by way of a motion to withdraw the plea or a motion for new trial. The record does not contain a motion for reconsideration of sentence. Consequently, the appellant's contention that the sentencing judge improperly permitted the probation officer to determine his sentence was not properly preserved for appellate review. See, e.g., Ex parte Yeung,
We are aware that there are a few sentencing issues that may be raised on appeal regardless of whether the issue was asserted before the trial court. "[W]hen a sentence is clearly illegal or is clearly not *Page 1198
authorized by statute, the defendant does not need to object at the trial level in order to preserve that issue for appellate review." Ex parte Brannon,
Moreover, "[w]here a trial judge imposes a sentence within the statutory range, this Court will not disturb that sentence on appeal absent a showing of an abuse of the trial judge's discretion." Alderman v. State, [Ms. CR 91-82, March 27, 1992], 1992 WL 92512, *9 (Ala.Cr.App. 1992).6 Had this issue been properly preserved, this Court would find no abuse of discretion in the sentencing judge's actions. It is clear from the record that the sentencing judge reviewed the presentence report. It is also apparent from his comment in denying the appellant's request for probation that the judge considered the appellant's past criminal history in imposing sentence. We note that after the instant offense occurred, but prior to the entry of the guilty plea, the appellant was convicted in Georgia for possession of cocaine and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment on that conviction. CR. 27. In imposing sentence, a judge may properly consider the defendant's "previous convictions," as well as "criminal activity that did not result in a conviction." Jackson v. State,
For the reasons stated above, the judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All Judges concur.
"[I]f counsel finds [the indigent's] case to be wholly frivolous, after a conscientious examination of it, he should so advise the court and request permission to withdraw. That request must, however, be accompanied by a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal. A copy of counsel's brief should be furnished the indigent and time allowed him to raise any points that he chooses; the court — not counsel — then proceeds, after a full examination of all the proceedings, to decide whether the case is wholly frivolous."
386 U.S. at 744 ,87 S.Ct. at 1400 .
In this case, appointed counsel did not request permission to withdraw until some two weeks after the brief was filed and the certificate of service on the brief stated only that a copy of the brief had been served on the Attorney General.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Douglas Brown v. State of Alabama.
- Cited By
- 30 cases
- Status
- Published