MIZUSAWA v. State
MIZUSAWA v. State
Opinion
The appellant, Hermanno M. Mizusawa, pled guilty to unlawful possession of obscene matter, a violation of §
The appellant argues that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In his pleadings, he raised several potentially meritorious claims in which he contended that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance and that he did not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently enter his guilty plea. He also attached *Page 793 several affidavits and various documents in support of his pleadings. The State did not refute the appellant's specific claims. During the sentencing hearing, the trial court took up the issue of the appellant's pleadings. However, counsel at sentencing stated that he had been appointed less than twenty-four hours before the sentencing hearing; that he was not prepared to argue the motion; that an out-of-state attorney was present and had filed an application to be admitted pro hac vice, but that motion had not been granted at that time; and that he had advised the appellant to argue the pleadings and to rest on the pleadings. At that time, the trial court discussed the procedural history of the case and made a general finding that the appellant had knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered his guilty plea. However, it did not make any findings of fact regarding the appellant's specific claims.
The State has asked that we remand this case to the trial court for that court to address the appellant's claims. Because the appellant raised claims that may be meritorious, we agree that the trial court is in the best position to make findings of fact regarding the claims. Therefore, we remand this case to that court with instructions that it make specific, written findings of fact as to each claim the appellant raised in his "Defendant's Combined Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Renewed Motion for a Continuance," "Supplement to Defendant's Combined Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Renewed Motion for a Continuance," and "Memorandum in Support of Combined Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Renewed Motion for a Continuance."See Vinnie v. State,
REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.*
McMILLAN, SHAW, WISE, and WELCH, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.