State v. Kincaid, Jr.
State v. Kincaid, Jr.
Opinion
Ronnie Gene Kincaid, Jr. appeals from the judgment of conviction entered upon his guilty plea to second degree murder. Kincaid argues the district court erred when it denied Kincaid's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and when it ordered Kincaid to pay two separate fines of $5,000. The district court did not err in denying Kincaid's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. However, because Kincaid was convicted of only one offense, the district court erred when it imposed two separate $5,000 fines. For the reasons set forth below, the judgment of conviction is affirmed in part, vacated in part, and the case is remanded to the district court for entry of an amended judgment of conviction consistent with this opinion.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Kincaid was charged by information with multiple felonies, which included Count I: murder in the first degree,
At the first pretrial conference, the district court was informed of on-going settlement negotiations. At the second pretrial conference, the parties presented an Idaho Criminal Rule 11(f)(1)(A) and (C) plea agreement, 1 wherein the State agreed to amend the information to one count of murder in the second degree and dismiss the sentencing enhancement and the four remaining charges. The plea agreement explained: "The Defendant shall not file a motion to withdraw any guilty plea entered as part of this plea agreement." Additionally, the plea agreement stated:
The Defendant waives his right to appeal for any issue or basis, including but not limited to, appealing the judgment of conviction and/or the sentence pronounced by the Court and/or the denial of any motion to suppress, motion to withdraw guilty plea, or Idaho Criminal Rule 35 motion.
In exchange for Kincaid's guilty plea, the State agreed to recommend a unified life sentence, with fifteen to twenty years determinate.
*289 Pursuant to the agreement, Kincaid entered an Alford 2 plea to one count of murder in the second degree, I.C. §§ 18-4001, 18-4002, and 18-4003(g).
Two days before the scheduled sentencing hearing, Kincaid's attorney filed a motion to withdraw as the attorney of record. At the time originally set for sentencing, the court addressed the attorney's motion to withdraw, noting that although the court was prepared to accept Kincaid's Rule 11 plea agreement, the court had recently been informed by counsel of Kincaid's desire to withdraw his guilty plea. After hearing argument on the motion for appointed counsel to withdraw, the district court denied the motion and offered the following explanation:
In view of Mr. Kincaid's desire that a motion be filed to withdraw his plea of guilty--and I will hear further argument, if counsel wish to do so, but my concerns are that if I grant, [defense counsel], your motion to withdraw at this time that whoever is ultimately retained or appointed would not have the familiarity with the case to necessarily effectively assist Mr. Kincaid in the filing of his motion to withdraw his plea, and certainly that does raise some concerns for me in terms of post-conviction relief.
Thereafter, Kincaid filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. At the hearing on Kincaid's motion, the following exchange occurred between Kincaid and defense counsel:
Counsel: Were you concerned that I, as your counsel, would no longer represent you if you didn't follow through with the plea agreement that was reached?
Kincaid: Yes.
Counsel: And why was that?
Kincaid: Because I didn't want to plead to anything I didn't do.
Counsel: But why were you concerned that I would no longer represent you?
Kincaid: Because you told me that if I took this to trial, you would quit.
Counsel: And--well, not if you took it to trial, but if you didn't follow through with the plea agreement; right?
Kincaid: Yes.
Counsel: And, in fact, after you indicated to the Court that you didn't want to continue with your plea and withdraw your plea, I filed a motion to withdraw as your counsel; right?
Kincaid: Yes.
The district court sought clarification on Kincaid's statements, and asked:
Court: The inquiry that I have and I was confused by the questioning before we get to cross, Mr. Kincaid, did you testify that [defense counsel] told you that he would withdraw if you did not accept this plea before you entered the plea?
Kincaid: Yes.
Court: That's what he told you?
Kincaid: He told me that if I didn't take this plea, he would quit.
Court: Okay.
Kincaid: I wanted a trial from the beginning.
The district court denied Kincaid's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The district court found that Kincaid made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent guilty plea to murder in the second degree and the matter was set for sentencing. The same day, defense counsel filed a second motion to withdraw as the attorney of record, which the district court granted, and a new public defender was appointed to represent Kincaid. 3
The State filed a sentencing memorandum in which the State argued that Kincaid breached the plea agreement when he moved to withdraw his guilty plea, and as a result, the State was no longer bound by its original sentencing recommendation. 4 The State explained *290 it would amend its sentencing recommendation to a unified life sentence, with thirty-five years determinate, as compared to the original recommendation of a unified life sentence, with fifteen to twenty years determinate.
At the sentencing hearing, the State recommended a unified life sentence, with thirty-five years determinate, and Kincaid's counsel requested a unified life sentence, with fifteen years determinate. The district court imposed a unified life sentence, with twenty years determinate. The district court also entered two separate $5,000 civil judgments against Kincaid for a crime of violence, pursuant to I.C. § 19-5307. Kincaid timely appeals.
II.
ANALYSIS
A. The District Court Did Not Err When It Denied Kincaid's Motion to Withdraw His Guilty Plea
Kincaid argues the district court erred when it denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Specifically, Kincaid claims his guilty plea was not voluntary because defense counsel threatened to withdraw as the attorney of record if Kincaid did not plead guilty.
Whether to grant a motion to withdraw a guilty plea lies in the discretion of the district court and such discretion should be liberally applied.
State v. Freeman
,
The narrow issue in our case is whether a guilty plea is involuntary if defense counsel advises the defendant to enter a guilty plea and threatens to withdraw as the attorney of record if the defendant declines to follow counsel's advice. Our case depends on the interpretation of two Idaho Supreme Court cases:
Hollon v. State
,
In
Hollon
, the Supreme Court analyzed whether defense counsel's threat to withdraw coerced a defendant into pleading guilty. After charges were filed, defense counsel presented Hollon with a plea agreement.
Hollon
,
On a petition for post-conviction relief, Hollon argued his defense counsel provided ineffective assistance.
Someone in Hollon's position might feel that they were being abandoned by counsel upon whom they had come to trust and depend. However, in a situation such as this one, if counsel feels that they cannot support a client's choice, that counsel should be allowed to withdraw, without then rendering a client's subsequent decision to enter into a guilty plea, involuntary. Additionally, Hollon's inexperience with the criminal justice system should not excuse his unwillingness to state at his plea hearing that he felt coerced by [defense counsel]'s threats.
In
Grant
, appointed defense counsel filed a motion to withdraw as the attorney of record.
Grant
,
Grant argued on appeal that his guilty plea should be vacated because the district court abused its discretion when it denied defense counsel's motion to withdraw.
In its decision denying Kincaid's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, the district court cited to Hollon for the proposition: "Our courts have recognized that counsel's threat to withdraw is neither coercive, so as to make the defendant's plea of guilty involuntary, nor does it constitute ineffective assistance." Kincaid disagrees with the district court's interpretation of Idaho precedent regarding whether counsel's threat to withdraw is coercive. Kincaid argues Grant is controlling because it overruled Hollon and held that counsel may not withdraw merely because a client refuses to plead guilty.
The district court did not err because
Hollon
applies to this case and was not overruled by
Grant
. Like in
Hollon
, the issue here is whether defense counsel's threat to withdraw coerced a defendant into pleading guilty. Kincaid was not only presented with a plea agreement, but accepted the agreement and was found by the district court to have made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent guilty plea. However, Kincaid changed his mind and filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Like the defendant in
Hollon
, Kincaid claimed he wanted to go to trial, but defense counsel threatened to withdraw if Kincaid did not accept the plea agreement. Thus, the issue here--just as in
Hollon
--is whether a guilty plea is coerced if counsel threatens to withdraw on account of the defendant not accepting a guilty plea.
Hollon
held that counsel is allowed to withdraw when counsel cannot support a client's choice, and that a withdrawal of this sort does not render a client's subsequent decision to enter into a guilty plea involuntary.
Hollon
,
Kincaid does not attempt to distinguish
Hollon
. Instead, Kincaid argues that the ruling in
Hollon
does not apply because
Grant
implicitly overruled
Hollon
. Kincaid focuses on a single sentence from
Grant
: "[C]ounsel may not withdraw merely because his client refuses to plead guilty, or because another attorney might possibly be able to convince the client to plead guilty."
Grant
,
*292
Grant
did not overrule
Hollon
since
Grant
considered a different issue than
Hollon
. In
Hollon
, the question was the same one presented in this case--whether defense counsel's threat to withdraw if a plea agreement was not accepted coerced a defendant into pleading guilty.
Hollon
,
Similarly, Kincaid relies on language from
Grant
which does not overrule
Hollon
. Kincaid directs this Court to the following sentence: "[C]ounsel may not withdraw merely because his client refuses to plead guilty, or because another attorney might possibly be able to convince the client to plead guilty."
Grant
,
Because Hollon applies to this case at bar and because Grant did not overrule the holding in Hollon , the district court did not err when it found Kincaid was not coerced by defense counsel such that Kincaid's guilty plea was involuntary. The district court was correct when it cited to Hollon and explained "counsel's threat to withdraw is neither coercive, so as to make the defendant's plea of guilty involuntary, nor does it constitute ineffective assistance." Kincaid fails to persuade this Court that the district court's decision on Kincaid's motion to withdraw his guilty plea was error. Thus, the district court did not err when it found that Kincaid entered a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent guilty plea and Kincaid failed to show any other just reason to withdraw his plea.
B. The District Court Abused Its Discretion When It Ordered Kincaid to Pay $5,000 to Each Victim
Kincaid argues the district court abused its discretion when it ordered Kincaid to pay $5,000 to two separate victims under I.C. § 19-5307. The State agrees.
When a trial court's discretionary decision is reviewed on appeal, the appellate court conducts a multi-tiered inquiry to determine whether the lower court correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion, acted within the boundaries of such discretion, acted consistently with any legal standards applicable to the specific choices before it, and reached its decision by an exercise of reason.
Lunneborg v. My Fun Life
,
The interpretation of a statute is an issue of law over which we exercise free review.
Aguilar v. Coonrod
,
Here, Kincaid pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the second degree. The conviction on this single offense permitted the district court to impose one fine of $5,000 on behalf of the family of the victim. Thus, the district court abused its discretion when it imposed two separate $5,000 fines on Kincaid, which totaled $10,000. We therefore vacate the portion of the judgment of conviction and sentence imposing two separate fines and remand the case to the district court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
III.
CONCLUSION
The district court did not err when it denied Kincaid's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. However, because I.C. § 19-5307 only permits one fine of $5,000 for each offense, and since Kincaid was convicted of only one offense, the district court erred when it imposed two separate $5,000 fines. For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of conviction is affirmed in part, vacated in part, and the case is remanded to the district court for entry of an amended judgment of conviction consistent with this opinion.
Chief Judge GRATTON and Judge LORELLO concur.
We acknowledge the plea agreement in this case was entitled "Binding Plea Agreement." However, this is a bit of a misnomer as there is no scenario in which the parties can require a district court to follow the recommendations of the parties. Depending on which subsection of Idaho Criminal Rule 11 is invoked, the remedy is that a defendant may have an opportunity to withdraw his plea if the court declines to follow the recommendations. The agreement in this case was made pursuant to I.C.R. 11(f)(1)(A) and (C).
See
North Carolina v. Alford
,
With new counsel, Kincaid filed a renewed motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The district court ruled it would not consider the renewed motion.
In the appellant's brief, Kincaid admits he agreed to waive his right to appeal any issues other than sentencing. The State, however, does not argue the terms of the plea agreement prohibit Kincaid's appeal, perhaps because the State believes the plea agreement was voided prior to sentencing when Kincaid filed his motion to withdraw his plea. We therefore address the merits of Kincaid's argument on appeal.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.