People v. Carlisle
People v. Carlisle
Opinion of the Court
In 1965, when defendant-appellant was 22 years of age, she pled guilty to the offense of assault with intent to rob, being armed.
The trial court exhaustively questioned the defendant as to her unequivocal desire to plead guilty. It did not pursue the apparent intention and willingness of the defendant to discuss the circumstances
The recent case of People v. Bartlett (1969), 17 Mich App 205, is support for this holding that a guilty plea is properly taken when the court carefully inquires into the facts. However, even where there are elements of the crime charged which are not apparent in those facts revealed by the defendant during this carefnl questioning, they may be properly provided by reference to the preliminary examination. So if the court, reviewing all available facts, is satisfied that if there were a trial, the defendant might well be convicted, then the acceptance of the plea was correct. Such a factual basis is essential.
At the preliminary examination here, a confession by the defendant was read into the record. The confession was given to a detective without counsel present after she had stated to the assistant prosecuting attorney, a few hours previously, that she did not wish to talk, and asked, “If I want a lawyer what do I do V’
She now says she did not question the confession at the taking of the plea because evidence of the prior statement to the assistant prosecuting attorney was not in the court file and she could not know that the confession would be used to provide a factual
The only other evidence offered at the preliminary examination was provided by a patrolman who testified that, based on a description and address of a girl who drove the wounded man to the hospital, he went to defendant’s house. She there stated that she did drive the man to the hospital after he came to her house and asked her to do so.
If the Walker hearing reveals that the confession was involuntary and thus improperly taken at the preliminary examination, the trial court should further inquire into the facts of the case before again accepting this plea as was done in Daniels, supra. If the confession was proper, taken together with the testimony of the patrolman, then a sufficient factual basis appears to exist, despite the absence of the desirable examination of the defendant.
Remanded for a hearing on the voluntariness of the confession based on People v. Walker, supra. If the confession is found to have been involuntarily made, then a new trial shall be had, otherwise the cause is affirmed.
CL 1948, § 750.89 (Stat Ann 1962 Rev § 28.284).
CL 1948, § 768.35 (Stat Ann 1954 Rev § 28. 1058).
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). The defendant contends that her plea of guilty is invalid because (1) the trial court failed to,inquire into her conduct
As to the first claim, I cannot accept the majority’s view that without some evidence on the record indicating the truth of the defendant’s plea, the plea cannot stand. Although past decisions of both this Court and the Supreme Court adhere to this view,
“ [A convicted defendant] has the burden of showing something more than technical noncompliance with a rule. Absent a showing of violation or denial of constitutional rights, he has the obligation of alleging in a motion to withdraw plea such facts as would, if true, substantiate a finding that there was noncompliance which resulted in a miscarriage of justice.” People v. Winegar, supra, 733.
Without attempting to define the limits of this requirement, it seems that the reason accompanying a request to withdraw a plea must relate to the defendant’s innocence in fact. See People v. Dunn, supra, 701. In this respect, the present defendant has failed to sustain her burden: the trial court asked her several times whether she was guilty of the crime charged, and she answered without hesita
Defendant’s second claim, that her plea is invalid because it was induced by an invalid confession, is founded on People v. Daniels (1966), 2 Mich App 395. Whatever the merit of that case, defendant has not shown that she is entitled to relief under it. Although she asserts in conclusory fashion that her plea was induced by an invalid confession, she does not state why the confession is invalid or how it was used to induce a plea of guilty. Failing to specify the facts underlying her claim, defendant has not established the need for an evidentiary hearing to determine its truth. People v. Scruggs (1968), 14 Mich App 47; People v. Dickerson (1969), 17 Mich App 201.
Neither People v. Daniels, supra, nor the majority of this panel has convinced me that a trial judge need go any further in accepting a plea than to be satisfied that it is tendered voluntarily and understandingly, that it was not induced by threats or promises, and that it reflects the defendant’s guilt in fact. To require a trial judge to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the admissibility of a confession is to destroy the utility of the guilty plea. If that is to be the criterion, then it only follows that a hearing should be conducted on the admissibility of any evidence acquired before the plea. We might as well then forget pleas and have a full hearing on the merits.
We must accept the fact that guilty pleas and plea bargaining are an important part of criminal proceedings, and, because they are important, we should not restrict them unrealistically. We should, not
The record in this case clearly indicates that defendant voluntarily tendered her plea, that she knew what she was doing, and that she was pleading guilty because she said she was guilty. I would affirm the denial of defendant’s motion to withdraw her plea of guilty.
People v. Barrows (1959), 358 Mich 267; People v. Stewart (1968), 10 Mich App 553; People v. Perine (1967), 7 Mich App 292; People v. Goldfarb (1967), 6 Mich App 7.
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