Johnson v. State
Johnson v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant challenges the postconviction court's summary denial of his petition to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that his plea was involuntary because the state coerced his plea by threatening a sentence unauthorized by law. We reverse and remand.
FACTS
Respondent State of Minnesota charged appellant Malcolm Johnson with second-degree controlled-substance crime after law enforcement stopped Johnson in his vehicle and found 6.2 grams of heroin in October 2013. The state notified Johnson in October 2013 of its intent to seek an aggravated sentence for Johnson as a career offender under
Johnson filed a timely postconviction petition seeking to withdraw his guilty plea on the grounds that his plea was involuntary because the state threatened him with a sentence unauthorized by law and his counsel provided ineffective assistance. The postconviction court summarily denied Johnson's petition without an evidentiary hearing.
This appeal follows.
*289ISSUE
Was Johnson's guilty plea involuntary and therefore invalid because the state coerced the plea by threatening to seek a sentence unauthorized by law?
ANALYSIS
Johnson argues that the postconviction court erred by denying his petition because his plea was involuntary and therefore invalid, and that this court should reverse the denial of his postconviction petition and allow him to withdraw his plea. We agree.
We review the summary denial of a postconviction petition without an evidentiary hearing for an abuse of discretion, and we review whether a defendant made his or her guilty plea voluntarily de novo. Dikken v. State ,
"A defendant has no absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea after entering it." State v. Raleigh ,
Johnson argues that he did not voluntarily plead guilty because the state threatened him with an unauthorized sentence. "To determine whether a plea is voluntary, the court examines what the parties reasonably understood to be the terms of the plea agreement." Raleigh ,
If Johnson qualified as a dangerous or career offender, the district court could have sentenced Johnson to the statutory maximum sentence of 25 years. See
In response to Johnson's postconviction petition, the state conceded that Johnson did not qualify as a dangerous offender under
The record here shows that Johnson was induced by the state's threat. At the plea hearing, Johnson's counsel reviewed the terms of the plea agreement, the waiver of Johnson's trial rights, and the contemplated 100-month sentence and then asked Johnson: "And you told me that you wanted to do this and you didn't want to jeopardize the situation .... Do you understand that?" (Emphasis added.) Johnson said yes. In the postconviction proceeding, maintaining that Johnson qualified as a career offender under
In this case, [Johnson] argues that his attorney's performance was deficient in that he should have advised him that there was no possibility of aggravated sentencing and further argues that but for his failure to advise, he would not have accepted the plea agreement.
As shown in the transcript of the plea hearing, the parties agreed to 100 months. See Transcript of Plea Hearing at 7. 100 months is well within the presumptive range of the sentence. [Johnson] was advised of his rights both on the record and via petition. Further, had [Johnson] been convicted at trial, he could have faced an upward departure to the statutory maximum. Based on these factors, [Johnson]'s counsel provided reasonably effective assistance.
(Emphasis added.)
We conclude that when the state threatened Johnson with an aggravated sentence unauthorized by law, it coerced Johnson's plea. See Black's Law Dictionary 294 (9th ed. 2009) (defining "coerce" as "[t]o compel by force or threat"); Thompson ex rel. Minor Child v. Schrimsher ,
DECISION
Because the state coerced Johnson's guilty plea by threatening a sentence unauthorized by law, Johnson's plea was involuntary and invalid. We therefore reverse the postconviction court's denial of Johnson's postconviction petition and remand *291to the district court to allow Johnson to withdraw his plea.
Reversed and remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Malcolm Antonio JOHNSON v. STATE of Minnesota
- Status
- Published