Brown, T v. Commonwealth
Brown, T v. Commonwealth
Opinion
Tamara Brown appeals from the refusal of the circuit court to set aside her guilty plea. For the reasons noted below, we conclude that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Brown's motion. Thus, for the *885 reasons explained below, the judgment of the Court of Appeals will be affirmed.
BACKGROUND
The Commonwealth proffered the following evidence at Brown's guilty plea. On May 12, 2016, Brown entered a Wal-Mart store after having been previously banned from the store. A loss prevention officer observed her leaving the store without paying for items she had placed in her bags. When the loss prevention officer confronted Brown, she asked if he was going to press charges. She then left the items behind, ran to a vehicle, and fled.
Charged with trespass and the felony of petit larceny, third offense, Brown negotiated a plea agreement. On January 30, 2017, pursuant to that agreement, she entered a plea of guilty to trespass and the lesser included misdemeanor offense of petit larceny, second offense. From the bench, the court pronounced a sentence in conformity with the plea agreement: twelve months in jail, with eleven months suspended for the petit larceny charge and twelve months, all suspended, for the trespass charge.
On February 1, 2017, before the circuit court entered the final sentencing order, Brown filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea to the petit larceny conviction. Counsel explained at a hearing on the motion that Brown regretted pleading guilty, and stated that "she thinks she has some evidence now" that could be "present[ed] to the court to assist in her defense." Brown testified that she "just took the plea to try to avoid the felony" but she did not know that pleading guilty "would make [her] lose [her] house and [her] job." Brown worked in the school system and she learned she might lose her job as a consequence of her conviction. She also stated that she had "evidence to fight against this case" and that she was not guilty. Specifically, she stated that she had "evidence to prove that the merchandise was left in the store and [she] had [her] money returned back to [her], and all of that." The circuit court denied the motion and entered the final sentencing order. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's judgment in an unpublished opinion. 1 The defendant appeals.
ANALYSIS
I. THE "MANIFEST INJUSTICE" STANDARD GOVERNS A MOTION TO WITHDRAW A GUILTY PLEA MADE AFTER SENTENCE WAS PRONOUNCED BUT BEFORE THE ORDER WAS ENTERED .
Under Virginia law, motions to withdraw a guilty plea are governed by two separate standards. The timing of the motion to withdraw determines which standard a court will apply to review the motion. A long line of cases, beginning with
Parris v. Commonwealth
,
For example, where "it appears from the surrounding circumstances that the
*886
plea of guilty was submitted in good faith under an honest mistake of material fact or facts, or if it was induced by fraud, coercion or undue influence and would not otherwise have been made" a trial court should permit it to be withdrawn.
Parris
,
A motion to withdraw a guilty plea made after sentencing is governed by the "manifest injustice" standard. The manifest injustice standard comes from Code § 19.2-296. That statute provides as follows:
[a] motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or nolo contendere may be made only before sentence is imposed or imposition of a sentence is suspended; but to correct manifest injustice, the court within twenty-one days after entry of a final order may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw his plea.
Manifest injustice is a "more severe standard" and it applies post-sentencing "to avoid motions for withdrawal based on disappointment in the terms of the sentence ...."
Lilly v. Commonwealth
,
Here, Brown filed her motion to set aside the guilty plea after the circuit court had pronounced Brown's sentence from the bench but before the entry of a written order. Brown argues that because no final order had been entered at the time of her motion, she was entitled to the more lenient, pre-sentencing standard. In
Howell v. Commonwealth
,
II. THE TWO GROUNDS BROWN ADVANCED TO WITHDRAW HER GUILTY PLEA - A NON-VIABLE DEFENSE AND COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES - DO NOT WARRANT VACATING A GUILTY PLEA UNDER THE POST-SENTENCING "MANIFEST INJUSTICE" STANDARD .
At trial, Brown's motion to withdraw her guilty plea rested upon two bases: she purported to offer a defense to the charge and complained about the collateral consequences of her conviction. We conclude that these grounds do not satisfy the "manifest injustice" standard.
A. Brown's proffered defense was no defense.
It is settled law that a circuit court's discretion to grant the motion to withdraw a guilty plea " 'will rarely, if ever, be exercised in aid of an attempt to rely upon a merely dilatory or formal defense.' "
Justus
,
Brown failed "to proffer evidence of a reasonable basis for contesting guilt."
Cobbins
,
Brown's asserted defense was not viable as a matter of law. Consequently, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to withdraw a guilty plea so that Brown could assert a legally groundless defense.
B. Lack of knowledge concerning collateral consequences does not justify vacating a guilty plea under the post-sentence manifest injustice standard.
Brown also pointed to the collateral consequences of her conviction. She argued her conviction could cause her to lose her job and home. "For a guilty plea to be constitutionally valid, a defendant must be made aware of all the direct, but not the collateral, consequences of his plea."
Meyer v. Branker
,
"Direct consequences have a definite, immediate and largely automatic effect on the range of the defendant's punishment. A consequence is collateral when it is uncertain
or beyond the direct control of the court.
"
Meyer
,
We have not previously addressed whether the prospect of loss of a job or housing can supply a basis for setting aside a guilty plea. Other courts, however, have explored analogous arguments.
2
These courts uniformly have rejected claims that lack of knowledge concerning the impact of a guilty plea on job or housing prospects justified setting aside the plea.
See
United States v. Muhammad
,
CONCLUSION
The judgment of the Court of Appeals will be affirmed.
Affirmed.
Brown v. Commonwealth
, Record No. 0269-17-1,
We acknowledge
Padilla v. Kentucky
,
Given our holding, we need not decide whether a trial court may consider collateral consequences when deciding a pre-sentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Tamara Felicia BROWN v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published