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868 So. 2d 477

Brown v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · decided 2003-07-18

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently October 2007

7 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“(a) Pronouncement of Judgment. Judgment shall be pronounced in open court. A judgment of conviction shall set forth the plea, the verdict, the findings, if any, and the adjudication. If the defendant is found not guilty or for any other reason is entitled to be discharged, judgment shall be entered accordingly. “(b) Pronouncement of Sentence. In pronouncing sentence, the court shall: [[Image here]] “(4) Inform the defendant as to the defendant’s right to appeal; provided, however, in cases in which the defendant has entered a plea of guilty, the court shall advise the defendant of his or her right to appeal only in those cases in which the defendant (i) has entered a plea of guilty, but before entering the plea of guilty has expressly reserved his or her right to appeal with respect to a particular issue or issues, or (ii) has timely filed a motion to withdraw the plea of guilty and the motion has been denied, either by order of the court or by operation of law. When informing the defendant of his or her right to appeal, the court shall also advise the defendant that if he or she is indigent, counsel will be appointed to represent him or her on appeal if the defendant so desires, and that a copy of the record and the reporter’s transcript will be provided at no cost to the defendant for purposes of appeal, if the appeal is from a judgment and sentence of the circuit court.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including State v. Sorsby

Relies on Cantu v. State · 597 So. 2d 1308 - Ex Parte Rivers · Gordon v. Nagle

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2003-07-18

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

PER CURIAM.

¶1The appellant, Arthur Brown, pleaded guilty to four counts of leaving the scene of an accident at which four persons were injured and one count of assault. He was *478sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count of leaving the scene of an accident and to 15 years’ imprisonment for the assault conviction, the sentence for assault to run concurrently with those for leaving the scene of an accident. Brown filed written notice of appeal within 42 days of the date he was sentenced.

¶2Brown pleaded guilty on October 21, 2002. Rule 14.4(a)(l)(viii), Ala.R.Crim.P., was amended effective August 1, 2002, to specifically state that a defendant has

“no right to appeal unless the defendant has, before entering the plea of guilty, expressly reserved the right to appeal with respect to a particular issue or issues, in which event appellate review shall be limited to a determination of the issue or issues so reserved.”

¶3Rule 26.9(b)(4)(h), Ala.R.Crim.P., was also amended effective August 1, 2002, to provide that a defendant who pleads guilty may appeal, after pleading guilty, if he has filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea.

¶4Here, because the record before this Court showed that no motion to withdraw the guilty plea was filed in the circuit court, we requested that counsel notify this Court if Brown had reserved any issue to raise on appeal. See Rule 14.4, Ala. R.Crim.P. In response to this Court’s order, Brown’s attorney informed this Court that the trial court had improperly advised Brown that he had the unconditional right to appeal his guilty plea proceedings. Counsel also asserts that we should not apply the recent amendment in Rule 14.4, Ala.R.Crim.P., to Brown because he is unlearned in the law and he was relying on what both the court and his attorney told him. The record supports counsel’s assertion that the trial court incorrectly informed Brown that he had a unconditional right to appeal. Appellate counsel1 also states that guilty plea counsel failed to inform Brown about the recent amendments to Rule 14.4, Ala.R.Crim.P.2

¶5This Court is bound by the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure as pronounced by the Alabama Supreme Court in its recent amendment to Rule 14.4, Ala. R.Crim.P. Because Brown failed to invoke the limited right to appeal a guilty plea, we have no authority to consider this appeal. See Williams v. State, 854 So.2d 625 (Ala.Crim.App.2003). Brown’s remedy, if any, is to file a petition for postconviction relief challenging the voluntariness of his guilty plea. Challenges to the voluntariness of a guilty plea may be addressed for the first time in a timely filed postconviction petition. See Cantu v. State, 660 So.2d 1026 (Ala.1995); Ex parte Rivers, 597 So.2d 1308 (Ala.1991); Gordon v. Nagle, 647 So.2d 91 (Ala.1994). We make no comment at this time on the merits of such a petition.

¶6Because Brown failed to invoke the limited right to appeal his guilty plea, this appeal is due to be, and is hereby, dismissed.

¶7APPEAL DISMISSED.

*479McMILLAN, P.J., and COBB, BASCHAB, SHAW, and WISE, JJ„ concur.

¶8. Our records reflect that guilty plea counsel was allowed to withdraw and a new attorney was appointed to represent Brown on appeal.

¶9. The Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Blackmon, 734 So.2d 995, 997 (Ala.1999), stated that "a misrepresentation by a defendant’s counsel, if material, may render a guilty plea involuntary.” Subsequent to the amendment to Rule 14.4, Alabama has not had the occasion to address whether misinforming a defendant who pleads guilty that he has a right to appeal the guilty plea proceedings will constitute a material misrepresentation that renders a guilty plea involuntary. Before the amendment of Rule 14.4 we had held that the failure to notify a defendant who pleads guilty that he has the right to appeal would not automatically constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. See Langford v. State, 531 So.2d 944 (Ala.Crim.App.1988).

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