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972 So. 2d 831

Fleming v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama

Decided September 29, 2006

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama · decided 2006-09-29

Cited by 1 later decisions — most recently May 2007

1 state decisions

Relies on 672 So. 2d 1363 - Similton v. State · 557 So. 2d 1333 - Blount v. State · 678 So. 2d 1210 - McCollum v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2006-09-29

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¶1

¶2I agree that there are cases, such as Verzone, in which a reversal is warranted because there is not a colloquy in the record on appeal. However, because this case is distinguishable from Verzone, and because defense counsel made only bare assertions in an unverified motion to withdraw the appellant's guilty plea, a reversal is not warranted in this case.

¶3In Verzone, the appellant filed a motion to supplement the record on appeal with a transcript of the guilty plea colloquy. In this case, the appellant did not file a motion to supplement the record on appeal. In fact, in the reporter's transcript order, he did not even request a transcript of the guilty plea. Rather, he checked the portion of the form that indicated that the appeal would not have a court reporter's transcript.

¶4Also, in Verzone, in addition to a voluntariness claim, the appellant raised a challenge to the trial court's jurisdiction to accept her guilty plea. Without a record of the colloquy, we could not review that challenge to the trial court's jurisdiction. In this case, the appellant raises only an argument that he did not voluntarily enter his guilty plea. Defense counsel presented this argument to the trial court in an unverified motion to withdraw the appellant's guilty plea.

¶5 "`Assertions in an unverified motion are bare allegations and cannot be considered as evidence or proof of the facts alleged.' Blount v. State, 557 So.2d 1333 (Ala.Crim.App. 1989); see also,Similton v. State, 672 So.2d 1363 (Ala.Crim.App. 1995)."

McCollum v. State, 678 So.2d 1210, 1213 (Ala.Crim.App. 1995). Thus, defense counsel's assertions in the motion to withdraw the appellant's guilty plea did not constitute evidence, and this court could conclude *835 that the trial court properly denied the motion on that basis.

¶6For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.

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