Opinion
No. 10–KA–1064.
2011-09-13
STATE of Louisiana v. Edgar L. OLIVIERI.
Paul D. Connick, District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Assistant District Attorney, Parish of Jefferson, Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee. Frederick J. Kroenke, Jr., Attorney at Law, Louisiana Appellate Project, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.
Paul D. Connick, District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Assistant District Attorney, Parish of Jefferson, Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee. Frederick J. Kroenke, Jr., Attorney at Law, Louisiana Appellate Project, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.
Panel composed of Judges SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER, and MARC E. JOHNSON.
MARC E. JOHNSON, Judge.
Defendant pled guilty to three counts of armed robbery on August 24, 2010, and was sentenced, on each count, to 30 years' imprisonments to be served concurrently and without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. In his sole assignment of error on appeal, defendant challenges the validity of his waiver of conflict-free counsel.
Defendant claims he was denied his constitutional right to effective and conflict-free counsel because his waiver of conflict-free counsel was not knowing and intelligent. He contends that although he had notice of a potential conflict, he was left on his own to determine whether an actual conflict existed. He argues the trial court failed to ensure that he was fully informed of the consequences of proceeding with conflicted counsel. Defendant further asserts he was never informed of his right to obtain other counsel. As such, defendant seeks to have his conviction and sentence reversed.
The State contends defendant is precluded from raising this issue on appeal because he pled guilty, there was no adverse ruling, and he did not reserve his right to appeal under State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). Although a guilty plea normally waives all non-jurisdictional defects in the proceedings prior to the plea, the Louisiana Supreme Court recently explained that the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and La. Const. art. I, § 2 and § 13 protect a defendant pleading guilty. To that extent, the supreme court stated that “[w]hen a defendant enters a counseled plea of guilty, this court will review the quality of counsel's representation in deciding whether the plea should be set aside.” State v. West, 09–2810 (La.12/10/10), 50 So.3d 148, 149 ( per curiam ). In West, the supreme court found that the appellate court erred to the extent it implied that the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was a non-jurisdictional defect that was waived by his guilty plea.