Summary
The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the denial of Micah Lamar Webb's request to withdraw his guilty plea and his related claims concerning mental evaluations and ineffective assistance of counsel. The court held that the motion was untimely, had not been properly presented to the trial court, and did not satisfy the verification requirements for a Rule 37 post-conviction petition.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the circuit court erred by denying Webb's request to withdraw his guilty plea based on the alleged need to suspend proceedings pending mental evaluations.
- Whether Webb's ineffective-assistance claim concerning counsel's advice to plead guilty could be considered on appeal.
Holdings
- A motion to withdraw a guilty plea made after sentencing or entry of judgment is untimely under Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.1 and is reviewed as a Rule 37 post-conviction-relief petition. Because Webb made only an unsworn oral motion rather than a verified Rule 37 petition, the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to consider the claim.
- The court would not consider Webb's argument that proceedings should have been suspended pending mental evaluations because he did not make that argument in the circuit court.
- The court would not reach the merits of Webb's ineffective-assistance claim because it was not presented through a proper, written, and verified Rule 37 petition.
Key quotations
“Although Rule 26.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure gives a defendant the right to withdraw his guilty plea, the defendant must do so before sentencing or entry of judgment.” (223 S.W.3d at 798)
“When a motion to withdraw a guilty plea is untimely, we review it on appeal as a motion for postconviction relief under Rule 37.” (223 S.W.3d at 798)
Factual background
Webb was ordered to undergo mental evaluations in September 2003. On April 30, 2004, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree battery. He received a fifty-year sentence for murder and six-year suspended sentences for each battery charge. After judgment and commitment orders were entered on May 7, 2004, Webb made an oral motion to withdraw his guilty plea on May 10, asserting that proceedings should have been suspended pending mental evaluations and that counsel was ineffective.
Procedural history
Webb pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree battery and was sentenced on May 7, 2004. He made an oral motion to withdraw his guilty plea three days after judgment and commitment orders were entered. The circuit court denied the request, and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the motion was untimely, the mental-evaluation argument was not preserved, and the unsworn oral motion did not satisfy Rule 37 post-conviction requirements.