Summary
Michael Cox appealed a criminal judgment entered after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, arguing that his plea was involuntary and that the case should be remanded for consideration of his motions to withdraw the plea. The North Dakota Supreme Court held that the motions were not filed because they were not signed by counsel as required by North Dakota court rules, and that the issue was raised for the first time on appeal. The court affirmed the criminal judgment, with a special concurrence discussing the need for clerks to create a record when prisoner submissions are rejected.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Supreme Court should remand for the district court to determine whether Cox was entitled to withdraw his guilty plea based on his claim that the plea was involuntary because he had not received all requested discovery.
- Whether the district court's failure to adjudicate the attempted plea-withdrawal motions constituted reversible error when the motions were not filed and were not part of the district court record.
Holdings
- The Court would not address Cox's plea-withdrawal arguments because the purported motions were not filed or pending in the district court and the arguments were raised for the first time on appeal.
- Because Cox was represented by counsel, his motions were required to be signed by counsel of record under N.D.R.Ct. 3.1(b), and the clerk properly declined to file documents that did not conform to that rule under N.D.R.Ct. 3.1(j).
- The criminal judgment was affirmed because Cox raised no issue concerning the judgment itself and the district court had neither filed nor ruled on the purported plea-withdrawal motions.
Key quotations
“This Court does not address issues raised for the first time on appeal.” (¶ 8)
“Therefore, no error exists upon which we can reverse and remand this matter for adjudication of Cox’s non-existent motion to withdraw his guilty plea.” (¶ 9)
“Because the district court neither filed nor ruled on those motions, we affirm the criminal judgment.” (¶ 10)
Factual background
Cox was charged with aggravated assault after the State alleged he struck another person in the head with a full can of beer, causing a broken nose and orbital-bone fractures. At a dispositional conference, Cox stated that he had not received all requested discovery, but the court advised him to discuss the matter with counsel. Cox then entered a plea agreement under which the charge was reduced to misdemeanor assault, pleaded guilty, and received a sentence of 109 days with credit for time served. After judgment, he attempted to submit three handwritten motions to withdraw his plea, but he was represented by counsel and the motions were not filed because they lacked counsel's signature.
Procedural history
Cox was originally charged with felony aggravated assault. After raising a discovery concern, he entered a plea agreement, the charge was reduced to misdemeanor assault, and he pleaded guilty. The district court entered judgment and sentenced him to 109 days' incarceration with credit for time served. Cox later attempted to submit handwritten motions to withdraw his plea, but they were not filed because they lacked counsel's signature. He appealed the judgment without moving to supplement or correct the record and without filing a motion to withdraw through counsel.