Smith v. Allbaugh

Antonio Smith pleaded guilty in Oklahoma state court to drug trafficking, possessing a firearm as a felon, and a variety of related charges. Smith’s habeas claims centered around a plea offer that one of Smith’s attorneys allegedly didn’t communicate to him: Smith said he rejected a 25-year plea offer from the state that his first attorney presented to him; Smith’s first attorney subsequently withdrew; the sentencing court appointed a new attorney; Smith says his second attorney told him shortly after she was appointed that the state had withdrawn an offer for a 20-year sentence. On the day his case was set to go to trial, Smith pleaded guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement. During the plea hearing, the state told the court Smith rejected its offer for a 20-year sentence. When the sentencing court asked Smith’s second attorney if the state’s recollection of its prior offer coincided with her own, Smith’s second attorney confirmed it. When the court specifically asked Smith’s second attorney if she discussed the 20-year offer with Smith, she equivocated and responded, “We discussed recommendations; we discussed counter-offers; I conveyed counteroffers. Those were rejected.” It was undetermined whether the second attorney mentioned the deal presented to the first attorney. Nor did she mention that she didn’t represent Smith when plea bargaining began, despite her representation to the court that she discussed prior offers with Smith. Adding to this confusion, Smith’s first attorney told the Oklahoma Bar Association that, contrary to what the state told the sentencing court, the lowest sentence the state ever offered Smith was 25 years. The sentencing court ultimately sentenced Smith to 30 years in prison. Smith neither sought to withdraw his plea nor appealed within the 10 days in which Oklahoma allowed him to do so. Smith petitioned the district court under 28 U.S.C. 2254 seeking habeas relief. After review of the record, the Tenth Circuit concluded Smith had shown both cause and prejudice, and there were unresolved factual issues to be addressed before habeas relief could be granted. The Tenth Circuit reversed the sentence Smith received and remanded for the district court to hold further proceedings. View "Smith v. Allbaugh" on Justia Law