State v. Cutler

HAYS, Justice,

dissenting.

I dissent. The only issue in this case is presented in the second sentence in the majority opinion: “In the plea agreement, the parties stipulated that the defendant would make restitution to the victim and pay court costs to the county and that his plea could be withdrawn if any prison time *331were imposed.” (Emphasis added). This does not call for a dissertation on the ramifications of Boykin * nor is an in-depth study of voluntariness called for.

The plea agreement had a built-in safety valve for the defendant so far as the imposition of prison time was concerned. All the defendant had to do if he got prison time was to ask to withdraw his plea. The only question is: did defendant waive this provision of the plea agreement by failing to ask to withdraw the guilty plea?

The majority misses the point; waiver is the only issue in this case. From a review of the record, I find that defendant failed to ask to withdraw his plea, and he therefore waived this right. The judgment of conviction and sentence should be affirmed.

Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969).