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Stanton v. Municipality of Anchorage9/1/1999
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
[No. 4111 - September 1, 1999]
Appeal from the District Court, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Stephanie Rhoades, Judge.
Michael B. Stanton entered a plea of no contest to one count of driving while intoxicated (DWI). He initially filed a petition for review on the ground that his sentence was excessive in the supreme court, which has since transferred that case to this court for review of a merit issue concerning the accuracy of Stanton's driving history used at his sentencing. During the pendency of the petition for review, Stanton was given a lengthy stay to allow him to seek sentence relief from the trial court. Ultimately, he filed an application for post- conviction relief, basically seeking a sentence reduction, which was denied by District Court Judge Stephanie Rhoades. Stanton appeals that decision. We remand.
On July 3, 1997, Stanton was arrested by Anchorage police for DWI. Sometime in July, Stanton retained a lawyer to assist him. Stanton and his lawyer met on July 22 for approximately 2 hours, and they met again on July 31. According to Stanton, at the second meeting, the lawyer told Stanton that he would likely get the 3-day minimum confinement if he entered a no contest plea, and they agreed that the lawyer need not be present at Stanton's arraignment.
On August 4, 1997, Stanton appeared for arraignment. He watched the court's videotaped advisement of rights, and was present when Judge Rhoades gave a joint advisement of rights. Stanton told Judge Rhoades that he had no questions about any of the rights he would be giving up, and told the Judge that he had watched the court's videotaped advisement of rights and had seen what a lawyer could do for him. He said that he was waiving his right to a lawyer, and responded affirmatively when the Judge asked, "Are you sure you don't want to have a lawyer help you with this case?"
Accepting Stanton's plea, Judge Rhoades told Stanton that she would first hear from the prosecutor, and would then listen to anything Stanton wanted to tell her. The prosecutor described Stanton's current offense, and read Stanton's criminal history as it appeared on an Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) printout. According to the APSIN printout, Stanton had three prior DWI and one prior reckless driving convictions.
After she was advised by the prosecutor of Stanton's prior driving history, Judge Rhoades asked Stanton if he had anything he wanted to add. Stanton said, "No, your honor." Judge Rhoades made her sentencing remarks and then sentenced him to, among other things, 360 days in jail with 300 suspended, and a $600 fine with $300 suspended. After sentencing, Stanton hired his current lawyer in an effort to get his sentence reduced.
Stanton has since tried to reduce his sentence. On August 13, 1997, he filed a petition for review of his sentence in the supreme court. On September 22, he applied for a stay and asked for a remand to the district court to pursue a post-conviction relief action. This stay was granted by the supreme court. Once back in the trial court, Stanton filed a motion to withdraw his plea. This motion was based upon his contention that his plea was not knowing and voluntary because he had received ineffective assistance of counsel and therefore did not understand the extent of the penalty he might face. He also filed a post-conviction relief application. In the application, Stanton alleged that the information that the municipality had presented at sentencing concerning his prior record was inaccurate. He also argued that his sentence was excessive and that Judge Rhoades did not fully consider his rehabil
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