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Turner v. State8/5/2003
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - POST CONVICTION RELIEF
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DISMISSED
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED-08/05/2003
. Tommy Turner, Jr., in a pro se brief, challenges the denial of his motion for post-conviction relief by the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County. We find no error in the ruling of the trial court; therefore, we affirm.
FACTS
. In 1999, a Lauderdale County grand jury indicted Turner for the felony of DUI manslaughter pursuant to section 63-11-30 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 as annotated and amended. Approximately two years later, Turner filed a petition in which he asked the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County to accept his plea of guilty to felony DUI manslaughter. The trial court accepted Turner's plea of guilty, convicted him of DUI manslaughter, and sentenced him to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with twelve years suspended, and to five years of supervised probation.
. Subsequently, Turner filed a petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that his plea of guilty was entered unintelligently, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, that he was denied a speedy trial, that there was no factual basis to support the plea, that the indictment was defective, and that the trial court erred in accepting the plea because the court failed to make sufficient inquiry to determine whether Turner understood the nature of the charge against him.
. In a very detailed order, the trial court found, after a perusal of the applicable records, that the factual claims made by Turner in his motion for post-conviction collateral relief were false and belied by the transcript of the plea hearing. Consequently, the trial court denied the requested relief without an evidentiary hearing. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES
. When reviewing a lower court's decision to deny a petition for post-conviction relief, this Court will not disturb the trial court's factual findings unless they are found to be clearly erroneous. Brown v. State, 731 So. 2d 595, 598 ( ) (Miss. 1999) (citing Bank of Mississippi v. Southern Mem'l Park, Inc., 677 So. 2d 186, 191 (Miss. 1996)). However, where questions of law are raised, the applicable standard of review is de novo. Id.
. In his appeal, Turner argues that his plea of guilty was involuntary and was brought about by the ineffective assistance of counsel. He lists what he describes as several omissions of counsel to support his assertion. Turner first proclaims that his plea of guilty was not knowingly and intelligently made because his counsel failed to advise him of his right to a speedy trial. He further contends that he was denied due process of law because his indictment was defective and because neither the trial court nor his attorney advised him of the elements of the charge and the effect of the guilty plea upon the various trial rights constitutionally bestowed upon him. Moreover, he proclaims that there was no factual basis to support his guilty plea. Therefore, Turner concludes that the trial court erred when it denied him post-conviction relief.
. A guilty plea must be made voluntarily in order to satisfy the defendant's constitutional rights. Taylor v. State, 682 So. 2d 359, 362 (Miss. 1996). "It is essential that an accused have knowledge of the critical elements of the charge against him, that he fully understands the charge, how it involves him, the effects of a guilty plea to the charge, and what might happen to him in the sentencing phase as a result of having entered the plea of guilty." Reeder v. State, 783 So. 2d 711, 717 (
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