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State v. Aeto7/23/2004
n to withdraw a plea, the trial court's determination will not be disturbed on appeal unless abuse of discretion is clearly shown. The burden of establishing abuse of discretion is on appellant and a strong showing is required to establish it.
State v. Nguyen, 81 Hawai'i 279, 286, 916 P.2d 689, 696 (1996) (citations and quotation marks omitted). [FN2]
FN2. The word "manifest" "is synonymous with open, clear, visible, unmistakable, indubitable, indisputable, evident, and self-evident." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 962 (6th ed.1990). "Manifest injustice" is defined as "[a]n error in the trial court that is direct, obvious, and observable, such as a defendant's guilty plea that is involuntary or that is based on a plea agreement that the prosecution rescinds." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 974 (7th ed.1999). That being so, query why the abuse of discretion standard of review, rather than the right/wrong standard of review, is applied to the trial court's decision that the required showing of a "manifest injustice" has not been made.
DISCUSSION
Where the record pertaining to the motion to withdraw guilty plea is complete, as it is in this case, "[t]he defendant has the burden of establishing plausible and **590 *261 legitimate grounds for the withdrawal." [State v. Merino, 81 Hawai'i 198, 223, 915 P.2d 672, 697 (1996) ] (citation and internal quotation marks omitted; brackets in the original); Reponte v. State, 57 Haw. 354, 361, 556 P.2d 577, 582 (1976) (defendant must carry this burden by a preponderance of the evidence). Cf. Carvalho v. Olim, 55 Haw. 336, 342-43, 519 P.2d 892, 896-97 (1974) (where the record is silent, it is presumed that the defendant did not voluntarily and knowingly enter his or her guilty plea and the burden is on the State to rebut that presumption).
State v. Topasna, 94 Hawai'i 444, 451, 16 P.3d 849, 856 (App.2000).
In this case, the record pertaining to the motion to withdraw guilty plea is complete. Aeto had the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, plausible and legitimate grounds for the withdrawal. To prevail on his motion, it was Aeto's burden to prove the occurrence of a "manifest injustice." The mere fact that the court did not comply with all of the requirements of HRPP Rule 11 when he accepted Aeto's plea is not proof of a "manifest injustice." Therefore, Aeto has failed to satisfy his burden of proof and the July 29, 2002 order must be affirmed.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, we affirm the January 21, 2004 Notice of Entry of Judgment and/or Order and Plea/Judgment that denied the July 15, 2002 Motion to Withdraw No Contest Plea filed by Defendant-Appellant Justin K.H. Aeto.
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