Opinion
NO. 2017 KW 0072
03-20-2017
STATE OF LOUISIANA v. TOMMY J. GIOELE
In Re: Tommy J. Gioele, applying for supervisory writs, 18th Judicial District Court, Parish of West Baton Rouge, No. 150247. BEFORE: HIGGINBOTHAM, THERIOT, AND CHUTZ, JJ.
WRIT DENIED. Relator entered counseled guilty pleas to two counts of solicitation for murder without conditioning his pleas or reserving the right to seek review of any pre-plea claims after the convictions and sentences became final. Relator is not challenging the voluntariness of his guilty pleas. Furthermore, the guilty plea transcript reflects that relator understood the nature of the charges against him, and the consequences of the guilty pleas, and he voluntarily and knowingly waived his constitutional rights and entered the counseled guilty pleas. A guilty plea by its nature admits factual guilt and relieves the State of the necessity to prove it by a contested trial. See State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584, 591 (La. 1976). Moreover, a valid, unqualified plea of guilty waives all nonjurisdictional defects in the proceedings prior to the plea except due process claims for vindictive prosecution and double jeopardy claims that are evident from the face of the indictment. See Blackledge v. Perry, 417 U.S. 21, 30-31, 94 S.Ct. 2098, 2104, 40 L.Ed.2d 628 (1974). The arguments raised in the application for postconviction relief are nonjurisdictional and do not fit the two narrow exceptions. Therefore, the claims are waived by the guilty pleas, including the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to investigate and/or file pretrial motions, and the double jeopardy claim is without merit since relator was charged with soliciting an individual to murder two different people. Therefore, the district court did not err by denying the application for postconviction relief, and did not err by not holding an evidentiary hearing.
MRT
WRC
TMH
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT /s/_________
DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT