Henry C. Leege v. Earling Strand

AREND, Justice. The state has appealed from an order of the superior court which reversed an order of the district magistrate at Juneau dismissing a motion to withdraw a plea of guilty in a criminal action which had been heard and disposed of in Petersburg. The motion to withdraw was pending before the deputy magistrate at Petersburg when the district magistrate at Juneau granted the state's motion to dismiss. The action originated as a criminal case in the deputy magistrate court at Petersburg where the defendant entered a plea of guilty to the crime of illegal fishing and, upon conviction by the deputy magistrate, paid a fine of $500 and forfeited his fishing net. The motion to withdraw the plea was made nearly six months later and is based upon Crim.R. 32(d) which provides in part that 'to correct manifest inJustice, the court, after sentence, may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw his plea.' 1 The manifest inJustice alleged in the motion was that the plea of guilty was not made freely and voluntarily and that the defendant was denied the proper assistance of counsel at the time the plea was entered. The state was served with notice that the motion would be brought on for hearing at Petersburg on December 11, 1961, but the time for hearing was continued to January 6, 1962, by agreement of the parties.