Hurley v. State

Collie Will Hurley pled guilty to one count of selling cocaine and was sentenced to six years in prison followed by four years on probation. Hurley then moved to withdraw his guilty plea, asserting that the plea was not voluntary because it was induced by his attorney’s promise that he would receive no jail time. Hurley claimed that he had given money to his attorney to “pay people off” to ensure that he received probation, and that the attorney assured him that “money had been paid to influence the outcome of the case.” Hurley claimed that he was “tricked and misled” by his attorney, apparently because the promised bribery did not occur or at least did not achieve the desired results. He asserted that his attorney “had an obligation . . . not to trick me into thinking the case was fixed.”

During an evidentiary hearing on the motion to withdraw the plea, Hurley’s trial counsel denied telling Hurley that he would pay anybody off or that Hurley would not get any jail time. The trial court denied the motion, stating in its order that it “makes all factual findings adverse to the defendant.” With respect to the attorney’s alleged promises that Hurley would receive no jail time, the court specifically found that “such promises were not made.” In making this finding, the court noted that Hurley failed to mention such promises during the guilty plea hearing, even though he was directly questioned by the court about whether anyone had offered him any hope or inducement to get him to plead guilty. Hurley now challenges the denial of his motion on appeal.