State v. Johnson
Annotate this CaseDefendant Frank Johnson was convicted for operating after habitual offender revocation. Johnson appealed, arguing that the superior court erred in denying his motion to strike an earlier conviction offered by the State to enhance his current charge to a Class C crime because the prior conviction resulted from a guilty plea that was allegedly constitutionally flawed. At issue was whether Johnson had the right to collaterally attack the prior conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed after examining relevant federal and state precedent, holding (1) a criminal defendant may not collaterally attack a prior conviction during proceedings related to a different offense unless the defendant alleges a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; and (2) because Johnson did not assert a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel as the basis for his collateral attack on his prior conviction, his motion to strike was properly denied without further hearing.
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