People v. Ratliff

Defendant entered into an open plea to one count of robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. On appeal, he argued that the trial court committed reversible error when it failed to comply with SCR 401(a) before accepting his waiver of counsel. The appellate court affirmed the defendant’s conviction and sentence. The supreme court vacated the judgment of the appellate court and affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, explaining that the appellate court did not have jurisdiction over the Rule 401(a) claim but that defendant waived any claim under Rule 401(a) when he pleaded guilty and again when he failed to raise that issue in his post-plea motions and that the trial court’s Rule 401(a) violation was not second-prong error. (HOLDER WHITE and ROCHFORD, concurring, CUNNINGHAM, specially concurring, O’BRIEN and CUNNING, specially concurring, OVERSTREET, concurring in part and dissenting in part, and NEVILLE, dissenting)