Justice Elizabeth Foley
Brooks moved to vacate his judgment of conviction under a guilty plea to attempted robbery. He argued the plea was not voluntary because of his mental illnesses, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel as his former lawyer failed to seek youthful offender status as part of the plea bargain. The court disagreed finding that Brooks’ former attorney secured an "extremely advantageous" plea bargain, shielding Brooks from the possibility of a much longer term of imprisonment than the one year he received. Further, the court stated the pre-plea conversation Brooks contended occurred with counsel was unsubstantiated, and contradicted by the record. The court, therefore, found there was no evidence Brooks was unable to comprehend the plea proceedings, or that his plea was not voluntarily or knowingly made. Also, the court noted Brooks was given an opportunity to return to the prior judge to address the issue of a youthful offender status, yet, insisted on continuing with his sentencing that day. Additionally, the court noted mere eligibility for youthful offender status did not mandate youthful offender treatment. Accordingly, the court denied Brooks’ motion.
