James Roger Ford v. State of Tennessee

Petitioner, James Roger Ford, pled guilty on October 28, 1998, to the following offenses: casual exchange of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; sale of diazepam, a Class D felony; sale of more than 1/2 ounce of marijuana, a Class E felony; and two counts of public intoxication, a Class C misdemeanor. In addition, Petitioner entered a "best interest" plea of guilty to the charge of introducing contraband in jail, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced Petitioner as a Range I offender to eleven months and twenty-nine days for the offense of casual exchange of marijuana, thirty days each for the two counts of public intoxication, two years for the sale of more than 1/2 ounce of marijuana, and four years each for the sale of diazepam and introducing contraband in jail, with all sentences to be served concurrently on a Community Corrections program. On November 24, 1998, a violation of Community Corrections warrant was filed. Petitioner pled guilty to violating the terms of his community-based sentence and agreed to serve the remainder of his four-year sentence in incarceration. On October 27, 1999, he filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, which the trial court denied after a hearing on the merits. Petitioner appeals the court's denial of post-conviction relief, alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel prior to and during the plea proceedings and that his guilty plea was not knowingly or voluntarily entered. Following a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.