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State v. Merrill6/10/2005
gan to run from the date of the plea colloquy. See Ostler, 2001 UT 68 at 10.
That a body of jurisprudence has developed around the view that the filing limitation is jurisdictional is reason enough to sustain its legitimacy even in the absence of a strong analytical pedigree where no compelling grounds have appeared to disturb it. Reyes, in fact, states that the filing limitation is jurisdictional. 2002 UT 13 at 3. Despite its imperfect lineage, Reyes is entitled to precedential dignity. Mr. Merrill does not directly ask us to overturn Reyes, but rather challenges its value as precedent. Because the issue was not briefed, we do not address Reyes's vulnerability to being overturned. We stand by Reyes's claim to precedential status and apply its holding here. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's denial of Mr. Merrill's motion to withdraw his plea as untimely.
We reject Mr. Merrill's contention that even if Reyes has precedential status, it is not controlling here because it concerned the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, not the jurisdiction of the district court, to consider an untimely motion to withdraw a guilty plea. However, the jurisdictional implications of section 77-13-6(2)(b) are independent of the court whose jurisdiction the defendant seeks to invoke. We consequently find Reyes to be controlling and confirm our conclusion there that section 77-13-6(2)(b) is indeed jurisdictional.
II. THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF UTAH CODE SECTION 77-13-6(2)(b)
Next, Mr. Merrill attacks the constitutionality of the thirty-day limitation found in Utah Code section 77-13-6(2)(b). Utah Code Ann. § 77-13-6(2)(b) (Supp. 2004). He insists that the imposition of this, or any, finite period to bring a motion to withdraw a guilty plea violates five constitutional guarantees: (1) the open courts provision of article I, section 11 of the Utah Constitution; (2) the separation of powers provision of article V, section 1 of the Utah Constitution; (3) the promise of due process contained in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; (4) the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and (5) the uniform application of laws provision found in article I, section 24 of the Utah Constitution.
To prevail on any of his constitutional claims, Mr. Merrill must overcome the presumption that section 77-13-6 is constitutional. Soc'y of Separationists, Inc. v. Whitehead, 870 P.2d 916, 920 (Utah 1993). However, Mr. Merrill's brief paints his claims of unconstitutionality with a broad brush and little pigment. The absence of a visible analytical landscape leaves us with little to view and assess. The presumption of constitutionality necessarily restricts our right and responsibility to advance through our own analysis constitutional challenges which Mr. Merrill has presented to us in the form of hint or suggestion, and he cannot overcome the presumption that the statute is constitutional. We nevertheless take up each claim in turn.
A. Open Courts
Mr. Merrill challenges the jurisdictional bar imposed by Utah Code section 77-13-6(2)(b) as a violation of article I, section 11 of the Utah Constitution, known as the open courts provision. Utah Const. art. I, § 11. This provision ensures "that citizens of Utah have a right to a remedy for an injury." Judd ex rel. Montgomery v. Drezga, 2004 UT 91, 10, 103 P.3d 135. We rely on the open courts provision to ensure that no law unreasonably "diminish or eliminate a previously existing right to recover for an injury." Id.
Mr. Merrill reminds us that we have held statutory time limitations for seeking habeas corpus relie
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