State v. Chervenell

These two consolidated cases are appeals from judgments of habitual offender status. In both proceedings, at least one of the convictions relied upon to establish habitual criminal status was based upon a guilty plea. In neither proceeding, however, did the State prove that the defendant, before pleading guilty, had been aware of his Fifth Amendment right not to testify against himself at trial. The issue thus presented is whether the State, *311when relying upon a conviction based upon a guilty plea to establish habitual criminal status, must show that the defendant was aware of this right. We…