Daniel Richard Zales v. State of Mississippi

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Daniel Zales seeks postconviction relief (PCR) from his Alford 1 plea to uttering a counterfeit instrument. After review, we find his plea was voluntary, and. because Zales chose to proceed pro se after being warned of the dangers of self-representation, his standby counsel was jiot ineffective. Further, by entering a yoluntary Alford plea, Zales waived his right to a preliminary hearing, a bifurcated sentencing hearing, and his right to challenge the State’s evidence against him. For these reasons, we affirm the denial of his PCR claim.

Facts and Procedural…