Matthew H Thomas Davis v. State of Indiana

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that Davis’s signed plea agreement unambiguously waived his right to appeal his sentence because the sentence remained within the agreement’s limits. Although the trial court incorrectly told Davis before and after his plea that he could appeal, the Supreme Court held that the resulting knowing-and-voluntary challenge could not be resolved in a direct appeal and instead had to be pursued through post-conviction proceedings, where Davis could seek to vacate the conviction and entire plea agreement. The court therefore dismissed the appeal.