GREENFIELD — A man who is serving more than 30 years for a series of sex crimes against underage girls is seeking to have one of the convictions thrown out, arguing that he was never given the choice to have the attorney he wanted to defend him.
Hayden J. Nix, 23, accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to 10 years in the first of four cases brought against him in 2019 stemming from incidents in the fall of 2017. He was back in court Tuesday, June 1, after being transported from the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City last week. His attorneys, Susan D. Rayl and Michael R. Smith of Indianapolis, told Court Commissioner Cody Coombs that the plea agreement should be thrown out because of inadequate legal representation.
“Generally, that’s an important constitutional right, and we feel that was violated in this case,” Rayl said. “The relationship between a client and his attorney is a special one, and in this case it’s been violated — a structural error that’s generally reversible.”
According to court documents filed on Nix’s behalf, Nix’s guilty plea “was not made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.” He also was denied his right to representation by counsel of his choice, a violation of his Indiana and U.S. constitutional rights, his attorneys argued.
Two of the complaints in the request for post-conviction relief say Nix was not told by counsel he would be required to register as a sex offender as part of the plea agreement and that he was advised he would get probation, or at worst home detention, and would be able to go home if he signed the plea agreement.
The documents also state Nix was denied the right to be represented by an attorney of his choice when then-Judge Terry Snow, who was hearing the case in Hancock County Superior Court 1, ordered his privately hired counsel, Zaki M. Ali, to withdraw as Nix’s counsel, which Ali did.
Ali had asked the court for a continuance in the case for personal reasons but was denied, prompting the need for Nix to hire a new lawyer.
The court originally appointed attorney Jon Keyes as a public defender, but Keyes told the court during the hearing Tuesday he never met with or talked with Nix during the three weeks he was assigned the case due to the fact he had been told Nix was getting Ali as his attorney.
Nix’s current attorneys state in their appeal that Nix was denied his right to a trial by jury and to confront witnesses when he was forced to choose between pleading guilty and going to trial with unprepared counsel. The documents also state the attorney Nix ended up with, Bryan Williams of Madison County, failed to move for a continuance and failed to ask the court to reconsider its order removing Ali, Nix’s counsel of choice.
“It just doesn’t look like any of the attorneys acted in any way to preserve Hayden’s right to have Mr. Ali be the attorney Hayden wanted,” Rayl said. “We just feel this is an important right of Hayden’s that was violated.”
Deputy prosecutors Catherine Wilson and Kevin Kelly represented the state during the daylong hearing, during which all three of Nix’s former attorneys were questioned along with Nix’s family members. Nix is expected to testify Friday, June 4. A decision by Coombs isn’t expected for 60 to 90 days.
Rayl also contends the sentence handed to Nix as a result of the plea agreement to a Level 5 felony for sexual misconduct with a minor was a “pretty harsh” sentence for his first criminal offense. The case was the first of four against Nix for attacks on girls in a 32-day span in the fall of 2017. The other three cases went to trial on felony charges including rape, sexual misconduct and battery. Sentences for the four convictions totaled 30 years.
