Adams v. Peterson
| Decision Date | 24 June 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-4191,87-4191 |
| Citation | 968 F.2d 835 |
| Parties | David L. ADAMS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. R.S. PETERSON, Superintendent of O.S.C.I., Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Stephen R. Sady, Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender, Portland, Or., for petitioner-appellant.
Rives Kistler, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salem, Or., for respondent-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.
Before: WALLACE, Chief Judge, TANG, PREGERSON, NORRIS, WIGGINS, BRUNETTI, KOZINSKI, O'SCANNLAIN, TROTT, FERNANDEZ, and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges.
David Adams appeals from the district court's dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Adams claims that his Oregon convictions for burglary, rape, and sodomy violated his right to due process of law because a state court judge entered judgment on stipulated facts and failed to advise him on the record of the legal consequences of the stipulation. We now affirm.
In November 1981, Adams, who was seventeen years old at the time, was indicted in the Lane County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree rape, sodomy, and burglary of a female schoolteacher. Adams agreed to stipulate to certain facts at trial rather than to proceed through the more usual presentations of evidence by both the prosecution and the defense. Adams so agreed on the advice of his attorney, who indicated that Adams's prior juvenile record, along with the nature and circumstances of his crime, might lead to a harsher sentence if he was convicted following an extended trial. In addition, in return for Adams's agreeing to a stipulated-facts trial, the state agreed to dismiss two other indictments then pending against him.
Adams repeatedly told his attorney that he wanted to testify. On three separate occasions, however, his attorney explained to Adams that, if he agreed to a stipulated-facts trial, he could testify only at sentencing.
The written stipulation, which tracked the language of the indictment, provided that "the evidence of the State would establish the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt": on September 7, 1981, (1) Adams, without consent, legal authority, or other justification, entered and remained in the residence of one Marylee Donley with the intent to commit the crimes of rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse (Count I); (2) Adams unlawfully and knowingly caused his penis to penetrate Donley's vagina, and at the time of this sexual intercourse, Donley was subjected by Adams to forcible compulsion (Count II); and (3) Adams unlawfully and knowingly caused his penis to contact Donley's anus, and at the time of this deviate sexual intercourse, she was subjected by Adams to forcible compulsion (Count III). Stipulation at 1, State v. Adams, No. 10-81-10777 (Or.Cir.Ct., Lane County) (Jan. 18, 1982) [hereinafter "Stipulation"]. The stipulation concluded that "[b]ased on this stipulation, it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of Count I, Count II, and Count III." Id. at 2.
During the stipulated-facts trial, the following colloquy took place between the state trial judge and Adams:
All right, I would find the Defendant guilty of Count I, Burglary in the First Degree; Count II, Rape in the First Degree, and Count III, Sodomy in the First Degree.
Transcript of Proceedings, State v. Adams, No. 10-81-10777 (Jan. 18, 1982) [hereinafter "Trial Transcript"].
Between conviction and sentencing, Adams gave his attorney a written statement of his version of the assault in which he denied committing the crimes of rape and sodomy. However, Adams told his attorney that he did not want his attorney to withdraw the previously stipulated facts. At the sentencing hearing, the court questioned Adams on the circumstances of the rape. After listening to Adams's testimony, the court imposed the statutory maximum of twenty years of imprisonment for the rape, a consecutive maximum of twenty years for the sodomy, but no additional sentence for the burglary. Adams appealed on the ground that the sentence was excessive. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed without opinion. State v. Adams, No. A24436 (Or.App. Oct. 13, 1982).
Adams subsequently petitioned for post-conviction relief in Oregon state court, contending that his stipulated-facts trial was constitutionally invalid. He argued that he had not voluntarily and intelligently agreed to such a trial. At a hearing on this petition, the following colloquy took place between Adams and his new attorney:
Q Okay did you--did--when did you have discussions with your attorney regarding the stipulated facts trial? When in relationship to when you actually did it?
A Weeks prior to it.
Q Okay what did he tell you that a stipulated facts trial was?
A That I would be waiving my right to a jury and it would be my testimony against the victims [sic]. That I would get up and go to a regular trial without the jury.
Q Did you assume that the judge would make the decision?
A Yes. That I would just go in front of the judge.
Q Did you assume that you would have the right to give testimony on your behalf?
A Yes. Yes I did.
....
Q --so during that stipulated facts trial it kind of came to your attention that this isn't a regular trial?
A Yes.
Q Did you say anything to your attorney about it?
A Well my attorney--I kind of looked at him and he gave me a nod and I guess he knew what he was doing.
Q Okay did you talk with him specifically about it while you were doing it?
A No.
Q Did you simply believe that he had things under control?
A Yes.
....
Q Okay were there any of these charges that you didn't believe you were guilty of?
A Yes.
Q What, if any, of those?
A The rape and sodomy.
Transcript of Proceedings at 6, 8, 11-12, Adams v. Sullivan, No. 140,109 (Or.Cir.Ct., Marion County) (Nov. 4, 1983) [hereinafter "Post-Conviction Transcript"]. Adams was thereafter cross-examined by respondent's attorney:
Q Had you completed the eleventh grade prior to this criminal proceeding?
A Yes I did.
Q And you got your GED out at OSCI?
A Yes.
Q Can you read?
A Yes I can.
....
Q All right, let's go a piece at a time then. You were placed in a county jail and an attorney was appointed to represent you, correct?
A Yes.
Q At some time later there was a discussion about entering into a stipulated facts trial, correct?
A Yes.
Q And after that you received a document from your attorney which you have in your hand relating to the stipulated facts that were going to be introduced before the judge, didn't you?
A Yes.
Q And you received that in the county jail, right?
A Yes.
Q And he left it with you so you could read it at your leisure, didn't he?
A Uhm, man--well I'm not sure. I can't say exactly if he did or not. He left me a lot of material so I'm not sure whether to answer yes or no because there was a lot of things that he did leave me.
....
Q All right returning again now to the stipulated facts document on the second page above your signature read that last paragraph out loud to the court, would you please.
A Based on this stipulation it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of count one and two and count three.
Q What does that mean to you?
A That--that I will be found guilty based on this.
Q And you understood that at that time too, didn't you?
A Yes.
After the state post-conviction hearing, a state court made the following factual findings: (1) at the stipulated-facts trial Adams understood the written stipulation and that judgment would be based solely upon it; (2) at the stipulated-facts trial Adams understood that he was waiving all of his statutory and constitutional trial rights; and (3) Adams voluntarily agreed to a trial based on the stipulated facts and voluntarily executed the stipulation. The court therefore denied Adams's petition for post-conviction relief. This ruling was affirmed without opinion by the Oregon Court of Appeals; the Oregon Supreme Court denied review.
Adams then filed the current habeas corpus petition, which the district court dismissed. We have jurisdiction over Adams's timely appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
Adams argues that his stipulation of facts at trial constituted a de facto guilty plea and that he was therefore entitled to the procedural protections attendant to the entering of such a plea. Specifically, he claims that he was entitled to be advised by the judge in open court of his constitutional rights (a) against compulsory self-incrimination, (b) to be tried by a jury, and (c) to confront his accusers, and that the court had a constitutional obligation to establish on the record that he voluntarily and intelligently waived these rights. See Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 243, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1712, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). 1 While we agree that a stipulated-facts proceeding is subject to certain constitutional restrictions, see infra Part III, we are not persuaded that the stipulation at issue was a de facto guilty plea.
Adams and the state agreed "that the evidence of the State would establish the [facts in question] beyond a reasonable doubt." Stipulation at 1. Following the recitation of facts, the stipulation stated, "[b]ased on this stipulation, it is the expectation of the parties that the defendant will be found guilty of...
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