Beasley v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 22 December 1966 |
| Docket Number | No. 20857.,20857. |
| Citation | 370 F.2d 320 |
| Parties | Jewell C. BEASLEY, Appellant, v. Lawrence E. WILSON, Warden, California State Prison, San Quentin, California, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Harry J. Kreamer, San Francisco, Cal., for appellant.
Thomas C. Lynch, Atty. Gen. of Cal., Edward P. O'Brien, Deputy Atty. Gen., San Francisco, Cal., for appellee.
Before HAMLIN, JERTBERG and DUNIWAY, Circuit Judges.
Jewell C. Beasley, appellant herein, appeals from an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Southern Division, denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A certificate of probable cause and leave to prosecute an appeal in forma pauperis was granted. Jurisdiction of the district court was conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and in this court by 28 U.S.C. § 2253.
Appellant is presently confined at the California State Prison, San Quentin, California, pursuant to a conviction upon his guilty plea to the crime of robbery in the first degree. Sentence was imposed on July 13, 1949, by Superior Court Judge William A. Glenn of San Diego County, California.
On August 5, 1965 Beasley filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus, in which he contended (1) he was incarcerated as a result of a coerced guilty plea; (2) he was pronounced guilty after proceedings in which he was never represented by counsel; (3) he was convicted partially as a result of statements obtained after investigation had focused upon him but prior to his being informed of his constitutional rights.1
The only error now alleged by appellant is the finding of the district court that appellant had made an effective waiver of counsel.2
Prior to the denial of appellant's petition the district court held an evidentiary hearing. Appellant testified as a witness, relating his version and memory of the proceedings that had occurred some sixteen years prior thereto. Appellee produced the testimony of Judge Glenn before whom the appellant had entered his plea of guilty and who sentenced him to imprisonment, the clerk of the court at the time of appellant's sentence, and two police officers who had interviewed appellant after his arrest. In addition, the transcript of the preliminary hearing where appellant had been advised of his right to counsel and had stated that he did not desire counsel and which also showed that the appellant at that time admitted in detail the commission of the crime was submitted. The Superior Court records of his arraignment, his plea of guilty and his sentence were also produced.
Appellant had a constitutional right to legal representation in his state proceeding. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799. While the courts are bound to recognize and protect the right to counsel provided by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, this right is not absolute in the sense that it may not be waived. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 1023, 82 L.Ed. 1461.
In that case it is also stated: "Where a defendant, without counsel, acquiesces in a trial resulting in his conviction and later seeks release by the extraordinary remedy of habeas corpus, the burden of proof rests upon him to establish that he did not competently and intelligently waive his constitutional right to assistance of counsel." Accord, Moore v. State of Michigan, 355 U.S. 155, 161-162, 78 S.Ct. 191, 2 L.Ed.2d 167; ...
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United States v. Myers
...Cir. 1965), rehearing denied, 359 F.2d 941 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 845, 87 S.Ct. 89, 17 L.Ed.2d 77 (1966); see Beasley v. Wilson, 370 F.2d 320 (9th Cir. 1966); United States ex rel. Jefferson v. Fay, 364 F.2d 15 (2d Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 1027, 87 S.Ct. 759, 17 L.Ed.2d......
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Schram v. Cupp
...all the relevant factors. If the issue of burden of proof must be met head-on, I think that the Ninth Circuit case of Beasley v. Wilson, 370 F.2d 320 (9th Cir. 1966) deserves some mention; its facts and holding are relevant to the case before us. The documentary evidence of waiver of counse......
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Miles v. United States, 9467.
...constitutional right to the assistance of counsel. See, Igo v. United States, supra; Devine v. Hand, 10 Cir., 287 F.2d 687; Beasley v. Wilson, 9 Cir., 370 F.2d 320, cert. denied, 387 U.S. 913, 87 S.Ct. 1700, 18 L.Ed.2d 634; Starks v. United States, 4 Cir., 264 F.2d Prior to accepting Miles'......
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