Beckham v. Wainwright

• Decision Date: 12 March 1981
• Docket Number: No. 80-5150,80-5150
• Citation: Beckham v. Wainwright, 639 F.2d 262 (5th Cir. 1981)
• Parties: Glimmert BECKHAM, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, Secretary, Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellant. . Unit B
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 262

639 F.2d 262

Glimmert BECKHAM, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, Secretary, Department of Corrections Respondent-Appellant.

No. 80-5150.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Unit B

March 12, 1981.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, Fla., Joel D. Rosenblatt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Miami, Fla., for respondent-appellant.

John D. Middleton, Florida Institutional Legal Services, Inc., Gainesville, Fla., (Court-appointed), for petitioner-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Before KRAVITCH and FRANK M. JOHNSON, Jr., Circuit Judges and ALLGOOD ^*, District Judge.

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

Glimmert Beckham was charged in a two count information with robbery and crime against nature. He withdrew a negotiated guilty plea and five-year sentence. A jury convicted him and he received a sentence of fifty years. He petitioned for habeas corpus claiming violation of his sixth amendment right to effective assistance of counsel: his attorney failed to advise him of the possible consequences of a jury trial and further stipulated to all elements of the crime. The trial court found his counsel to be ineffective and granted the writ. We agree and affirm.

Beckham originally pleaded not guilty; his appointed counsel, an assistant public defender, then entered into plea negotiations with the prosecutor. When they agreed upon a five-year sentence, Beckham withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty. The trial court accepted the plea, but at the request of Beckham's counsel, it was contingent upon a psychiatric examination in order to determine his competency. ¹

Three psychiatrists examined Beckham: one found him competent, another concluded that he was not competent, and the report of the third doctor was inconclusive. Based upon the report of Dr. Corwin, who found that Beckham could not aid in his defense and that he did not know right from wrong, petitioner's counsel withdrew the guilty plea and negotiated sentence. The trial judge ruled that because of the conflict in the medical evidence, the adjudication and sentence would be vacated and a trial held on the sole issue of competency. ²

At the ensuing trial, ³ Beckham, through counsel, stipulated to all elements of the crimes with which he was charged; the state, therefore, presented no evidence in its case in chief. The testimony and evidence introduced related solely to appellee's affirmative defense of insanity; i. e., whether he knew the difference between right and wrong at the time he committed the offenses. The jury returned a verdict finding him sane and guilty. Immediately after the verdict was announced, appellee's counsel called to the court's attention the stipulated five-year sentence. The court ruled, however, that when appellee withdrew the guilty plea he also withdrew the stipulated sentence, and sentenced him to fifty years.

Following his conviction, Beckham appealed, raising only the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court of appeal affirmed the conviction. It declined to rule on the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel, however, allowing him to seek post-conviction relief as to that issue. Beckham v. State, 264 So.2d 30 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1972).

Beckham then filed a motion to vacate the conviction pursuant to Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.850, raising the ineffective assistance issue. After conducting a hearing at which appellee and his trial counsel testified, the trial judge denied relief. On appeal, the court found that appellee's counsel at worst exercised bad judgment and concluded that his representation did not amount to a "mockery or a farce." Beckham v. State, 339 So.2d 221 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1976).

Beckham filed a second motion for collateral relief in state court, raising the grounds of denial of the right to confrontation of witnesses and deprivation of the right to jury trial on all issues. This motion was denied by the trial court and affirmed on appeal. Beckham v. State, 353 So.2d 941 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1978).

Beckham next filed a petition for relief in federal district court, raising three issues: ineffective assistance of counsel, denial of the right to confrontation, and a "chilling" of the right to jury trial. The district court found that appellee's counsel fell below the minimum constitutional standards of competency: first, in withdrawing the five-year sentence and then stipulating to all the elements of the crime; second, in failing to ascertain whether appellee agreed to the stipulation of guilt; and third, in failing to advise him of the consequences of withdrawing the stipulated sentence. ⁴

The sixth amendment right to counsel is a fundamental right, Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25, 92 S.Ct. 2006, 32 L.Ed.2d 530 (1972), and the Supreme Court has held that ineffective assistance of counsel does not satisfy this constitutional command. Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 64 L.Ed.2d 333 (1980). Adequate counsel under the sixth amendment is counsel likely to render and rendering reasonably effective assistance. Mays v. Balkcom, 631 F.2d 48 (5th Cir. 1980). Errorless counsel is not required, Kemp v. Leggett, 635 F.2d 453 (5th Cir. 1981), and counsel may not be judged ineffective by hindsight. Lovett v. Florida, 627 F.2d 706 (5th Cir. 1980). Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel require an inquiry into the actual performance of counsel and the determination whether representation was reasonably effective must be based on the totality of the circumstances. Lovett, supra.

The state urges on appeal that the decision of counsel to withdraw the plea and contest the sanity issue was a matter of trial strategy. The state correctly notes that tactical decisions do not constitute ineffective assistance simply because in retrospect it is apparent that counsel chose the wrong course. See Akridge v. Hopper, 545 F.2d 457 (5th Cir. 1977). Nor is an erroneous estimate by counsel as to the length of sentence necessarily indicative of ineffective assistance. Johnson v. Massey, 516 F.2d 1001 (5th Cir. 1975).

We do not agree, however, that counsel's actions in this case were merely tactical decisions. The district court found that appellee's counsel did not realize the consequences of withdrawing the guilty plea and proceeding to trial; ⁵ we may not disturb this finding unless clearly erroneous. Wade v. Mayo, 334 U.S. 672, 68 S.Ct. 1270, 92 L.Ed. 1647 (1948); United States v. Cruz, 581 F.2d 535 (5th Cir. 1978). In this case there is uncontradicted testimony from Beckham and his counsel that neither were aware the five-year stipulated sentence was no longer in effect when they went to trial. In an affidavit filed ten days after the trial, the attorney stated that he never intended to withdraw the five-year sentence. Moreover, in this affidavit and in his testimony at the second state post-conviction hearing, he stated that he advised Beckham that he would receive a five-year sentence if found sane and would be placed in the state mental hospital if found insane. Beckham also testified in state court that his attorney advised him that the maximum sentence he could receive as a result of the trial was five years. We agree with the district court that counsel did not accurately advise Beckham of the consequences of standing trial on a not guilty plea; indeed, in representing to appellee that the worst possible outcome would be a sentence of five years, he affirmatively misstated the consequences. ⁶

We do not hold that counsel must obtain defendant's consent to every trial decision. The defendant need not be consulted each time his counsel fails to challenge facts proved by the prosecution. In certain cases, a stipulation to the facts charged in the indictment, and presenting evidence of an affirmative defense, may constitute an appropriate strategy. Cf. United States v. Foundas, 610 F.2d 298 (5th Cir. 1980) (rule governing advice to be given defendant before accepting a guilty plea does not apply to case submitted on stipulated facts). In this case, however, due to erroneous advice of counsel, appellee went to trial with a grave misconception as to the very nature of the proceeding and possible consequences.

When a defendant pleads guilty on the advice of counsel, the attorney has the duty to advise the defendant of the available options and possible consequences. Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 756, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970). It is equally essential that the attorney advise a defendant of possible consequences where, as here, the defendant withdraws a negotiated guilty plea and stipulated sentence in the minimum range and instead stands trial and faces the maximum sentence. To prove that counsel was ineffective, the defendant must demonstrate that the advice "was not within the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases." Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 266, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 1607, 36 L.Ed.2d 235 (1973), quoting McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771, 90 S.Ct. 1441, 1449, 25 L.Ed.2d 763 (1970).

Here, Beckham voluntarily entered a guilty plea on the advice of counsel, based on the assurance of a five-year sentence. He agreed to withdraw that plea on the representation of his attorney that the five-year sentence remained in effect although the attorney had no basis to assume that if Beckham was found guilty, he was assured of only a five-year sentence. We conclude that this advice of counsel falls outside the "range of competence of attorneys in criminal cases." Tollett, supra.

We hold that appellee did not receive effective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court granting the writ is AFFIRMED. ⁷

* District Judge of the Northern District of Alabama, sitting by designation.

1 The record is not clear whether the medical experts were to determine Beckham's competency to enter a plea (i. e., whether Beckham's present mental state would permit him...