Crabtree v. Boles

Decision Date20 November 1964
Docket NumberNo. 9519.,9519.
Citation339 F.2d 22
PartiesPaul Homer CRABTREE, Appellant, v. Otto C. BOLES, Warden of the West Virginia State Penitentiary, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

James J. Harkins, Wheeling, W. Va. (Court-assigned counsel), for appellant.

George H. Mitchell, Asst. Atty. Gen. of W. Va. (C. Donald Robertson, Atty. Gen. of W. Va., on brief), for appellee.

Before HAYNSWORTH and BRYAN, Circuit Judges, and GORDON, District Judge.

GORDON, District Judge.

The petitioner, Paul Homer Crabtree, appeals from a judgment of the District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia dismissing, after hearing, a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The decision of the District Court is affirmed.

The petitioner, upon his plea of guilty, was convicted of the felony of forgery on November 13, 1957, in the Circuit Court of Lincoln County, West Virginia. After the plea of guilty and at the request of the Prosecuting Attorney made at the proceedings, the Court continued the cause for sentencing to November 20, 1957, for the purpose of permitting the Prosecuting Attorney to prepare and file an information charging former convictions and invoking the provisions of the Habitual Criminal Act of West Virginia. (West Virginia Code, Chapter 61, Article 11).

The Prosecuting Attorney prepared such an information charging two prior convictions, one in West Virginia and the other in the State of Washington. A copy of the information was delivered to petitioner's counsel several days prior to November 20. On the morning of November 20, the petitioner was advised by his counsel that if he admitted the prior convictions, he would be sentenced to life imprisonment.

When the case was called, the Court permitted the information to be filed. The trial court then advised the petitioner that if he acknowledged his identity with the person named in the record of prior convictions the Court "was required to sentence him to further confinement as prescribed by statute on a third conviction." The Court also advised petitioner that he was entitled to a jury trial of the issues if he did not acknowledge his identity. The information was then read and, thereafter, the Court inquired of the petitioner whether the allegations were true. Petitioner acknowledged his identity with respect to one conviction but denied the other. The Court then asked the Prosecuting Attorney if he were ready to proceed with a jury trial on the issue, and the Prosecuting Attorney asked for further time, remarking that he had several other records of conviction which he might want to include. At this point the Court requested petitioner's counsel to confer with petitioner, because it appeared that petitioner did not fully understand the proceedings. The petitioner and his counsel retired to the witness room and conferred. Petitioner and his counsel returned to the courtroom and the questions were again propounded. The petitioner admitted his identity with the person involved in both convictions, and the Court imposed the life sentence.

Afterward, the petitioner filed a habeas corpus application in the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. His petition was denied; thereupon, the Supreme Court of the United States granted his writ of certiorari. However, the Court affirmed the constitutionality of his life sentence. Oyler v. Boles, 368 U.S. 448, 82 S.Ct. 501, 7 L.Ed.2d 446 (1962). The petitioner then filed for a writ of habeas corpus in the District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. His petition was dismissed, and this appeal was made.

The petitioner contends that he was denied due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment as he was not duly cautioned by the trial court at the time of his sentencing. In Spry v. Boles, 4 Cir., 299 F.2d 332 (1962), this Court in interpreting the provisions of the Habitual Criminal Act of West Virginia, supra, held that the statutory requirement that the prisoner be duly cautioned was jurisdictionally mandatory, citing State ex rel. Cox v. Boles, 146 W.Va. 392, 120 S.E.2d 707 (1961). This Court also held that if the prisoner was not duly cautioned prior to his admission of his identity and prior to the imposition of sentence, then the failure to do so denied to the prisoner due process of law.

Later this Court had occasion to consider the due process requirement of duly cautioning the accused before receiving his admission of other convictions. Notwithstanding the holding of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia that the defendant was "duly cautioned" under that Court's interpretation of the statutory phrase,1 this Court held on habeas corpus that instructing the defendant to "pay attention" failed to meet the due process requirement of duly cautioning the accused in recidivist proceedings. Mounts v. Boles, 4 Cir., 326 F.2d 186 (1963). The petitioner herein contends that this case is controlled by Mounts v. Boles, supra. This Court is not in agreement.

In the Mounts v. Boles case, supra, the trial court did not tell the petitioner of the effect of the recidivist statute or...

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8 cases
  • State ex rel. Scott v. Boles
    • United States
    • West Virginia Supreme Court
    • February 15, 1966
    ...Furthermore, he should have been told that the consequences of his admisssions would be a mandatory life sentence.' In Crabtree v. Boles, 339 F.2d 22 (4th Cir., 1964), the Court again recognized that failure to comply with the 'duly cautioned' provision of the West Virginia statute constitu......
  • State v. Hardy
    • United States
    • New Mexico Supreme Court
    • September 11, 1967
    ...apply to habeas corpus proceedings. To cite but a few such cases, see: James v. Boles, (4th Cir. 1964), 339 F.2d 431; Crabtree v. Boles, (4th Cir. 1964), 339 F.2d 22; Johnson v. Ellis, (5th Cir. 1961), 296 F.2d 325, cert. denied 369 U.S. 842, 82 S.Ct. 873, 7 L.Ed.2d 846; United States ex re......
  • Wright v. Craven
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
    • March 25, 1971
    ...was cited by the information to which the petitioner had pleaded. Mounts v. Boles, 326 F.2d 186 (4 Cir. 1963); see also Crabtree v. Boles, 339 F.2d 22 (4 Cir. 1964). The Ninth Circuit has found that "one who, at the time of entering a plea of guilty, is not aware of the fact that he will no......
  • Root v. Cunningham
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • March 26, 1965
    ...those findings unless they are shown to be clearly erroneous. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 52, 28 U.S.C.A. Cf. Crabtree v. Boles, 339 F.2d 22 (4th Cir. 1964); James v. Boles, 339 F.2d 431 (4th Cir. I While appellant contends that he was not represented by counsel at his arraignmen......
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