Huffman v. State of Missouri

• Citation: 399 F. Supp. 1196
• Decision Date: 25 June 1975
• Docket Number: No. 20746-4.,20746-4.
• Parties: Jimmy W. HUFFMAN, Petitioner, v. STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri

399 F. Supp. 1196

Jimmy W. HUFFMAN, Petitioner, v. STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent.

No. 20746-4.

United States District Court, W. D. Missouri, W. D.

June 25, 1975.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

R. Thomas Day, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Kansas City, Mo., for petitioner.

Richard S. Paden, Asst. Atty. Gen. of Missouri, Jefferson City, Mo., for respondent.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

ELMO B. HUNTER, District Judge.

Petitioner, a convicted state prisoner who is currently confined in the Fordland Honor Camp at Fordland, Missouri, has filed his petition for federal writ of habeas corpus challenging the validity of his state conviction and sentence. Leave to proceed in forma pauperis was granted in an earlier order of Court.

The petition, uncontroverted records, and official records of a previous post-conviction proceeding reveal the following course of events. On October 8, 1946 petitioner, at the age of sixteen years, was sentenced by the Circuit Court of Howell County, Missouri to a term of life imprisonment following petitioner's plea of guilty to a charge of murder in the first degree. Petitioner did not appeal the judgment of conviction or imposition of sentence. Twenty years later in September of 1966, petitioner filed a motion under Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R. in the Circuit Court of Shannon County, Missouri to set aside the judgment of conviction and to vacate sentence. This motion was denied following an evidentiary hearing in the trial court. That denial was affirmed on appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. Huffman v. State, 451 S.W.2d 21 (1970). Petitioner thereafter sought federal habeas corpus relief in this Court. His petition was in that action was dismissed for failure to exhaust state post-conviction remedies. Huffman v. Swenson, No. 18,199-4 (W.D.Mo. June 4, 1970). On January 12, 1971, petitioner filed a successive motion in the Circuit Court of Howell County under Missouri Rule 27.26. That motion was denied without hearing on July 16, 1971. Petitioner's appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court from that denial was unsuccessful. Huffman v. State, 487 S.W. 2d 549 (Mo.1972). The instant petition was filed on December 26, 1972.

In the initial petition filed herein, petitioner raised numerous contentions in support of his argument that his state conviction in 1946 was constitutionally invalid. These contentions and allegations were identical to those raised in his second 27.26 motion, and were as follows:

(a) "Lack of jurisdiction of the person or subject matter in controversy."

(i) "Movant improperly extradited from state of Louisiana."

(ii) "Movant, then a juvenile, improperly proceeded against as an adult."

(b) "Involuntary plea of guilty."

(i) "Plea of guilty coerced by threats of death penalty; improper and inflammatory pretrial publicity; physical abuse practised (sic) by Louisiana authorities and threatened by Missouri authorities."

(ii) "Threatened use at trial of illegally obtained, physically coerced, confession."

(iii) "Improper, incompetent advice of counsel."

(c) "Ineffective assistance of trial counsel."

(i) "Lack of trial preparation."

(ii) "Failure to attempt to suppress coerced confession."

(iii) "Failure to seek change of venue in view of publicity and public temper."

(iv) "Failure to properly and effectively protect Movant's rights viz a viz treatment as a juvenile."

(v) "Failure to advise Movant of rights on appeal."

(d) "Denial of, and loss of, transcript of proceedings to and including sentencing in this cause."

(e) "Ineffective assistance of counsel during original Rule 27.26 proceedings and appeal."

(f) "Newly discovered evidence."

In support of those contentions, petitioner made the following factual allegations:

(a) "At the time of the offense, Movant was a fifteen (15) year old boy. He was not informed of his rights with regard to extradition; he was not represented by counsel and had been denied access to friends or family when coerced by threats of physical brutality to execute a waiver of extradition from Louisiana."

"At the time of the offense, Movant was a fifteen (15) year old boy. When brought to Missouri he was tried as an adult and sentenced as such. Trial counsel did not counsel with Movant with regard to treatment as a juvenile offender, nor did they properly attempt to have him treated as a juvenile by the Court."

(b) "Movant was threatened with death penalty if he stood trial by counsel, the prosecutor and sheriff's authorities. The newspapers in town at that time were full of articles designed to inflame the passions of the populace. Movant was subjected to scorn and hatred by everyone with whom he came in contact. A written confession was obtained by physical and psychological brutality and coercion by police authorities of the State of Louisiana. The same document was threatened to be used against movant by prosecuting authorities in Missouri."

"Counsel failed to advise Movant of the possibility of suppressing the confession; of obtaining a change of venue or of an appeal. At all times counsel treated Movant as if his guilt was a foregone conclusion and the only issue was punishment. Counsel also failed to advise Movant of `lesser included offenses' and the various results thereby possible in the event of a trial and conviction."

(c) "Trial counsel failed to interview or call witnesses for the defense. No attempt was made to suppress the confession. No attempt to seek a change of venue was ever communicated to Movant. Little, if anything, was done and nothing communicated to Movant regarding trial as a juvenile offender. Nothing was ever told Movant of his rights on appeal or for collateral relief."

(d) "All transcripts of proceedings including plea of guilty and sentencing of Movant are lost or destroyed. At the hearing on the originally filed motions under Rule 27.26, all state's witnesses testified there was no confession though newly discovered evidence refutes their testimony. Movant made repeated requests for said transcripts beginning soon after his conviction, none of which were ever acknowledged or complied with."

(e) "Counsel at the original 27.26 proceeding failed to adequately present and preserve many points on Movant's motion for state and federal review — Particularly by his failure to brief said issues on appeal."

(f) "Movant has reason to believe that Mr. Patrick Freeman, Esq., Thayer, Missouri, has located newspaper articles at or near the time of Movant's conviction and a newspaper reporter to prove the publicity and public feeling at the time and to prove the existence of the coerced written confession."

At the evidentiary hearing held in this cause, on June 11, 1974, petitioner's counsel was granted leave to amend the petition in the instant cause so as to present only the following contentions and allegations:

(a) Petitioner's plea of guilty was involuntary.

(1) Threatened use at trial of legally obtained, physically coerced confession;

(2) Plea of guilty coerced by threats of death penalty;

(3) Petitioner not advised of the possibility of a change of venue, and plea coerced by inflammatory pretrial publicity and public hostility;

(4) Petitioner not advised of the possibility of disqualification of the trial judge or the possibility of conviction of a lesser included offense.

(b) Petitioner's plea of guilty was not knowingly or intelligently made due to ineffective assistance of counsel.

(1) Counsel failed to investigate circumstances surrounding petitioner's confession to Louisiana authorities;

(2) Counsel failed to advise petitioner as to the possibility of a change of venue or disqualification of trial judge;

(3) Counsel failed to pursue a motion to have petitioner treated as a juvenile;

(4) Counsel failed to advise petitioner that a plea of guilty was a waiver of his right to appeal, and failed to advise petitioner of the possibility of conviction for lesser included offense and the penalties applicable thereto.

(c) Petitioner was denied due process of law by trial judge's refusal to treat petitioner as a juvenile.

(d) Petitioner was denied due process of law by the failure of the State to provide him with transcripts of the proceedings wherein he was determined to be tried as an adult, entered his plea of guilty, and sentenced.

At the hearing, petitioner's counsel advised that petitioner did not wish to pursue the contentions and allegations raised in his initial petition not stated in (a) through (d) immediately above.

It appears from the files and records of petitioner's prior state post-conviction proceedings that he has presented to the highest available state courts, in substantially the same form, the contentions he seeks to assert herein. Rather than hold petitioner to the technical requirements of exhaustion of state post-conviction remedies prior to a consideration of his claims on the merits, and in order to avoid further litigation of the claims petitioner asserts herein, the Court has treated the contentions herein as exhausted for the purpose of the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See Russell v. Missouri, 511 F.2d 861 (1975).

At the hearing on the instant petition, petitioner was in the interest of justice permitted to adduce evidence in support of his contentions in addition to that which was offered in the state post-conviction proceedings. From the record of the state post-conviction proceedings, and the testimony and evidence received in this proceeding, the Court makes the following findings and conclusions.

Petitioner's challenge to the validity of his state conviction and sentence relates primarily to the constitutional validity of his plea of guilty entered on October 8, 1946. Petitioner's claim that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to counsel due to the ineffective representation afforded by his attorneys is immaterial in his attempt to impeach his plea of guilty, except to the extent it bears on the issues of whether the plea was voluntary and intelligently...