Kuebler v. Mason
| Decision Date | 27 June 2019 |
| Docket Number | NO. 2018-CA-00397-SCT,2018-CA-00397-SCT |
| Citation | 274 So.3d 925 |
| Parties | Charles L. KUEBLER v. Hinds County Sheriff, Victor MASON |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: RONNIE MUSGROVE, MICHAEL S. SMITH, II, JACKSON
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: CLAIRE BARKER
BEFORE RANDOLPH, C.J., ISHEE AND GRIFFIS, JJ.
GRIFFIS, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Charles L. Kuebler appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. In his petition, Kuebler alleged that the employees of the Jackson Detention Center ("JDC") confiscated and photocopied his legal work, refused to let him meet with his attorneys, and eavesdropped on confidential attorney-client conversations. The circuit court found that Kuebler had not presented sufficient proof to support claims of violations of his constitutional rights and found no merit to the claims. After reviewing Kuebler's petition and the evidence presented, we find that the circuit court did not err in denying the petition. We affirm.
FACTS
¶2. In 2011, Kuebler was convicted of murder. His conviction was reversed and remanded for a new trial. See Kuebler v. State , 204 So. 3d 1220 (Miss. 2016).
¶3. Kuebler was then transferred to the JDC, where he has been held without bond awaiting retrial. He has actively participated in the preparation of his defense. His trial preparation included regular meetings with his attorneys and the creation of documents, which he contends contained confidential information and work-product information.
¶4. Kuebler's problems with the JDC staff allegedly began on December 20, 2017, when JDC officers Lieutenant Gloria Petty and Sergeant Angela Robinson conducted a search of Kuebler's cell. As a result of the search, Lieutenant Petty and Sergeant Robinson found white-out, a spiral notebook, and an ink pen. Each of these items was considered contraband. They also found voluminous papers stored under the bed in three unauthorized laundry bags. The JDC Inmate Handbook allows inmates to keep legal papers in their cell, but it also states that the floor of an inmate's cell must be kept clear at all times, except for authorized items. Lieutenant Petty testified that the amount of papers in the cell created a fire hazard. Additionally, many of the documents had been stapled together, and staples were prohibited.
¶5. Kuebler was not present for the search. When Kuebler returned to his cell, he claims that Lieutenant Petty and Sergeant Robinson removed or confiscated his legal papers, including documents such as motions, hearing and trial transcripts, attorney-client correspondence, strategy documents, private investigator notes, and more. Lieutenant Petty instructed Kuebler to pack the majority of the papers into boxes, which would be stored in the property room, available for him to access on an item-by-item basis. The papers also were made available for Kuebler's attorneys to pick up at his request. Kuebler testified the conversation with Lieutenant Petty took place in a JDC office several hours after the papers were initially removed from his cell.
¶6. Five boxes of legal papers were packed up by Kuebler and were placed in the property room. The boxes remained there for approximately twenty-four hours until they were picked up by Michael Smith, one of Kuebler's attorneys, on December 21, 2017. Smith inventoried the boxes and observed that staples had been removed from some, but not all, documents. There was testimony that the JDC staff did not read the documents, photocopy the documents, or discuss the contents of the boxes with anyone.
¶7. Between December 2016 and January 2018, Kuebler's attorneys visited him approximately seventy-five times, according to Kuebler's attorney Thomas Fortner. On Sunday, December 24, 2017, Smith arrived at the JDC for a visit but was told that visits were not allowed that day and would resume on Wednesday, December 27, 2017. Smith returned on December 27, 2017, to visit Kuebler.
¶8. Kuebler claims that his right to effective assistance of counsel was impeded. During regular business hours, the JDC allows attorney visits to be conducted on the second floor of the JDC in private rooms. The rooms are monitored and secured from a central control room, referred to as the tower. After business hours, the second floor of the JDC is closed. and a room on the first floor of the JDC is available for attorneys to conduct inmate visits. The room on the first floor does not have a door; however, it is located down an empty hallway where staff traffic is light after hours. A guard is posted in the hallway to ensure security.
¶9. During the December 27 inmate visit, Smith and Kuebler were allowed to meet in the first-floor room. Smith stated that the presence of a guard outside the room caused the meeting to be cut short due to their concern of a lack of privacy. According to Smith and Fortner, this had occurred before. On December 18, 2017, Kuebler met with Smith and Ronnie Musgrove.
Also, on January 5, 2018, Kuebler met with Fortner.
¶10. On January 4, 2018, Smith and Musgrove met with Kuebler in a second-floor private room, but they claim privacy concerns arose again when Deputy Rodrick Dillard positioned himself near the room's glass door. Kuebler testified that he had been to many attorney visits in this room and that this was the only time his deputy escort had remained by the visitation door. Normally, the visitation was monitored by the guard in the tower. Musgrove asked that they be given some privacy. However, Deputy Dillard, who was escorting an inmate to visitation for the first time that day, testified that he "was trained to stay right there in that immediate area" during visits and that he did not leave.
¶11. Kuebler often brought papers to his attorney meetings. The JDC procedures allow inmates to bring legal documents, but the inmate is searched before and after the attorney visit, and the documents are scanned to determine if they are legal in nature. Deputy Louis Fleming testified that "sometimes we're told that he can't take the legal work; sometimes he can." Deputy Jimmy Barnes testified that, on at least one occasion, Kuebler chose to leave his paperwork in his cell rather than allow Deputy Barnes to look at the documents.
¶12. Kuebler offered extensive testimony about harassment he alleged that he received from the JDC staff whenever he brought papers to his meetings. The parties agree that Kuebler was prevented from bringing his papers with him on two occasions. On January 5, 2018, a deputy conducted a routine patdown of Kuebler and discovered that he had folded-up papers in his possession. The papers were taken. Lieutenant Petty testified that inmates fold up papers in a similar fashion in order to pass letters. However, once the folded-up papers were determined to be legal papers, the papers were returned to Kuebler during his meeting. On February 5, 2018, another patdown was conducted, and the deputy discovered a yellow sticky note. Kuebler wanted the paper for his meeting, but sticky paper is contraband and was confiscated. Kuebler was not allowed to take the contraband paper to the meeting.
¶13. Neither Kuebler nor his attorneys ever filed a contemporaneous grievance or complaint to the circuit court or with counsel for the sheriff's office, who was responsible for the JDC. Kuebler said he was unable to access the JDC grievance procedure due to malfunctions with the computer system. Kuebler's attorneys offered no description of any failed efforts to make their concerns known in a contemporaneous manner.
¶14. On January 12, 2018, Kuebler filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Kuebler alleged that his constitutional rights had been violated. The circuit judge held a hearing on February 9 and 16, 2018. Testimony was presented by eleven witnesses, including Kuebler. The circuit court found that Kuebler was allowed to meet with his attorneys at every request, that he never had access to his attorneys limited by the detention officers, that he did not present sufficient evidence of any violation of his constitutional rights, and that no evidence had been offered to prove he was being treated in a different manner than other inmates. The circuit court denied Kuebler's petition, and Kuebler now appeals.
DISCUSSION
¶15. This Court has held that "[t]he rule is that the judgment of the trial court which heard the habeas corpus proceeding is presumptively correct, and, where the evidence is conflicting, the judge's finding of fact, if supported by the evidence, will not be disturbed on appeal." Lee v. Hudson , 165 Miss. 756, 144 So. 240, 240 (Miss. 1932). "[T]he judgment of a habeas corpus court will not be disturbed, unless it is manifest to us that the trial court either tried the cause upon an erroneous conception of the law, or that the judgment is erroneous upon the facts." Parker v. Tullos , 150 Miss. 680, 116 So. 531, 532 (Miss. 1928). We find that the circuit court neither "tried the cause upon an erroneous conception of the law" nor was the judgment erroneous upon the facts. Id.
¶16. Kuebler argues that the JDC staff violated his Sixth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights by denying him effective assistance of counsel and access to the courts. He alleges that, on several occasions, the JDC staff eavesdropped on confidential conversations with his attorneys, provided attorney visitation rooms that did not have adequate privacy, refused his attorneys access to him, refused to allow him to bring legal paperwork to attorney visits, viewed his legal paperwork, confiscated his legal paperwork outside his presence, and withheld his mail. He presented no evidence that the allegations occurred but argues that the potential for wrongdoing was enough to create a violation.
¶17. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to effective assistance of counsel, a guarantee "that an accused shall enjoy the right ‘to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.’ " United States v. Morrison , 449 U.S. 361, 364, 101 S. Ct....
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