State ex rel. Browning v. Boles
| Decision Date | 15 December 1964 |
| Docket Number | No. 12369,12369 |
| Citation | 139 S.E.2d 263,149 W.Va. 181 |
| Parties | STATE ex rel. Delbert BROWNING v. Otto C. BOLES, Warden, etc. |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. 'The right of one accused of a crime to the assistance of counsel is a fundamental right, essential to a fair trial; therefore the safeguard of counsel, provided by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, is made obligatory upon the states by virtue of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.' Point 1 Syllabus, State ex rel. May v. Boles, Warden, etc., W.Va.
2. 'Courts indulge every reasonable presumption against waiver of a fundamental constitutional right and will not presume acquiescence in the loss of such fundamental right.' Point 2 Syllabus, State ex rel. May v. Boles, Warden, etc., W.Va.
3. 'The right to the assistance of counsel, being a fundamental right, will not be presumed to have been waived by the failure of the accused to request counsel, by his entry of a guilty plea or by reason of a record silent on the matter of counsel.' Point 3 Syllabus, State ex rel. May v. Boles, Warden, etc., W.Va.
4. 'The general rule which presumes the regularity of court proceedings is subject to the qualification that, where the record is silent on the question, it can not be presumed that the accused waived his right to the assistance of counsel.' Point 4 Syllabus, State ex rel. May v. Boles, Warden, ect., W.Va.
5. 'One accused of a crime may waive his right to the assistance of counsel but such waiver must be made intelligently and understandingly.' Point 5 Syllabus, State ex rel. May v. Boles, Warden, etc., W.Va.
Timothy N. Barber, St. Albans, for relator.
C. Donald Robertson, Atty. Gen., and George H. Mitchell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Charleston, for respondent.
In this original proceeding in habeas corpus Delbert Browning seeks to be released from confinement in the state penitentiary under an indeterminate sentence of from one to ten years imposed by the Circuit Court of Logan County upon his plea of guilty to an indictment charging the offense commonly referred to as breaking and entering.
The prisoner alleges that his conviction on his plea of guilty and the sentence imposed pursuant to that conviction are void on the ground that he was denied his constutional right to assistance of counsel.
The indictment was a joint indectment against Delbert Browning and two other male persons. On January 18, 1963, the circuit court entered an order stating that the three accused persons 'were each this day set to the bar in the custody of the Sheriff,' and that each entered a plea of guilty to the charge contained in the indictment. Another order entered on February 28, 1963, recites that the prisoners 'were set to the bar in the custody of the Sheriff;' that the court 'fixes' the punishment of each at confinement in the state penitentiary for a...
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State ex rel. Smith v. Boles
... ... Boles, 148 W.Va. 641, 136 S.E.2d 891; State ex rel. Bonnette v. Boles, 148 W.Va. 649, 136 S.E.2d 873; State ex rel. Foster v. Boles, 147 W.Va. 655, 130 S.E.2d 111; State ex rel. Cox v. Boles, 146 W.Va. 392, 120 S.E.2d 707; Shears v. Adams, 145 W.Va. 250, 114 S.E.2d 585; State ex rel. Browning v. Tucker, 142 W.Va. 830, 98 S.E.2d 740; Dye v. Skeen, 135 W.Va. 90, 62 S.E.2d 681, 24 A.L.R.2d 1234. The requirement that the accused shall be duly cautioned is expressly provided by Section 19 of the statute and this Court has repeatedly held that the provisions[150 W.Va. 17] of that section ... ...
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State v. Hickman
... ... not presume acquiescence in the loss of such fundamental right.' " Syllabus Point 2, State ex rel. Browning v. Boles, 149 W.Va. 181, 139 S.E.2d 263 (1964) (citation omitted). See also State v ... ...
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State v. Thomas
...149 W.Va. 163, 139 S.E.2d 182 (1964); State ex rel. Stumbo v. Boles, 149 W.Va. 174, 139 S.E.2d 259 (1964); State ex rel. Browning v. Boles, 149 W.Va. 181, 139 S.E.2d 263 (1964); State ex rel. Arbraugh v. Boles, 149 W.Va. 193, 139 S.E.2d 370 (1964). Since Gideon, this Court has never wavered......
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State v. Jackson
... ... 1461 (1938); Syllabus, State v. Mollohan, 166 W.Va. 60, 272 S .E.2d 454 (1980), citing Browning v. Boles, 149 W.Va. 181, 139 S.E.2d 263 (1964) ... We agree with those courts ... Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967); State ex rel. Partain v. Oakley, 159 W.Va. 805, 227 S.E.2d 314 (1976). A "critical stage" is "where the ... ...