State v. Cecil
| Decision Date | 15 December 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 15876,15876 |
| Citation | 311 S.E.2d 144,173 W.Va. 27 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of West Virginia v. William Howard CECIL, III. |
Syllabus by the Court
1. "In the determination of a claim that an accused was prejudiced by ineffective assistance of counsel violative of Article III, Section 14 of the West Virginia Constitution and the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, courts should measure and compare the questioned counsel's performance by whether he exhibited the normal and customary degree of skill possessed by attorneys who are reasonably knowledgeable of criminal law, except that proved counsel error which does not affect the outcome of the case, will be regarded as harmless error." Syl. pt. 19, State v. Thomas, 157 W.Va. 640, 203 S.E.2d 445 (1974).
2. Although a search and seizure by police officers must ordinarily be predicated upon a written search warrant, a warrantless entry by police officers of a mobile home was proper under the "emergency doctrine" exception to the warrant requirement, where the record indicated that, rather than being motivated by an intent to make an arrest or secure evidence, the police officers were attempting to locate an injured or deceased child, which child the officers had reason to believe was in the mobile home, because of information they received immediately prior to the entry.
3. "It is a well-established rule of appellate review in this state that a trial court has wide discretion in regard to the admissibility of confessions and ordinarily this discretion will not be disturbed on review." Syl. pt. 2, State v. Vance, W.Va., 250 S.E.2d 146 (1978).
4. "A trial court's decision regarding the voluntariness of a confession will not be disturbed unless it is plainly wrong or clearly against the weight of the evidence." Syl. pt. 3, State v. Vance, W.Va., 250 S.E.2d 146 (1978).
5. "Before a guilty plea will be set aside based on the fact that the defendant was incompetently advised, it must be shown that (1) counsel did act incompetently; (2) the incompetency must relate to a matter which would have substantially affected the fact-finding process if the case had proceeded to trial; (3) the guilty plea must have been motivated by this error." Syl. pt. 3, State v. Sims, W.Va., 248 S.E.2d 834 (1978).
Thomas L. Butcher, Public Legal Services, Charleston, for appellant.
Chauncey H. Browning, Atty. Gen. and Silas B. Taylor, Asst. Atty. Gen., Charleston, for appellee.
This case is before this Court upon the petition of William Howard Cecil, III, for an appeal from his convictions in the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, for the offenses of murder of the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree. W.Va.Code, 61-2-1 [1931]; W.Va.Code, 61-8B-6 [1976]. Pursuant to its final order, the appellant was sentenced by the circuit court upon the murder conviction to confinement for life in the penitentiary without a recommendation of mercy. The appellant was sentenced upon the sexual abuse conviction to confinement in the penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than five years. Those convictions were based upon pleas of guilty entered by the appellant in circuit court on June 30, 1982. This Court has before it the petition for appeal, all matters of record and the briefs and argument of counsel.
In November, 1981, the appellant was indicted in the Circuit Court of McDowell County, West Virginia, for the felony offenses of murder of the first degree and sexual assault in the first degree. W.Va.Code, 61-2-1 [1931]; W.Va.Code, 61-8B-3 [1976]. The appellant entered pleas of not guilty and was granted a court appointed attorney. Subsequent to psychiatric and psychological evaluations, the appellant was found competent to stand trial. 1 In February, 1982, venue in the case was transferred from McDowell County to Greenbrier County.
The appellant's trial in Greenbrier County began on June 29, 1982. The evidence of the State indicated that on August 30, 1981, in McDowell County, the appellant, who was 18 years old, sexually assaulted or abused, and then murdered, Millie Jean Ratliff, who was three years old and was the daughter of William and Mildred Ratliff. 2 The record indicates that another person was implicated in conjunction with the appellant in the death of Millie Jean Ratliff.
The evidence of the State further indicated that the crimes occurred at the mobile home of Kenard and Vicky Ratliff where the appellant had been living. According to the State, the appellant, after the murder, placed the body of the child in a plastic bag and hid it under a bed. A general search for the missing child began that day.
The search for the child continued on August 31, 1981. On that day, the appellant was arrested near the mobile home for public intoxication. Shortly thereafter, the body of Millie Jean Ratliff was discovered by police officers, and the appellant, being a primary suspect in the homicide, was taken to the office of a magistrate and charged with murder. At the office of the magistrate, the appellant appeared to still be intoxicated. He was taken to the McDowell County Jail and returned to the office of the magistrate the following day.
During the appellant's trial, the appellant's written confession to police officers, dated September 1, 1981, was admitted into evidence. Two supplemental confessions of the appellant to police officers, dated September 13, 1981, and September 16, 1981, were also admitted into evidence. Furthermore, the jury heard evidence by the State concerning incriminating statements allegedly made by the appellant to his father subsequent to the death of Millie Jean Ratliff. In addition, the State was permitted to indicate to the jury that a hair found upon the body of the child was similar to a hair sample taken from the appellant.
After the State rested its case, the trial judge accepted the appellant's plea of guilty to sexual abuse in the first degree. The trial continued upon the murder charge. The only witness who testified on behalf of the appellant was the appellant's father. That witness testified that the appellant stated to him that police officers threatened the appellant with violence to make the appellant confess to the homicide. However, subsequent to the testimony of the appellant's father, the trial judge accepted the appellant's plea of guilty to murder of the first degree.
The appellant's pleas of guilty to the sexual abuse and murder of Millie Jean Ratliff were made orally and in writing by the appellant on June 30, 1982. As indicated at that time and in an order entered on July 6, 1982, those pleas were found by the trial judge to be voluntarily and intelligently made.
The appellant asserts before this Court that his circuit court convictions of sexual abuse and murder resulted from an ineffective assistance of counsel. In that regard, the appellant raises a search and seizure issue with respect to the finding by police officers of the body of Millie Jean Ratliff on August 31, 1981, and an issue concerning the propriety of his written confessions to police officers, dated September 1, 1981, September 13, 1981, and September 16, 1981. Furthermore, the appellant raises an issue concerning the voluntariness of his plea of guilty to murder of the first degree. 3
Various principles of law relating to questions of ineffective assistance of counsel were set forth by this Court in the leading case of State v. Thomas, 157 W.Va. 640, 203 S.E.2d 445 (1974). 4 Syllabus points 19, 21 and 22 of that case state as follows:
19. In the determination of a claim that an accused was prejudiced by ineffective assistance of counsel violative of Article III, Section 14 of the West Virgina Constitution and the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, courts should measure and compare the questioned counsel's performance by whether he exhibited the normal and customary degree of skill possessed by attorneys who are reasonably knowledgeable of criminal law, except that proved counsel error which does not affect the outcome of the case, will be regarded as harmless error. 5
21. Where a counsel's performance, attacked as ineffective, arises from occurrences involving strategy, tactics and arguable courses of action, his conduct will be deemed effectively assistive of his client's interests, unless no reasonably qualified defense attorney would have so acted in the defense of an accused.
22. One who charges on appeal that his trial counsel was ineffective and that such resulted in his conviction, must prove the allegation by a preponderance of the evidence. 6
As stated above, the appellant raises a search and seizure issue with respect to the finding by police officers of the body of Millie Jean Ratliff on August 31, 1981. The body was found in a plastic bag under a bed in the appellant's room in a mobile home. The record indicates that to live in the mobile home the appellant may have been paying "board" to the owners. The appellant contends that the finding of the body of Millie Jean Ratliff resulted from a warrantless and unreasonable search and seizure. 7 He therefore contends that, inasmuch as his counsel at trial did not pursue an issue concerning that search and seizure, his counsel was ineffective.
We find those contentions to be without merit. Assuming that a search and seizure occurred, this Court concludes that the police officers acted lawfully under the circumstances of this case, even though they entered the mobile home without a search warrant and found the body. Our conclusion is based upon the "emergency doctrine" exception to the rule that a search and seizure by police officers must ordinarily be predicated upon a written search warrant. 8
As the cases cited below indicate, the emergency doctrine has been defined in various ways and must be considered upon a case by case basis. With regard to this case, however, the...
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