Wedding v. Wingo, 72-2160.

Decision Date31 August 1973
Docket NumberNo. 72-2160.,72-2160.
Citation483 F.2d 1131
PartiesCarl James WEDDING, Petitioner-Appellant, v. John W. WINGO, Respondent-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Joseph G. Glass, court-appointed, Louisville, Ky., on brief, for petitioner-appellant.

Ed W. Hancock, Atty. Gen., James M. Ringo, Asst. Atty. Gen., Commonwealth of Kentucky, Frankfort, Ky., on brief, for respondent-appellee.

Before PHILLIPS, Chief Judge, WEICK, Circuit Judge, and CECIL, Senior Circuit Judge.

WEICK, Circuit Judge.

Wedding appeals from the denial by the District Court of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus after an evidentiary hearing conducted by a United States Magistrate. Wedding is presently serving a life sentence imposed in 1949 by the Webster Circuit Court of Kentucky after a plea of guilty to a charge of murder. He had filed his petition for the writ in the District Court in 1971, alleging among other things that his counsel was not appointed until the day of the trial; that he was not advised of his right of trial by jury; and that his guilty plea was coerced by threat of a possible death sentence.

Wedding's petition was denied without a hearing. He appealed to this Court and we reversed and remanded with instructions to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the petitioner's claims of constitutional violation. 456 F.2d 245 (6th Cir. 1972).

Upon remand, a United States Magistrate, acting pursuant to a rule adopted by the District Court, issued an order assigning the evidentiary hearing to himself. Prior to this hearing, however, the petitioner moved to disqualify the Magistrate from holding such hearing on the ground that a Magistrate was not authorized and empowered under authority of the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968 (28 U.S.C. §§ 631 to 639 (1973 supp.)) to hold evidentiary hearings. That motion was overruled by the District Court.

The evidentiary hearing was then conducted by the Magistrate on June 26, 1972, at which time an electronic recording was made of the testimony of the witnesses. Thereafter the Magistrate adopted findings of fact and conclusions of law, in writing, ruling that no constitutional right of petitioner had been violated, and recommending that the petition be dismissed. The Magistrate submitted to the Court his findings and conclusions, together with a recording (a plastic phonograph record) of the proceedings.

The petitioner moved to have the Court give the matter de novo consideration. The Court listened to the recording and adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Magistrate as his own, and dismissed the petition as without merit.

The petitioner has again appealed to this Court, contending that the proceedings of the District Court were invalid because the United States Magistrate had no authority under the Act to conduct an evidentiary hearing on his habeas corpus petition. We agree.

The Federal Magistrates Act of 1968, 28 U.S.C. §§ 631 to 639 (1973 Supp.) provides in relevant part:

". . .
(b) Any district court of the United States, by the concurrence of a majority of all the judges of such district court, may establish rules pursuant to which any full-time United States magistrate, or, where there is no full-time magistrate reasonably available, any part-time magistrate specially designated by the court, may be assigned within the territorial jurisdiction of such court such additional duties as are not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States. The additional duties authorized by rule may include, but are not restricted to —
(1) service as a special master in an appropriate civil action, pursuant to the applicable provisions of this title and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States district courts;
(2) assistance to a district judge in the conduct of pretrial or discovery proceedings in civil or criminal actions; and
(3) preliminary review of applications for post-trial relief made by individuals convicted of criminal offenses, and submission of a report and recommendations to facilitate the decision of the district judge having jurisdiction over the case as to whether there should be a hearing." (28 U.S.C. § 636 (1973 Supp.))

Pursuant to this statute, the Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky signed an Order which amended Rule 16, Rules of that District, by adding to paragraph (c) (3) the following:

"In addition to submitting such other reports and recommendations as may be required concerning petitions for writs of habeas corpus from state prisoners, the full-time Magistrate is directed to schedule and hear evidentiary matters deemed by the Magistrate to be necessary and proper in the determination of each such petition, and to report thereon with an appropriate recommendation for the disposition thereof to the District Judge having jurisdiction of the case. The Magistrate shall cause the testimony of such hearing to be recorded on suitable electronic sound recording equipment. He shall submit his proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to the proper Judge for his consideration, copies of which shall be provided at that time to the petitioner and respondent, and the Magistrate shall expeditiously transmit the proceedings, including the recording of the testimony, to the proper District Judge. Upon written request of either party, filed within ten days from the date such is so transmitted to the District Judge having jurisdiction thereof, the District Judge shall proceed to hear the recording of the testimony given at the evidentiary hearing and give it de novo consideration."

The interpretation by the rule which the Western District of Kentucky has placed upon the congressional grant of power to United States Magistrates is, in our opinion, incorrect.1 The Act granted authority to the Magistrate to conduct only a preliminary review of applications for post-trial relief in order to facilitate the decision of the District Court as to whether there should be a hearing. This Court, in its mandate, had already directed that an evidentiary hearing be conducted. This rule of the District Court, quoted above, attempts to expand the jurisdiction of the Magistrate and, as will be pointed out, conflicts with the Act, and is therefore invalid.

Our analysis begins with Holiday v. Johnston, 313 U.S. 342, 61 S.Ct. 1015, 85 L.Ed. 1392 (1941), wherein the Court assessed the respondent's claim that a United States Commissioner (the predecessor of the United States Magistrate) could conduct evidentiary hearings for habeas corpus by virtue of Rule 53(a) and (b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court stated:

"It is plain, as the respondent concedes, that a commissioner is not a judge and that the command of the court\'s writ that the petitioner appear before that officer was not a literal compliance with the statute. The respondent argues, however, that the writ in effect referred the cause to the commissioner as a master whose function was to take the testimony and submit it, together with his findings and conclusions, for such action as the court might take upon such submission. The argument runs that this practice is in substance equivalent to a hearing before the judge in his proper person, has long been followed in the district courts in California, has not incurred the criticism of this Court in cases brought here where it was followed, is a convenient procedure, tends to expedite the disposition of such cases, is in accordance with long standing equity practice and is countenanced by Rule 53(a) (b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
"We cannot sanction a departure from the plain mandate of the statute on any of the grounds advanced. We have recently emphasized the broad and liberal policy adopted by Congress respecting the office and use of the writ of habeas corpus in the interest of the protection of individual freedom to the end that the very truth and substance of the cause of a person\'s detention may be disclosed and justice be done. The Congress has seen fit to lodge in the judge the duty of investigation. One of the essential elements of the determination of the crucial facts is the weighing and appraising of the testimony. Plainly it was intended that the prisoner might invoke the exercise of this appraisal by the judge himself. We cannot say that an appraisal of the truth of the prisoner\'s oral testimony by a master or commissioner is, in the light of the purpose and object of the proceeding, the equivalent of the judge\'s own exercise of the function of the trier of the facts." (313 U.S. at 351-352, 61 S.Ct. at 1018).

By virtue of Holiday, the conduct of habeas corpus hearings by United States Commissioners became a dead issue.

Subsequently, however, Congress modified the habeas corpus statute so to provide that "the court shall summarily hear and determine the facts, and dispose of the matter as law and justice require", rather than "the court, or justice or judge, shall proceed in a summary way to determine the facts of the case . . ." as was formerly provided. 28 U.S.C. § 2243 (1971). (Emphasis added.) The same judicial district involved in this case, the Western District of Kentucky, interpreted this modification of the habeas corpus statute as a new authorization by Congress to have officers other than United States Judges, hold habeas corpus evidentiary hearings.

In Payne v. Wingo, 442 F.2d 1192 (6th Cir. 1971), we squarely rejected this interpretation. We stated therein:

"When Congress retained the reference to the `court\' in the new statute, it must have meant to retain the meaning that the Supreme Court gave that word in the preceding statute. Assuming, without deciding that Congress could have constitutionally changed the result of Holiday by a specific provision in Section 2243, it is evident that Congress chose not to do so. We are not at liberty to disturb that decision.
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"We realize that
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