West v. Com., 93-SC-448-DG

• Decision Date: 29 September 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93-SC-448-DG,93-SC-448-DG
• Citation: 887 S.W.2d 338
• Parties: Keith M. WEST, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

Page 338

887 S.W.2d 338

Keith M. WEST, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.

No. 93-SC-448-DG.

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

Sept. 29, 1994.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 22, 1994.

J. David Niehaus, Deputy Appellate Defender of the Jefferson Dist. Public Defender (Daniel T. Goyette, Jefferson Dist. Public Defender, of counsel), Louisville, for appellant.

Chris Gorman, Atty. Gen., C. Lloyd Vest, II, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Louisville, for appellee.

STUMBO, Justice.

This appeal arises from an order of the Jefferson Circuit Court which required the police to terminate their interrogation of Appellant, Keith M. West, until he was allowed to consult with an attorney pursuant to RCr 2.14. The order was appealed by the Commonwealth to the Court of Appeals, which held the order void. This Court granted West's motion for discretionary review to consider the scope of RCr 2.14.

The factual sequence leading to this appeal is simple. West had been picked up by the police for questioning in the course of a murder investigation on February 20, 1992. West was advised of his constitutional rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and chose to talk to the police. At the hearing held on February 21, 1992, it was stated for the record by the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney that West had waived his rights under Miranda. Shortly after West was taken into custody, a family member contacted the office of the Jefferson District Public Defender (hereinafter "Public Defender") requesting that it undertake to represent West regarding the murder investigation. The police refused to allow the Public Defender access to West. The Public Defender prepared an order and approached a circuit judge as he was standing at the escalator on the third floor of the Hall of Justice. The judge conducted an ex parte hearing on the order, which he then signed. The order provided that:

The Court, being sufficiently advised, and having found that family members acting on behalf of Mr. Keith West have requested on his behalf that Mr. West be provided an attorney before any further questioning by Louisville Police Department regarding allegations of his being involved in a homicide(s),

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, pursuant to RCr 2.14(2), that officers of the Louisville Police Department shall cease questioning Mr. West until he is allowed access to an attorney from the Office of the Jefferson District Public Defender. Police officers shall allow Mr. West immediate, private access to an attorney forthwith. This order shall be effective upon signature.

Upon being presented with the order, the police ceased their interrogation and allowed West access to an attorney provided by the Public Defender. West then chose to cease talking to the police.

The Commonwealth's Attorney's office learned of the order that afternoon. It immediately sought to have the order set aside, which the circuit court declined to do. A hearing on the matter was set for the next day, February 21, 1992. At the hearing, the circuit court stood by its order asserting it had jurisdiction to issue the order, and that RCr 2.14 authorized another to request an attorney on behalf of an accused. No issue was raised at the hearing concerning whether West was "indigent" beyond the Public Defender's uncontradicted assertion that it had been formally appointed to represent West in another matter then pending. The appellate procedure noted above has brought the issue to this Court.

RCr 2.14 in its entirety provides as follows:

(1) A person in custody shall have the right to make communications as soon as practicable for the purpose of securing the services of an attorney.

(2) Any attorney-at-law entitled to practice in the courts of this Commonwealth shall be permitted, at the request of the person in custody or of some one acting in his behalf, to visit the person in custody.

At issue here is the proper construction of the rule, particularly the phrase "someone acting in his behalf." RCr 1.04 provides that the Rules of Criminal Procedure "shall be construed to secure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration and the elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay."

The circuit judge made a finding in his order, and at the hearing requested by the Commonwealth's Attorney, that the Public Defender acted at the request of West's family in seeking access to the West. This finding is not subject to attack at this time. As a result, we are left with the legal issue of the proper scope of RCr 2.14.

It has been argued that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to enter its order. We disagree. While it is true that West had yet to be formally indicted, a circuit court's jurisdiction does not, strictly speaking, depend upon the filing of an indictment pursuant to RCr 6.02. Under our constitution and by statute, circuit courts have general jurisdiction. "The circuit courts of this Commonwealth shall have original jurisdiction of all justiciable causes not vested in some other court." Ky. Const. § 112(5); KRS 23A.010(1). Thus the initial relevant question is: Under these facts, was the circuit court presented with a circumstance that could be deemed to constitute a "justiciable cause?"

A justiciable cause or controversy can be said to be a "controversy in which a present and fixed claim of right is asserted against one who has an interest in contesting it...." Black's Law Dictionary, 865 (6th ed. 1990). RCr 2.14 creates a right which inures to the benefit of a person in custody under certain conditions. Under the terms of the rule, an "attorney-at-law ... shall be permitted, at the request of the person in custody or of some one acting in his behalf, to visit the person in custody." In this case, West had "claim of right" which was asserted by his family on his behalf (as the rule provides) against law enforcement agents who, no doubt, had "an interest in contesting it." Clearly there existed a justiciable cause sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of the Jefferson Circuit Court under Section 112(5) of the Kentucky Constitution, as well as KRS 23A.010(1). ¹

The next issue concerns the authority of the Public Defender to act in this case. It has been argued that the Public Defender had no authority to act in this instance, because it had not been formally appointed. KRS Chapter 31, which governs the office of the public defender, in relevant part, provides as follows:

A needy person who is being detained by a law enforcement officer, on suspicion of having committed, or who is under formal charge of having committed ... a serious crime, is entitled:

(a) To be represented by an attorney to the same extent as a person having his own counsel is so entitled;

KRS 31.110(1) (emphasis added).

Thus, the statutory scheme which governs the conduct of public defenders contemplates representation prior to a formal charge of criminal wrongdoing and dovetails neatly with the rule which permits "any attorney-at-law entitled to practice in the courts of this Commonwealth" to visit the person in custody. RCr 2.14 (emphasis added). The most cogent evidence of the legislature's intention to adequately safeguard the rights of the indigent can be found in the particulars of KRS 31.120(1). The statute provides for representation at the "earliest necessary proceeding at which the person is entitled to counsel" and upon a simple "declaration by the person that he is needy under the terms of this chapter." In this vein, the statute creates a mechanism whereby reimbursement shall be made to the appropriate public advocacy agency should the defendant later be determined not to be "needy." KRS 31.150.

These provisions signal an unmistakable message that the intent of the legislature is to provide meaningful, rather than nominal, protection of the rights of the indigent. Thus, a public advocate's authority vests at the earliest point at which a person is entitled to counsel (i.e., custodial interrogation), but not until a claim, without further proof, is made of need for public assistance by the accused. This Court must interpret RCr 2.14 in a manner that is consistent with the legislature's intent. ²

Another issue concerns whether the record indicates that West is a needy person, so as to trigger the Public Defender's authority. As noted, the only "evidence" is that West met that definition since he was represented by an attorney in the Public Defender's office in another matter then pending. Moreover, implicit in the trial court's order allowing the Public Defender to see West must be a finding that West was indigent. Based upon these factors, we conclude that there was sufficient proof of West's indigency to allow the Public Defender to represent him.

The language of RCr 2.14 is clear and unambiguous. Any attorney, private counsel, or public defender summoned by the person in custody or by someone acting in that person's behalf, shall be permitted to visit the person in custody. As noted by counsel during oral argument before this Court, the public defender's office is frequently contacted by law enforcement officers for assistance when one in custody invokes his or her Miranda rights during interrogation. The public defender responds, in keeping with his or her duty as defined in KRS 31.110. Just as clearly, however, the public defender is not authorized to monitor police station and jail comings-and-goings to offer his or her services to those who have been arrested.

Finally, the Commonwealth argues that Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 106 S.Ct. 1135, 89 L.Ed.2d 410 (1986), is controlling. In Moran, the United States Supreme Court refused to expand Miranda to require police to inform a suspect of the status of his legal representation. Id., 475 U.S., at 427-28, 106 S.Ct., at 1144-45, 89 L.Ed.2d, at 425. Thus, there was no requirement that Burbine be informed that an attorney retained by his sister concerning a burglary investigation by the local police...