Title: Anderson v. State

State: missouri

Issuer: Missouri Supreme Court

Document:

487 S.W.2d 455 (1972)
Sherman ANDERSON, Movant-Appellant,
v.
STATE of Missouri, Respondent.
No. 57263.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.
December 11, 1972.
*456 Harry G. Neill, Jr. and James M. Daly, St. Louis, for movant-appellant.
John C. Danforth, Atty. Gen., Gene E. Voigts, First Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.
HERBERT K. MOSS, Special Judge.
This is an appeal from an order entered on August 20, 1971, following an evidentiary hearing on June 23, 1971, by the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, overruling appellant's Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence under Rule 27.26, V.A. M.R.
We have jurisdiction because this appeal was pending here on January 1, 1972, the effective date of the amendment to Section 3, Article V, Constitution of Missouri, V. A.M.S.
The facts are as follows: Appellant was arrested September 24, 1969, and charged with the crimes below described. A staff member of the Public Defender's Office first interviewed appellant on September 29, 1969. In November, 1969, attorney Edward Vancil of that staff first interviewed appellant.
On June 1, 1970, appellant in person and with counsel, Mr. Edward Vancil of the Public Defender Staff, in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis in Cause No. 2387-R, entered a plea of guilty to the charge of forcible rape. Formal sentencing was deferred to June 26, 1970, for the purpose of allowing a pre-sentence investigation to be made. Sentencing was continued on motion of appellant's counsel to July 13, 1970, and on said date the sentencing was again continued to August 28, 1970. On August 28, 1970, appellant was sentenced, on his plea of guilty to the charge of forcible rape, to be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections of the State of Missouri for a period of twenty-five years.
On August 28, 1970, in Cause No. 2388-R, appellant, in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis in proper person and with counsel, Mr. Edward Vancil, entered a plea of guilty to the charge of robbery in the first degree by means of a dangerous and deadly weapon. On August 28, 1970, appellant was sentenced to five years imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections on the robbery charge, said sentence to run concurrently with the sentence imposed in Cause No. 2387-R, credit being given for jail time.
On December 28, 1970, appellant filed a Pro Se Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence, to-wit:
On June 23, 1971, an evidentiary hearing was held on appellant's Motion to Vacate in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis.
The trial court made the following findings of fact pertinent to this appeal and conclusions of law:
Appellant argues the trial court erred in denying the Motion to Vacate for the following:
*459 Appellant summarizes his argument as follows:
At the evidentiary hearing, appellant and attorney, Edward Charles Vancil, were the only two witnesses who testified.
The transcript of the evidentiary hearing reflects the following facts:
In Cause No. 2387-R, on June 1, 1970, appellant and his counsel entered a plea of guilty on the rape charge. At the time appellant was twenty years of age; had a ninth grade education. His mother was present in the courtroom. The assistant circuit attorney stated in open court the State's evidence would establish the victim was taken into the automobile operated by the appellant and his three friends, Ollie Thompson, Robert Allan, and Ricky Peterson, and she was thereafter individually raped by appellant and his three associates at each of two different street addresses. Appellant at the taking of the plea stated he had advised both his father and his mother of his intention to plead guilty. With respect to the robbery charge, Cause No. 2388-R, the assistant circuit attorney in open court stated the State's evidence would establish the appellant and his two associates, Ollie Thompson and Robert Allan, while displaying weapons, removed money, to-wit: forty-five dollars, from the person of the victim.
At the evidentiary hearing attorney, Richard Daly, for appellant stated in preparation for this hearing he had learned the prosecuting witness, now married, was now in Texas and upon medical advice and upon insistence of her parents, she did not wish to be confronted with any adversary hearings in a court of law. Further, that Mr. Daly had reviewed the transcript of testimony in the trial of Ollie Thompson, one of appellant's accomplices.
At the evidentiary hearing appellant sought to develop that he heard a Detective Saunders say the victim had stated one of the boys present did not participate but tried to help her; that Ricky Peterson who was released made a statement appellant had nothing to do with the crime; that Vancil told him he thought the defense was false. Appellant testified he repeatedly requested his attorney to take the deposition of the prosecuting witness.
Attorney Vancil testified as follows: he had ten or twelve conferences with appellant prior to entry of plea of guilty; that he informed appellant he could not take the deposition of the victim as the Public Defender's Office had no funds for such purpose; that he attended a part of the trial of Ollie Thompson, during which trial he heard parts of the testimony of the victim implicating appellant; that he so advised appellant; that he had unsuccessfully tried to locate the victim by the use of telephone only; that he reviewed the substantive police report of the offense and discussed same with appellant; that he took photographs of the area where one of the offenses occurred; that he filed a Motion for Mental Examination of appellant which was sustained, and also a Motion to Suppress; that preparatory to trial he interviewed three or four character witnesses; that he conferred with the Public Defender trial lawyer who defended the Ollie Thompson case; that he conferred with the assistant circuit attorney to learn of any possible defense; that he spent a total of twenty-five or thirty hours in representing the appellant; that in his opinion based on the evidence the jury would have found appellant guilty; that appellant had asked he interview or depose Ricky Peterson, who was confined at Boonville, but he did not do so for "unavailability" and on account of the "money factor"; that appellant *460 told him he was not "good for these crimes"; that appellant had admitted being present but did not participate but was "there with the other defendants in the case."[1]
The findings of fact and conclusions of law are presumed to be correct unless they are clearly erroneous. Crosswhite v. State, 426 S.W.2d 67 (Mo.1968). Findings of fact and conclusions of law are clearly erroneous only if upon review of the entire record the Court is left with the definite and firm impression that a mistake has been made. Crosswhite v. State, supra.
This Court, in Smith v. State of Missouri, 473 S.W.2d 719, 1. c. 722 (1971), in holding failure of accused's trial counsel to file motions to suppress accused's arrest and evidence seized at time of accused's apprehension, did not deny or abrogate accused's rights to fair trial, cited the language, as appropriate and persuasive, in Robinson v. United States (8 Cir. 1971), 448 F.2d 1255, 1. c. 1256:
"Hindsight can always be utilized by those not in the fray so as to cast doubt on trial tactics a lawyer has used. Trial counsel's strategy will vary even among the most skilled lawyers. When that judgment exercised turns out to be wrong or even poorly advised, this fact alone cannot support a belated claim of ineffective counsel. (Citing cases.) In order to assert a Sixth Amendment infirmity on this ground, the circumstances must demonstrate that which amounts to a lawyer's deliberate abdication of this ethical duty to his client. There must be such conscious conduct as to render pretextual an attorney's legal obligation to fairly represent the defendant."
Appellant relies heavily on Goodwin v. Swenson, 287 F. Supp. 166 (W.D.Mo.1968), cases cited therein and language at page 176: "An accused's right to effective assistance obviously is not limited to the court room. His counsel must make reasonable investigation of the facts and of the applicable law."
It should be noted however at page 186 the Court stated: "The facts of the case at bar present a more extreme factual situation than any presented in the cases just discussed. Defense counsel's failure in this case to make any sort of investigation resulted in the concealment of a medical diagnosis of psychosis made the very day that defendant gave the police the oral statement which was partially responsible for his death sentence."
Appellant also relies on Coles v. Peyton, 389 F.2d 224 (4th Cir. 1968). Again the factual situation is extreme. Co-counsel, Public Defenders, were appointed to represent petitioner and fifty-seven other defendants in other felony cases scheduled to be tried in the then current term of court. Counsel interviewed petitioner three times; once for as long as twenty minutes, again for a lesser period and a third time briefly on the day of trial. Counsel admitted that although the element of penetration was an issue they made no investigation of the reputation of the prosecutrix, nor examine the medical report of prosecutrix, nor interview her male companion, nor interview an identified witness, nor explain the elements of the crime to petitioner. "In short, counsel did no more than interview petitioner on the three occasions previously alluded to and to accept the statements he made to them during the interview." (389 F.2d 224, 226.)
*461 This Court now rules the facts in Coles and Goodwin, supra, to be distinguishable from those in the case at bar.
There is a presumption of competency of counsel and a strong showing beyond mere conclusory allegations must be made before that presumption can be overcome. Kress v. United States, 411 F.2d 16 (8th Cir., 1969).
We now rule the findings of fact and conclusions of law as found by the trial court are not clearly erroneous.
Judgment affirmed.
All of the Judges concur.
[1]  At the time the pleas of guilty were entered the assistant circuit attorney stated the automobile used was operated by the appellant and that the frist series of rapes were committed at O'Fallon Park and the second series at 3631 Herbert. Presence of one at commission of a felony by another is evidence to be considered in determining whether or not he was guilty of aiding and abetting. State v. Reed (Mo.1970), 453 S.W.2d 946. See also, Vernon's Annotated Mo. Statutes Section 556.170.