## I N T H E C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S

O F T E X A S

N O S

. W R

- 8 4

, 7 8 6

- 0 1 & 8 4

, 7 8 6

- 0 2

E X P A R T E J E F F R E Y S H A W N P O I N T E R

, A p p l i c a n t

O N A P P L I C A T I O N S F O R A W R I T O F H A B E A S C O R P U S

C A U S E N O S

. C R 0 7

- 3 0 0 A & C R 0 7

- 3 0 1

- A I N T H E 2 3 5 T H D I S T R I C T C O U R T

F R O M C O O K E C O U N T Y

Y E A R Y

, J

. , f

i l e d a c o n c u r r i n g o p i n i o n i n w h i c h K E A S L E R

, H E R V E Y

, a n d N E W E L L

,

J J

. , j o i n e d

.

C O N C U R R I N G O P I N I O N

I t h a s l o n g b e e n t h e C o u r t ’ s p r a c t i c e t o r e q u i r e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t s t o a p p o i n t c o u n s e l

t o i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t s f

o r p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c o r p u s r e l i e f w h e n e v e r w e r e m a n d t h e w r i t

a p p l i c a t i o n f

o r a f o r m a l e v i d e n t i a r y h e a r i n g

. W e h a v e t y p i c a l l y d o n e s o w i t h o u t c i t i n g a n y

p a r t i c u l a r a u t h o r i t y

— o t h e r t h a n t h e s t a t u t e t h a t g e n e r a l l y s e t s o u t t h e p r o c e d u r e f o r

a p p o i n t i n g c o u n s e l f

o r c r i m i n a l t r i a l s a n d a p p e a l s

. T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 2 6

. 0 4

. A

c o m p l a i n t h a s n o w b e e n r e g i s t e r e d t h a t i t i s m i s l e a d i n g f o r u s t o a u t h o r i z e c o u n s e l u n d e r

t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s b e c a u s e i t i m p l i e s t h a t a n i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t i s n o t e n t i t l e d t o c o u n s e lPOI NTER — 2

u n d e r a n y o t h e r c i r c u m s t a n c e s

, c o n t r a r y t o t h e e v i d e n t l e g i s l a t i v e p u r p o s e b e h i n d A r t i c l e

1

. 0 5 1

, S e c t i o n ( d ) ( 3 ) o f t h e T e x a s C o d e o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e

. T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

.

1

. 0 5 1

, § ( d ) ( 3 )

. C o n c u r r i n g O p i n i o n a t 2

. I w r i t e t o a d d r e s s t h i s c o n c e r n

.

I n d i g e n t p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n a p p l i c a n t s f o r h a b e a s c o r p u s r e l i e f a r e n o t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y

e n t i t l e d t o t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l

. P e n n s y l v a n i a v

. F i n l e

y

, 4 8 1 U

. S

. 5 5 1

, 5 5 5 ( 1 9 8 7 ) ;

M u r r a y v

. G i a r r a t a n o

, 4 9 2 U

. S

. 1

, 1 0 ( 1 9 8 9 )

. T h e i r c r i m i n a l t r i a l s a r e o v e r

, a n d a p p e l l a t e

r e v i e w h a s b e e n e x h a u s t e d

. A n y r i g h t t o s t a t e

- f i n a n c e d c o u r t

- a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l f o r p u r p o s e s

o f i n i t i a t i n g a n d p r o s e c u t i n g a s e p a r a t e h a b e a s c o r p u s p r o c e e d i n g s i s p u r e l y a m a t t e r o f

l e g i s l a t i v e g r a c e

. I n T e x a s

, t h e L e g i s l a t u r e h a s i n d e e d s t e p p e d i n a n d p r o v i d e d a q u a l i f i e d 1

e n t i t l e m e n t t o p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c o u n s e l b y w a y o f A r t i c l e 1

. 0 5 1

, S e c t i o n ( d ) ( 3 ) o f t h e

C o d e o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e

, w h i c h p r o v i d e s :

( d ) A n e l i g i b l e i n d i g e n t d e f e n d a n t i s e n t i t l e d t o h a v e t h e t r i a l c o u r t

a p p o i n t a n a t t o r n e y t o r e p r e s e n t h i m i n t h e f o l l o w i n g a p p e l l a t e a n d

p o s t c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c o r p u s m a t t e r s :

* * *

( 3 ) a h a b e a s c o r p u s p r o c e e d i n g i f t h e c o u r t c o n c l u d e s t h a t

t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e r e q u i r e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n

.

T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 1

. 0 5 1

, § ( d ) ( 3 ) ( e m p h a s i s a d d e d )

. B u t w h a t

, e x a c t l y

, d o e s t h i s

Cf

. In re Hall

, 286 S.W .3 d 925, 927-28 (Tex. 2009) (re cog nizi ng that there is no 1

constitutional rig ht to counsel in collater al post-convict i o n proce eding s and inquiring whether a

juvenile offe nder ha s a statutory rig ht to counsel).POI NTER — 3

s t a t u t o r y “ e n t i t l e m e n t ” a m o u n t t o ? P e r h a p s m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y

, h o w a n d w h e n i s i t t r i g g e r e d ? 2

I n n o n

- d e a t h

- p e n a l t y c a s e s

, t h e r e i s n o s t a t u t o r y p r o v i s i o n t h a t e x p r e s s l y a u t h o r i z e s

t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l t o a s s i s t a n i n d i g e n t i n m a t e i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d p r e p a r a t i o n

o f a p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n a p p l i c a t i o n f o r w r i t o f h a b e a s c o r p u s s e e k i n g r e l i e f f r o m a f e l o n y

c o n v i c t i o n

. T h i s i s s o e v e n t h o u g h t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d p l e a d i n g m a y b e t h e m o s t c r u c i a l

3

I t has been sug g ested elsewhe re that Article 1.051, Section (d)( 3), and Article 11.07, 2

Section 3(d), toge t h er “provide an adequate basis upon which to conclude that appointment of

counsel is require d in any case in which either the pl eading s or t he face of t he record g ives rise to

a colora ble, non-fr ivolous claim for which leg al expertise is require d in order to ensure that the claim

is aff orded meaning ful considera tion.” Ex parte Garcia

, ___ S.W .3d

___, No. WR -83,681-01, 2016

WL 1358947 (Tex. Crim. App. Apr. 6, 2016), at *__ (Alca la, J

., dissenting)

. Section 3(d) of Article

11.07 authorizes the convicting court to “a ppoint an attorney

or a ma g istrate to hold a hear ing and

make finding s of fac t.” I am doubtful that this lang uag e was meant to actua lly authorize appointment

of an attorney for the purpose of repr esenting the habea s applicant. I t seems more likely to have been

intended to authorize the appointment of an attorney to preside over any hearing

, and then prepa re

finding s of fac t, much as a mag istrate might do. As for Article 1.051, Section (d)( 3), while it might

indeed be construed to “provide an adequate basis to conclude ” that appointment of counsel is

nece ssary under a particula r set of circ umstances, that is not exactly the same as deter mining whether

that is in fact wha t the L eg islature intended the statute to do.

By contra st, our death penalty post-convicti o n h ab eas statute expressly require s the 3

appointment of counsel for indige nt applicants to investiga te and prepa re post-conviction

applications for

writ of habe as corpus in death pena lty case s. T E X

. C O D E C R I M

. P R O C . art. 11.071,

§ 3(a)

. I ndeed, Article 11.071 presumes that ever y death penalty will be fol l o we d by a postconviction habea s application, and it contains a built-in mecha nism for the appointment of counsel

to investiga te and prepa

re it. Id

. § 2. See also

, McFarland v. Scott

, 512 U.S. 849, 855 (1994) (under

the federa l statute g overning appointed coun s el in capital cases, “Congr ess .

. . established a rig ht

to prea pplication leg al assistance for capital defe ndants in fede ral habea s corpus p ro ce ed ings” ).

Article 11.07 e mbodies no simil ar presumption that ever y felony conviction will be followed by a

post-conviction writ application, and neither Article 11.07, nor Article 1.051(d)( 3), co ntains a

compar able m ec h an i sm to automatically trig g er the involvement of counsel in investiga ting and

prepa ring a post-convic tion writ application.

As of 2015, howeve r, the L eg islature enac ted Article 11.074, and expressl y m ad e i t

retroac t i v e. Ac t s 2015, 84th L eg

., ch. 608, §§ 1 & 2, p. 2030, eff

. J une 16, 2015. Under Article

11.074, at the State’s behest, the convicting court “shall appoint an attorney ” to an indige nt inmate

“for purposes of filing an application for a writ of habea s corpus” when the State “re prese nts” thatPOI NTER — 4

s t a g e o f a l l

, s i n c e a n a p p l i c a t i o n w i l l b e r o u t i n e l y d e n i e d i f i t f a i l s e v e n t o a l l e g e f

a c t s w h i c h

,

i f t r u e

, w o u l d e n t i t l e t h e a p p l i c a n t t o r e l i e f

. E x p a r t e W

h i s e n a n t

, 4 4 3 S

. W

. 3 d 9 3 0

, 9 3 2 ( T e x

.

C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 4 )

. T h e i n c a r c e r a t e d i n m a t e c a n h a r d l y b e e x p e c t e d t o c o n d u c t t h e

i n v e s t i g a t i o n f

o r h i m s e l f

, a n d h e w i l l n o t o r d i n a r i l y b e e q u i p p e d t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h o s e c l a i m s

t h a t a r e c o g n i z a b l e f

r o m t h o s e t h a t a r e n o t u n d e r o u r h a b e a s c o r p u s j u r i s p r u d e n c e

.

E v e n s o

, A r t i c l e 1

. 0 5 1

, S e c t i o n ( d ) ( 3 ) d o e s n o t s e e m t o c o n t e m p l a t e a p p o i n t m e n t o f

c o u n s e l a t t h i s p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n / p r e p a r a t i o n s t a g e

. A f t e r a l l

, u n l e s s a n d u n t i l a h a b e a s

a p p l i c a t i o n h a s b e e n f

i l e d

, h o w c a n t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t k n o w t h a t a l a w s u i t h a s b e e n

i n i t i a t e d s u c h t h a t t h e “ i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e ” m a y “ r e q u i r e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ” ? I n d e e d

, t h e r e i s n o

“ h a b e a s c o r p u s p r o c e e d i n g ” a t a l l f o r p u r p o s e s o f t h e s t a t u t e u n t i l t h e a p p l i c a t i o n i t s e l f h a s

b e e n f i l e d

. S e e T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 1

. 0 5 1

, § ( d ) ( 3 ) ( p r o v i d i n g f o r a p p o i n t m e n t o f

c o u n s e l f o r i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t s i n “ a h a b e a s c o r p u s p r o c e e d i n g ” )

. S o

, i t d o e s n o t a p p e a r t h a t

t h e L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t h a t c o u n s e l s h o u l d b e a p p o i n t e d f o r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d

p r e p a r a t i o n o f a n o n

- d e a t h

- p e n a l t y p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n a p p l i c a t i o n f o r w r i t o f h a b e a s c o r p u s

. C f

.

He r n a n d e z v

. S t a t e

, 5 3 0 S

. W

. 2 d 5 6 3

, 5 6 7 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 7 5 ) ( d u e p r o c e s s d o e s n o t

r e q u i r e t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l “ f o r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f p o s s i b l e h a b e a s c o r p u s a t t a c k s ” )

.

F o r t h i s r e a s o n

, t h e s t a t u t e d o e s n o t c o n t e m p l a t e t h a t e i t h e r t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t o r t h i s C o u r t

the inmate is not g uilty

, is g uilty only of a lesser offe nse, or has been convicted or sentenc ed under

a law that was later decla

red to be unconstitutional. To this limit ed extent, then, an inmate in a nond eath-penalty case may be statutorily entitled to the appointment of counsel for purpo s es o f

investiga ting, prepa

ring

, and “filing ” his initial writ application—but only upon the “re prese ntation”

of the State.POI NTER — 5

s h o u l d b e c o m e i n v o l v e d i n s c a n n i n g “ t h e f a c e o f t h e r e c o r d ” o n a h a b e a s c o r p u s a p p l i c a n t ’ s

b e h a l f i n a q u e s t t o i d e n t i f y a n y “ c o l o r a b l e

, n o n

- f

r i v o l o u s c l a i m s f

o r w h i c h l e g a l e x p e r t i s e

i s r e q u i r e d [

. ] ” E

x p a r t e G a r c i a

,

_ _ _ S

. W

. 3 d

_ _ _ , N o

. W R

- 8 3

, 6 8 1

- 0 1

, 2 0 1 6 W L 1 3 5 8 9 4 7

( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. A p r

. 6

, 2 0 1 6 )

, a t *

_ _ ( A l c a l a

, J

. , d i s s e n t i n g )

.

O n c e a p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n w r i t a p p l i c a t i o n h a s b e e n f i l e d

, t h e n e x t s t e p i n t h e “ h a b e a s

c o r p u s p r o c e e d i n g ” i s f o r t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t t o e v a l u a t e t h e p l e a d i n g

. M a n y w i l l p r o v e

i n s u f f i c i e n t

, e v e n w h e n r e a d l i b e r a l l y

, t o m a k e o u t a c o g n i z a b l e c l a i m f o r h a b e a s c o r p u s

r e l i e f

. T h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e d o n o t d e m a n d t h a t t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t a p p o i n t c o u n s e l t o

p u r s u e a n a p p l i c a t i o n t h a t m u s t b e d e n i e d f o r f a i l u r e t o m a k e a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e f

o r h a b e a s

c o r p u s r e l i e f

.

I f

, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d

, a n a p p l i c a t i o n d o e s a l l e g e f a c t s w h i c h

, i f t r u e

, m i g h t e n t i t l e t h e

a p p l i c a n t t o r e l i e f

, t h e n e x t s t e p f

o r t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t i s t o i d e n t i f y m a t e r i a l c o n t e s t e d

i s s u e s a n d i n i t i a t e a n y n e c e s s a r y f a c t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t

. T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 1 1

. 0 7

, §

3 ( d )

. T h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t m a y r e s o r t t o v a r i o u s m e a n s o f d e v e l o p i n g t h e r e c o r d a n d

r e s o l v i n g t h e f

a c t s

, i n c l u d i n g “ a f

f i d a v i t s

, d e p o s i t i o n s

, i n t e r r o g a t o r i e s

, a d d i t i o n a l f o r e n s i c

t e s t i n g

, a n d h e a r i n g s

, a s w e l l a s p e r s o n a l r e c o l l e c t i o n

. ” I d

. S o m e c l a i m s m a y b e r e s o l v e d

s i m p l y e n o u g h w i t h o u t t h e i n v o l v e m e n t o f a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l

. W h e t h e r t h e “ i n t e r e s t s o f

j u s t i c e r e q u i r e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ” b y c o u n s e l a t t h i s s t a g e s e e m s t o m e t o b e c a s e

- d e p e n d e n t

, a n d

t h e s t a t u t e c a l l s u p o n t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t t o d e t e r m i n e

, a t l e a s t i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e

, w h e t h e r

t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l i s n e c e s s a r y t o a s s u r e t h e f u l l n e s s a n d f

a i r n e s s o f t h a t p r o c e s s g i v e nPOI NTER — 6

t h e n a t u r e o f t h e a l l e g a t i o n s a n d t h e r e a d y a v a i l a b i l i t y o f a d e q u a t e m e a n s t o r e s o l v e t h e

d i s p u t e d i s s u e s

.

T h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e d o n o t i n v a r i a b l y r e q u i r e t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l

. F o r

e x a m p l e

, c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t s o f t e n o r d e r t r i a l c o u n s e l t o f i l e a f f i d a v i t s t o r e s p o n d t o f

a c i a l l y

p l a u s i b l e c l a i m s o f i n e f f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l

, a n d s u c h c l a i m s m a y b e e i t h e r

e s t a b l i s h e d o r r e f

u t e d

, t o t h e s a t i s f

a c t i o n o f t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t

, o n t h e b a s i s o f l i m i t e d

f a c t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t

. T h e s a m e m a y b e t r u e o f a c o l o r a b l e B r a d y c l a i m

— a s i m p l e a f

f i d a v i t 4

f r o m t h e t r i a l p r o s e c u t o r m a y s u f f i c e t o r e s o l v e t h e c l a i m

, e i t h e r p r o o r c o n

. E v e n a c l a i m o f

a c t u a l i n n o c e n c e m a y b e s u f f i c i e n t l y s t r a i g h t f

o r w a r d t h a t a s i m p l e f

o r e n s i c t e s t w i l l s e r v e t o

s u p p o r t o r r e f

u t e i t

, w i t h o u t t h e n e c e s s i t y o f i n v o l v i n g a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l t o r e p r e s e n t t h e

i n d i g e n t i n m a t e

.

O f c o u r s e

, m a n y c a s e s w i l l p r o v e m o r e c o m p l e x

— l e g a l l y

, f a c t u a l l y

, o r b o t h

. I n t r u l y

c o m p l e x c a s e s

, t h e i n d i g e n t i n m a t e m a y h a v e d i f f i c u l t y m a r s h a l i n g h i s c a s e p r o s e

. I t m a y

v e r y w e l l b e t h a t i n s u c h c a s e s t h e b e t t e r

— e v e n t h e m o r e e x p e d i e n t

— c o u r s e o f a c t i o n f o r t h e

c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t t o t a k e i s t o a p p o i n t c o u n s e l t o t h e i n d i g e n t i n m a t e t o g r e a s e t h e w h e e l s o f

j u s t i c e

. T h e m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d t h e c a s e

, l e g a l l y o r f a c t u a l l y

, t h e m o r e t h a t c o u n s e l m a y b e

n e e d e d t o p r o v i d e a c o u n t e r b a l a n c e t o t h e i n e v i t a b l e p r e s s u r e e x e r t e d b y t h e S t a t e ’ s l e g a l

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e t o d e n y r e l i e f

, a s s i s t t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t i n c o m p r e h e n d i n g a n d p r o p e r l y

r e v o l v i n g t h e i s s u e s

, a n d a s s u r e t h a t t h e a p p l i c a n t r e c e i v e s h i s o n e f u l l a n d f a i r b i t e a t t h e

S ee B rady v. Maryland

, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (prose cutorial suppression of exculpator y 4

evidenc e violates due proce ss).POI NTER — 7

p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c o r p u s a p p l e

. E s p e c i a l l y w i t h t h e a d v e n t o f t h e l e g i s l a t i v e

c o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e a b u s e o f t h e w r i t d o c t r i n e

, T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 1 1

. 0 7

, § 4

, t h e

i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e m a y w e l l d e m a n d t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l t o r e p r e s e n t a n i n d i g e n t

i n m a t e i n t h e s e m o r e c o m p l e x c a s e s

. 5

B e c a u s e t h i s C o u r t i s t h e c o u r t o f r e t u r n i n p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s p r o c e e d i n g s

, T E X

.

C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 1 1

. 0 7

, § 3 ( a )

, w e h a v e t h e a u t h o r i t y t o r e m a n d a n y g i v e n h a b e a s

p r o c e e d i n g f

o r f u r t h e r f a c t d e v e l o p m e n t

, w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l

, i n a n y c a s e

i n w h i c h i t s e e m s t o u s t h a t “ t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e ” r e q u i r e i t

. T h a t i s t o s a y

, w e m a y r e m a n d

t o p e r m i t t h e i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t t o h a v e a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l i n a n y w r i t p r o c e e d i n g f o r w a r d e d

t o u s i n w h i c h i t i s a p p a r e n t f r o m t h e n a t u r e a n d s p e c i f i c s o f t h e p a r t i c u l a r c a s e t h a t t h e

a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l i s n e c e s s a r y t o a s s u r e c o m p l e t e a n d a c c u r a t e f a c t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t

b e l o w

. H o w e v e r

, w e s h o u l d n o t p r e s u m e t h a t e v e r y p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c o r p u s

p r o c e e d i n g w i l l r e q u i r e s u c h r e p r e s e n t a t i o n

— e v e n t h o s e t h a t r a i s e a “ c o l o r a b l e

, n o n

f r i v o l o u s ” c l a i m o f i n e f

f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f t r i a l c o u n s e l

. A n d

, w h i l e p l e a d i n g s f i l e d b y p r o

s e a p p l i c a n t s s h o u l d i n d e e d b e c o n s t r u e d l i b e r a l l y

, t h a t d o e s n o t m e a n w e s h o u l d i m p o s e a n

Moreove r, once counsel has been appointed for the indige nt post-convict ion habea s 5

applicant in these more complex case s, counsel would be available to amend or supplement the pro

se initial wr i t application to cure any potential defic iencies in the initial pleading or to supply a

memorandum of law in support, as permitted in non-c apital writ applications. See Ex parte Saenz

,

___ S.W .3d

___, No. WR -80,945-01, 2016 WL 1359214, at *4 (Tex. Crim. App. del. Apr. 6, 2016)

(“In g ener al, when an applicant files amende d or supplemental pleading s raising additional claims

befor e we have disposed of hi s pendin g ap p l ication, we consider the merits of hi s claims, so long

as the pleading s com ply with the rules and proce dures in Article 11.07 and Rule of Appellate

Procedur e 73.1, and so long as the c laims are othe rwise c og nizable and ripe f or re view.”)

.POI NTER — 8

o b l i g a t i o n o n c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t s t o s c o u r t h e r e c o r d f o r a n y s i g n o f i n e f

f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f

t r i a l c o u n s e l w h e n e v e r a n a p p l i c a n t m i g h t p l e a d

— o r s i m p l y a l l u d e t o

— i t

, h o w e v e r i n a r t f u l l y

.

A f t e r a l l

, h a b e a s c o r p u s i s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y r e m e d y

. T h e e f f e c t o f p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n

h a b e a s c o r p u s r e l i e f i s t o u p s e t s o c i e t y ’ s h a r d

- w o n c o n v i c t i o n

— a c o n v i c t i o n t h a t i n m a n y

c a s e s h a s a l r e a d y s u r v i v e d t h e r i g o r o u s s c r u t i n y o f a n a p p e a l

. T h e S t a t e h a s a l e g i t i m a t e

i n t e r e s t i n t h e m a i n t a i n i n g t h e f i n a l i t y o f s u c h c o n v i c t i o n s

. I t w o u l d b e a n o m a l o u s t o i n v o l v e

j u d g e s t o o d i r e c t l y i n a p r o c e s s t h e u l t i m a t e g o a l o f w h i c h i s t o u n d e r m i n e a r e s u l t w h i c h t h e

c r i m i n a l j u s t i c e s y s t e m h a s a l r e a d y e n d e a v o r e d s o s t r e n u o u s l y t o a c h i e v e

. I n t h i s c o n t e x t

, a s

m u c h a s ( i f n o t m o r e t h a n ) a n y o t h e r

, t h e q u i n t e s s e n t i a l r o l e o f t h e j u d g e i s t o a r b i t r a t e

, n o t

t o i n s t i g a t e

— a n d c e r t a i n l y n o t t o a d v o c a t e

.

I n o u r r e m a n d o r d e r s

, w e o f t e n i n s t r u c t t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t t h a t

, i f i t s h o u l d c h o o s e

t o u n d e r t a k e f

a c t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t b y w a y o f a n e v i d e n t i a r y h e a r i n g

, t h e n i t “ s h a l l a p p o i n t a n

a t t o r n e y t o r e p r e s e n t A p p l i c a n t a t t h e h e a r i n g

. ” T h o u g h w e d o n o t c i t e A r t i c l e 1

. 0 5 1

, S e c t i o n

( d ) ( 3 )

, I p r e s u m e t h a t t h e C o u r t ’ s o r d e r i n t h i s r e g a r d r e p r e s e n t s o u r c o n t i n g e n t j u d g m e n t

t h a t

, i n t h e e v e n t t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t i s p e r s u a d e d t h a t a c l a i m i s s u f f i c i e n t l y s u b s t a n t i a l o r

c o m p l e x s o t h a t t h e b e s t m e a n s t o d e v e l o p t h e f a c t s a n d r e s o l v e d i s p u t e s i s b y w a y o f l i v e

t e s t i m o n i a l e v i d e n c e

, i n c l u d i n g c r o s s

- e x a m i n a t i o n o f w i t n e s s e s

, t h e n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e

r e q u i r e t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l f o r t h e i n d i g e n t i n m a t e

. B u t t h e o r d e r i s n o t m e a n t t o

p r o h i b i t t h e c o n v i c t i n g c o u r t f r o m a p p o i n t i n g c o u n s e l o t h e r w i s e

, i n i t s d i s c r e t i o n

, p u r s u a n t

t o A r t i c l e 1

. 0 5 1

, S e c t i o n ( d ) ( 3 )

, s h o u l d i t c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e r e q u i r e i t f

o rPOI NTER — 9

t h e s o r t s o f r e a s o n s I h a v e s u g g e s t e d a b o v e

.

W i t h t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s

, I j o i n t h e C o u r t ’ s o r d e r

.

F I L E D : J u n e 8

, 2 0 1 6

P U B L I S H