Case Name: Michael ALEXANDER v. STATE of Arkansas
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 1975-10-13
Citations: 258 Ark. 633
Docket Number: CR 75-109
Parties: Michael ALEXANDER v. STATE of Arkansas
Judges: Harris, C.J., Fogleman, J., dissenting; Elsijane Roy, J., not participating.
Reporter: Arkansas Reports
Volume: 258
Pages: 633–641

Head Matter:
Michael ALEXANDER v. STATE of Arkansas
CR 75-109
527 S.W. 2d 927
Opinion delivered October 13, 1975
B. Michael Easley, for appellant.
Jim Guy Tucker, Atty. Gen., by: Gary Isbell, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Opinion:
Conley Byrd, Justice.
The controlling issue on this appeal by Michael Alexander is whether an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction permitted under Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25, 92 S. Ct. 2006, 32 L. Ed. 2d 530 (1972), because only a fine was assessed, can be used as the sole basis to revoke a ten year suspended sentence entered upon a negotiated plea to burglary and grand larceny charges.
The record shows that on January 23, 1973, appellant was charged with burglary and grand larceny. After a determination of indigency, a lawyer was appointed to represent appellant, and on January 26, 1973, he entered a negotiated plea of guilty and received a ten year suspended sentence on both charges. Thereafter, on February 6, 1973, appellant was arrested on assault and battery charges instituted by Charles Tittle, appellant's back door neighbor. On February 7, 1973, appellant pled not guilty and was tried upon the charge before the municipal court without benefit of counsel after the municipal judge had announced that upon conviction a fine only would be assessed. The fine assessed by the municipal court was $25.00 plus $16.50 costs for a total of $41.50. Appellant laid the fine out in jail. Within two hours after appellant was released from jail, he was picked up on a warrant issued on the State's request for a revocation of the suspended ten year sentence. Of course, at that time it was too late to take an appeal from the municipal court. Counsel was appointed for appellant at the revocation hearing, but at that hearing the trial court revoked the ten year sentence upon the sole ground that the municipal court conviction violated the good behavior condition of the suspended sentence. The trial court would not permit evidence to be introduced by appellant showing the facts giving rise to the municipal court conviction.
Appellant did not appeal from the revocation but later filed a post-conviction proceeding pursuant to Criminal Procedure Rule §\. At that hearing he testified that he went over to Tittle's house to ask Tittle to leave appellant's wife alone, that while there Tittle backed his car across appellant's foot and then he hit Tittle.
In considering the right of an indigent to the appointment of counsel in misdemeanor cases, the United States Supreme Court in Argersinger v. Hamlin, supra, commented as follows:
"We must conclude, therefore, that the problems associated with misdemeanor and petty offenses often require the presence of counsel to insure the accused a fair trial. MR. JUSTICE POWELL suggests that these problems are raised even in situations where there is no prospect of imprisonment. Post, at 48. We need not consider the requirements of the Sixth Amendment as regards the right to counsel where loss of liberty is not involved, however, for here petitioner was in fact sentenced to jail. And, as we said in Baldwin v. New York, 399 U.S., at 73, 'the prospect of imprisonment for however short a time will seldom be viewed by the accused as a trivial or 'petty' matter and may well result in quite serious repercussions affecting his career and his reputation.'
We hold, therefore, that absent a knowing and intelligent waiver, no person may be imprisoned for any offense, whether classified as petty, misdemeanor, or felony, unless he was represented by counsel at his trial."

"Under the rule we announce today, every judge will know when the trial of a misdemeanor starts that no imprisonment may be imposed, even though local law permits it, unless the accused is represented by counsel. He will have a measure of the seriousness and gravity of the offense and therefore know when to name a lawyer to represent the accused before the trial starts.
The run of misdemeanors will not be affected by today's ruling. But in those that end up in the actual deprivation of a person's liberty, the accused will receive the benefit of 'the guiding hand of counsel' so necessary when one's liberty is in jeopardy."
Obviously, Argersinger v. Hamlin, did not involve the collateral use of a municipal court conviction and in the language used, the authorities are divided as to whether an uncounseled municipal court conviction involving only a fine can be used to revoke a suspended sentence or to enhance one's length of imprisonment on a second or subsequent conviction. See Cottle v. Wainwright, 477 F. 2d 269 (5th Cir. 1973); Marston v. Oliver, 485 F. 2d 705 (4th Cir. 1973); State v. Reagan, 103 Ariz. 287, 440 P. 2d 907 (1968) and State v. Kirby, 33 Ohio Misc. 48, 289 N.E. 2d 406 (1972).
As pointed out by a law review writer in Argersinger v. Hamlin and The Collateral Use of Prior Misdemeanor Convictions of Indigents Unrepresented By Counsel at Trial, 35 Ohio St. L.J. 168 (1974), one can syllogistically reason that since a municipal court conviction without counsel and involving only a fine is permitted under Argersinger v. Hamlin, then the. conviction is valid and can be used collaterally to revoke a suspended sentence, even though the proximate effect of the conviction, as in this case, is to send the indigent to prison for ten years. This line of reasoning, of course, would soon vitiate the theory on the right to counsel as stated in Argersinger v. Hamlin, and would appear to be contrary to the last paragraph of the opinion which states:
"The run of misdemeanors will not be affected by today's ruling. But in those that end up in the actual deprivation of a person's liberty, the accused will receive the benefit of'the guiding hand of counsel' so necessary when one's liberty is in jeopardy."
The latter approach appears to us to be the more logical approach to one's right to counsel. As demonstrated here, the appellant did not know that his mere conviction for Assault and Battery in municipal court would result in the revocation of his suspended sentence, and the municipal judge did not know that appellant had a suspended sentence. Consequently, we interpret Argersinger v. Hamlin as holding that an uncounseled municipal court conviction involving only a fine, and valid for that purpose, cannot be collaterally used to deprive a person of his liberty.
All of the authorities recognize that an indigent is entitled to the appointment of counsel at a revocation hearing, but if we accept the State's argument here, the obvious question arises: Why should counsel be appointed at this late date, when the uncounseled municipal court conviction itself amounts to a revocation of the suspended sentence? To ask the question, as a practical matter, is but to answer the question that it was at the municipal court that the indigent needed counsel. Therefore, it follows that an uncounseled municipal court conviction cannot be used for the purpose of revoking a suspended sentence as the net effect thereof is "the actual deprivation of a person's liberty" without "the guiding hand of counsel." Of course, this does not mean that the responsible officials cannot show that the facts giving rise to the municipal court conviction are sufficient themselves to revoke the suspended sentence.
Reversed and remanded with directions to set aside the revocation of the suspended sentence.
Harris, C.J., Fogleman, J., dissenting; Elsijane Roy, J., not participating.