Case Name: CITY OF MONROE v. Clifton Arthur FINCHER
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1974-12-02
Citations: 305 So. 2d 108
Docket Number: No. 55064
Parties: CITY OF MONROE v. Clifton Arthur FINCHER.
Judges: SANDERS, C. J., dissents and assigns written reasons.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 305
Pages: 108–113

Head Matter:
CITY OF MONROE v. Clifton Arthur FINCHER.
No. 55064.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Dec. 2, 1974.
John R. Joyce, Wright & Joyce, Monroe, for defendant-appellant.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., John Larry Lolley, City Attorney, for plaintiff-ap-pellee.

Opinion:
CALOGERO, Justice.
The appellant, Clifton Arthur Fincher, was charged by affidavit with having committed the crime of driving while under the influence of intoxicants, second offense, a misdemeanor. La.R.S. 14:98. He was found guilty as charged after a trial and was sentenced to pay a fine of $500.00 (or 50 days in jail in default) and to serve 125 days in jail. The substance of his complaint is that to establish second offense DWI it was error to rely upon his original DWI conviction (a misdemeanor) because that conviction, wherein he had not received, nor waived, the assistance of counsel, was obtained in violation of Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25, 92 S.Ct. 2006, 32 L.Ed.2d 530 (1972).
The "brief" which defendant filed in support of his duly perfected appeal, was filed late, although prior to oral argument in this Court, and is entitled "Application for Remedial Writs." We construe the pleading as a brief and his "Assignment of Error" as argument in support of his three duly reserved and perfected bills of exceptions. Each bill relates to the same asserted error noted above. Bill number 1 is to the trial court's overruling defendant's motion to quash the affidavit charging second offender DWI. Bill number 2 was to the introduction into evidence of the minute entry of defendant's first DWI conviction. Bill number 3 was to the failure of the trial court to grant defendant's motion for a directed verdict.
Argersinger held 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." 407 U.S. at 37, 92 S.Ct. at 2012, 32 L.Ed.2d at 538. That holding was held to be retroactive in Berry v. City of Cincinnati. 414 U.S. 29, 945 S.Ct. 193, 38 L.Ed.2d 187 (1973).
The City of Monroe in brief alleges that the defendant did knowingly and intelligently waive his right to counsel at his first conviction. This position is unsupported by the record.
The City also argues that Argersin-ger is limited to indigents. While the petitioner in Argersinger was an indigent, the holding of the United States Supreme Court is not so limited. See 407 U.S. at 37, 92 S.Ct. at 2012, 32 L.Ed.2d at 538.
Finally, the City argues that Arger-singer is retroactive only to those persons serving sentences at the time of the case, quoting a headnote in Berry v. City of Cincinnati, 414 U.S. 29, 94 S.Ct. 193, 38 L.Ed.2d 187 (1973). That decision is not so limited.
This Court has previously considered whether an uncounseled conviction for DWI could be used as a primary conviction in subsequent offender DWI prosecution in State v. Guillotte, 297 So.2d 423 (La.1974). We held that the prior uncoun-seled conviction, which in that case resulted in imprisonment, could not be so used in a prosecution of the accused as a repeat offender.
However, we have not previously considered the precise issue here presented, that is, whether a prior uncounseled conviction, where the defendant was not imprisoned, may be used as the primary conviction in a subsequent repeat offender prosecution.
The Argersinger court prefaced its holding that no person could be sent to jail unless he had counsel or had waived counsel by saying:
"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 2018. 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." 407 U.S. at 36-37, 92 S.Ct. at 2012, 32 L.Ed.2d at 538 (footnote omitted).
The court further explained the import of its decision:
"Under the rule we announce today, every judge will known 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." 407 U.S. at 40, 92 S.Ct. at 2014, 32 L.Ed.2d at 538. (Emphasis added)
Chief Justice Burger concurred, explaining that trial judges "will have to engage in a predictive evaluation of each case to determine whether there is a significant likelihood that, if the defendant is convicted, the trial judge will sentence him to a jail term." 407 U.S. at 42, 92 S.Ct. at 2014, 32 L.Ed.2d at 541.
Turning to the instant case, the statute provides as penalty for a first conviction a fine or imprisonment of between 30 days and 6 months (or both); for a second conviction the penalty escalates to a fine and imprisonment of between 125 days and 6 months. It may readily be seen that under the statutory scheme for DWI, the first conviction causes imprisonment after a second conviction of the accused for DWI — that first conviction ends up in defendant's imprisonment, although such imprisonment does not immediately succeed the first conviction. Before a conviction for any offense may result in imprisonment, an accused must have been represented by counsel or have knowingly and intelligently waived the assistance of counsel, as we appreciate the import of the Ar-gersinger decision.
The record of defendant's first conviction does not establish that he had counsel or had made a waiver of counsel. Thus that conviction may not be used to cause the imprisonment of the defendant under the second offender provision of our DWI statute.
We hold that the prior uncounseled DWI conviction may not be used to subject the accused to prosecution and imprisonment as a repeat DWI offender, whether or not his sentence following that prior conviction included imprisonment. The motion to quash attacking the first DWI conviction is therefore meritorious.
For the reasons assigned the ruling of the trial court denying the motion to quash is reversed, and the motion to quash is granted.
SANDERS, C. J., dissents and assigns written reasons.
SUMMERS, J., dissents and assigns written reasons.
MARCUS, J., dissents and assigns written reasons.
. For a third conviction, not pertinent to this case, the penalty is imprisonment at hard labor (a felony) for not less than one nor more than 5 years, and for a fourth conviction the penalty is imprisonment at hard labor for not less than 10 nor more than 30 years. Only offenses committed within five years prior to the commission of the charged offense may be employed in assessing penalties. La.B.S. 14 98.