Opinion ID: 2638107
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Right to Counsel/Law Library

Text: [¶ 28] Appellants also challenge the district courts' denials of their requests for appointment of counsel to assist them with their motions to correct illegal sentence. Although their arguments are somewhat difficult to follow, the appellants apparently claim they were entitled to appointment of counsel because the law library at the Texas facility did not contain adequate legal resources or persons trained in the law to help them. This issue, therefore, implicates not only the right to counsel, but also the right of access to legal materials. [¶ 29] Wyoming rules and statutes address a criminal defendant's right to appointment of counsel. W.R.Cr.P. 44(a)(1) provides: Any person financially unable to obtain adequate representation who is charged with a crime for which violation, incarceration as a punishment is a practicable possibility or with juvenile delinquency is entitled to appointed counsel. The right extends from the first appearance in the court through appeal. (emphasis added). Rule 44 does not indicate appointment is required for post-judgment proceedings. [¶ 30] Section 7-6-104(c)(vi), which pertains to appointment of public defenders to represent indigent defendants, provides in pertinent part: A needy person . . . is entitled . . . to be represented by counsel at every stage of the proceedings, from the time of the initial appointment by the court until the entry of final judgment, at which time the representation shall end, unless the court appoints counsel for purposes of appeal, correction or modification of sentence. Section 7-6-104(c)(vi) indicates appointment of counsel for post-judgment proceedings is a matter within the district court's discretion. [¶ 31] In Pearl v. State, 996 P.2d 688 (Wyo.2000), we discussed the constitutional requirements for appointment of counsel. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel accrues at the time adversary judicial proceedings are initiated against the defendant. Counsel is required not just at trial, but at `critical stages' both before and after trial in which the substantial rights of the accused may be affected. Id. at 689. In Duffy v. State, 837 P.2d 1047 (Wyo.1992), we recognized the United States Supreme Court's process for determining whether a proceeding is critical. In United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967), the Court established a two-stage process to be invoked to determine whether a proceeding is critical, and whether prejudicial error could flow from it. The Court there stated that the confrontation between the Court and a defendant, without counsel, must be analyzed to determine whether it creates potential substantial prejudice to defendant's rights. Wade, 388 U.S. at 227, 87 S.Ct. at 1932. The succeeding step of the analysis is invoked to determine if the presence of counsel either would, or potentially could, protect the rights of the accused. The defendant's rights are jeopardized if the defendant makes some sort of admission against penal interest, loses a potential defense, or furnishes a plea of guilty or nolo contendere. We essentially have adopted the tests articulated in Powell and Wade. Duffy, 837 P.2d at 1052. [¶ 32] We held in Patrick, ¶ 16, 108 P.3d at 843-44, a motion for sentence reduction was not a critical stage of the criminal proceedings; consequently, the district court had discretion in deciding whether or not to appoint counsel and we reverse the district court's decision only if it abused its discretion. The Patrick ruling was consistent with Duffy because a motion for sentence reduction does not jeopardize any rights of the defendant. Similarly, our rules and statutes do not mandate appointment of counsel to assist defendants with motions to correct illegal sentences and a motion to correct an illegal sentence does not jeopardize a defendant's rights as articulated in Duffy. In accordance with our ruling in Patrick, we conclude a motion to correct an illegal sentence is not a critical stage of criminal proceedings and the decision of whether or not to appoint counsel rests in the district court's sound discretion. [¶ 33] Appellants claim, under Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 116 S.Ct. 2174, 135 L.Ed.2d 606 (1996), the district courts should have appointed counsel to assist them in their cases because the law library at the Texas facility was inadequate for their purposes. In Lewis, the United States Supreme Court ruled: `prison law libraries and legal assistance programs are not ends in themselves, but only the means for ensuring a reasonably adequate opportunity to present claimed violations of fundamental constitutional rights to the courts.' Lewis, 518 U.S. at 351, 116 S.Ct. 2174, quoting Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 825, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 1496, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977). In order to establish a violation of the constitutional right to access to courts, a defendant must show an actual injury resulting from the claimed violation or deficiency. Id. at 351-52, 116 S.Ct. 2174. A defendant must show alleged shortcomings in the library or legal assistance program hindered his efforts to pursue a legal claim. Id. at 351, 116 S.Ct. 2174. Although both appellants in this case make uncorroborated claims about the deficiencies in the legal resources available to them, they do not establish the actual injury required to demonstrate a violation of their constitutional right to access to courts. The lack of legal resources is the basis for their claim that they were entitled to appointment of counsel. Because that argument is unavailing, we do not find any abuse of discretion in the district courts' decisions denying their requests for appointment of counsel. [¶ 34] Affirmed.