Opinion ID: 1122695
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: certificate of counsel

Text: The undersigned, Leonard D. Munker, State Public Defender, Cheyenne, Wyoming, as lawyer and counselor for the Defendant, hereby certifies: (1) I have read and fully explained to the Defendant the allegations contained in the Information in this case. (2) To the best of my knowledge and belief, the statements, representations and declarations made by the Defendant in the foregoing petition are in all respects accurate and true. (3) The Defendant is in accord with my understanding of the facts presented to me by the prosecution and related to me by the Defendant and that the plea is motivated by the Defendant's desire to avoid a trial, obtain quick disposition of his case, and to seek the death penalty. He desires the maximum penalty and asks that I make this recommendation to the Court. The plea is knowingly, voluntarily, and accurate and meets the standards as I understand them. Further, the alternatives available to Kevin Winston Osborn have been outlined and those considerations he deemed important are set forth in this Petition to Plead Guilty. The trial judge has not been a participant in any plea discussions and the Defendant has been advised that the Court is not bound in any way in the Defendant's Petition to Plead Guilty or recommendations made by the prosecution. (4) In my opinion, the Defendant's waiver of his preliminary hearing in open Court was voluntary and understandingly made and I recommend to the Court that the waiver be accepted. (5) In the exercise of my independent professional judgment, I have advised my client that if the Prosecution sought the death penalty on the offense(s) charged in Uinta County, that there was a possible factual basis for the imposition of the sentence of death. I have further advised my client that the death penalty requires a separate hearing with the presentation of evidence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances and that in the event the aggravating circumstances outweighed those mitigating circumstances, the Court could impose a death penalty. I have further advised my client that there is mandatory review of the imposition of the death sentence which, in my opinion, cannot be waived. (6) In the execution of my independent professional judgment, I have advised my client that I did not think that a death penalty would be possible on the Information filed in Sweetwater County. I have reviewed the Code of Professional Responsibility, Canon 5, 6, and 7, and believe those Canons to be in conflict with the Supreme Court's ruling of Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562, as it pertains to this case and the death penalty statutes of the State of Wyoming. (7) It is my opinion that the standards set forth in the Supreme Court's opinion of Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1959 [1960]), have been met with this Defendant that he is oriented to time, place, and event and has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of understanding and has a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against him. Signed by me in open Court in the presence of the Defendant above named and after full discussion of the contents of this certificate with the Defendant, this 23 day of Aug, 1982. /s/ Leonard D. Munker Attorney for the Defendant