Opinion ID: 1710968
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendant's right to adequate legal representation at the lineup.

Text: As to the appeals taken on the order concerning the lineups, a single issue is dispositive and that is whether the defendant was adequately represented by legal counsel at the second and third lineups. In United States v. Wade [8] and Gilbert v. California [9] the Supreme Court of the United States held that an accused is entitled, under the sixth and fourteenth amendments, to the assistance of counsel at postindictment lineups. This court in Wright v. State [10] held that in Wisconsin the Wade-Gilbert rules required the presence of counsel at lineups held after the warrant was issued and in Hayes v. State [11] this court further held that counsel was required at lineups held after the case had progressed from the investigatory to the accusatory stage in Wisconsin criminal procedure. Here it is stipulated by the state that the proceedings had entered the accusatory stage and that the defendant was entitled to the assistance of counsel at the lineups. The presence of counsel, if necessary, is such presence of counsel at the actual confrontation between the individuals in the lineup and the witness or witnesses. This was made clear in Stovall v. Denno, [12] a companion case to Wade and Gilbert. In Stovall Mr. Justice Brennan, the author of all three opinions, summarized the effect of Wade and Gilbert: Wade and Gilbert fashion exclusionary rules to deter law enforcement authorities from exhibiting an accused to witnesses before trial for identification purposes without notice to and in the absence of counsel. A conviction which rests on a mistaken identification is a gross miscarriage of justice. The Wade and Gilbert rules are aimed at minimizing that possibility by preventing the unfairness at pretrial confrontation that experience has proved can occur and assuring meaningful examination of the identification witness' testimony at trial. (Emphasis added.) [13] Consistent with the interpretation that legal counsel is required at the time of actual confrontation is what we said in Wright: [14] . . . The presence of an attorney at the lineup, whether or not such attorney eventually represents the defendant at the time of trial, is all that is required to aid in reconstructing the circumstances of the lineup at the time of trial. In fact, the limited purpose served by the presence of counsel at the time of the lineup has led to a holding that the fact that the attorney present at the lineup did not represent the defendant on the charge for which the lineup was conducted did not prejudice the defendant . . . . (Emphasis added.) Although Attorney Lazarra was neither retained by defendant nor appointed by a court to represent defendant, his presence at the police station was in accordance with a contract between Dane county and the legal services agency. In Wright this court said that the presence of any attorney at the lineup was all that was required, regardless of whether the attorney represented the suspect at trial or not. [15] The real question becomes whether the trial court was correct in concluding that the presence of counsel at the practice lineup carried forward and when considered together with the thoroughness of the questioning thereto provided the defendant with representation by counsel on the second lineup. We think not. The fundamental purpose of having an attorney present at the lineup is to have him observe the conduct of the lineup and to reconstruct the circumstances of the lineup at a later pretrial motion on the use of lineup identifications or where such matter is considered at the time of trial. Such counsel was not present when either of the two lineups was conducted. The trial court held that the third lineup was barred because of the absence of an attorney for the defendant. This was equally true of the second lineup. The fact that Attorney Lazarra was present during the practice lineup and made some suggestions does not supply the necessary finding that he was, in effect, present at the second lineup. He was not present to observe and thus could not testify as to the detailed circumstances of that lineup. That was his function and the fact that neither Lazarra nor any other attorney was there on defendant's behalf invalidates both lineups. Although the requirement of counsel at lineups is relatively new and the function of counsel at such lineups has not been spelled out in great detail, the fundamental concept of a lawyer as an observer for the defendant was well established at the time of the two questioned lineups here. In the present case, after observing the practice lineup and not receiving a satisfactory response to his suggestions, counsel left the police station. The record gives no indication of his reasons or motives for this action. Clearly, it was improper conduct. If he left because he felt that the lineup which was about to be held would be unfair, he was assuming the unwarranted role of presuming to prejudge the fairness of the procedure. By leaving he deprived the defendant of an eyewitness to the actual circumstances of the lineup. We take strong exception to the statements by counsel at oral argument that he did not think that the attorney had any duty to stay once he had observed the practice lineup and had made his suggestions. We likewise take strong exception to counsel's statement at oral argument that he would have done the same thing if he had been in the shoes of Attorney Lazarra. We also think that the assistant district attorney who was present at the lineups, and who knew that Attorney Lazarra had departed, should have attempted to get another attorney to represent the defendant at the actual lineup. Whether Attorney Lazarra's conduct constituted legal representation of the defendant at the lineups is a question of constitutional fact reviewable de novo by this court. [16] Even though counsel was able to observe the dress, appearance and number of the participants in the practice lineup, he was not able to witness the actual confrontation between the witnesses and the suspects. This is the occasion which is vital and must be conducted fairly. His absence meant that he could not be available later for court hearings either before or at the trial on the fairness of the lineups. There is no question but what his appearance at the practice lineup did not carry over so as to constitute representation at the second or third lineups. A criminal defendant's right to legal assistance is one of the most basic and important rights which is accorded by our criminal justice system. The most obvious and important function of legal counsel is to assist the suspect in preparing a defense. The right to counsel is guaranteed by art. I, sec. 7, of the Wisconsin Constitution. This constitutional provision was effectuated by enabling legislation in the late 1850's, [17] and this court was among the first in the United States [18] to recognize the necessity of compensating attorneys who represented indigents in criminal proceedings in order to guarantee the defendant fully adequate representation. [19] The federal constitutional right to legal counsel [20] was not recognized by the United States Supreme Court until 1932. In that year in Powell v. Alabama [21] the court extended the right to court-appointed counsel to indigent defendants charged with capital offenses. After examining the historical and legal basis for such representation, the court concluded: . . . Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law. If charged with crime, he is incapable, generally, of determining for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence. Left without the aid of counsel he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know how to establish his innocence. If that be true of men of intelligence, how much more true is it of the ignorant and illiterate, or those of feeble intellect. [22] Not until more than three decades after Powell was the right to counsel expanded and clarified. In Gideon v. Wainwright [23] the court held that the right to counsel is so important that the fourteenth amendment made the appointment of counsel publicly paid for alleged criminal indigents obligatory upon the states in all felony proceedings. On the same day the court required the states to appoint counsel to assist indigent criminal defendants in appealing their convictions. [24] Finally, in Gault [25] the court extended the right to counsel to children alleged to be delinquent. This court, recognizing the importance of this right, held Gault retroactive. [26] The principle that an attorney can be of great assistance to a criminal defendant in preparing a defense has been expanded to include the proposition that the attorney can assist his client by observing what occurs after the suspect has been taken into custody. In Miranda [27] the United States Supreme Court extended the right of representation of an attorney to in-custody interrogation, not only to provide the suspect with on-the-spot legal assistance, but also to provide the court with a trained observer of what occurred at the interrogation. The role of counsel as an observer was again emphasized, as we have noted above, in the Wade [28] and Gilbert [29] lineup decisions. In Wright, [30] as we have also noted, this court emphasized the function of counsel as an observer. The final duty of an attorney in criminal proceedings is to assist the law enforcement officers and to guard against practices which make these proceedings unfair. Attorney Lazarra, in leaving the station, deprived the defendant of a legal adviser and also deprived him and the general public of the benefit of having someone independent to observe the proceedings. The attorney general argues that Attorney Lazarra's leaving the scene of the lineup was a deliberate strategy which constituted a waiver of defendant's right to counsel at the time of actual confrontation. Cases are cited by the state [31] in which there was a waiver by defendant's retained or appointed attorney as part of counsel's trial tactics. Two factors distinguish the present case from those cited. The first factor is the special relationship of Attorney Lazarra to the defendant. Although he was the attorney representing the defendant, he was not retained by the defendant nor appointed for him. He was there by the contract arrangement as defendant's substitute attorney for the purposes of the lineup. As the notion of an attorney's waiver of his client's rights is basically an aspect of the doctrine of agency, [32] it is doubtful that the relationship between defendant and Attorney Lazarra was sufficient to constitute an attorney-client relationship which allowed Lazarra to waive any of defendant's rights. The second distinguishing aspect of the present case is that this asserted waiver on this record definitely was not part of a deliberate trial strategy. It must be considered a single act on behalf of defendant. Throughout the time of the two lineups viewed by witnesses, defendant requested to see counsel. Attorney Lazarra departed without consulting defendant about it and it is clear that the defendant did not desire him to go. On the question of waiver this court stated in State v. McDonald [33] that an attorney need not consult with his client prior to waiving some right. In McDonald, however, this statement was made in the context of a waiver made as part of an overall trial plan. Moreover, in the present case the defendant, as distinguished from the defendant in McDonald, vocally expressed his objection to Attorney Lazarra's actions. [34] The defendant here did not know of Attorney Lazarra's departure and repeatedly requested to see the attorney. In Johnson v. Zerbst, [35] the Supreme Court of the United States defined a waiver as an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege. In Fay v. Noia [36] the court reaffirmed the Johnson definition and emphasized that waiver depends on the considered choice of the petitioner [defendant]. Thus in view of the relationship between counsel and defendant and defendant's repeated requests for counsel after Attorney Lazarra left, it must be concluded that there was no waiver. [37] The attorney general argues that to hold there was no waiver would leave law enforcement vulnerable to the whims of defense attorneys who would be able to thwart identification procedures by leaving. As noted above, Attorney Lazarra's conduct was improperhe should not have left. An attorney who wilfully attempts to impede justice by leaving a lineup violates his oath as an attorney. Such conduct subjects him to discipline as would any activity violating the attorney's oath. [38] On the facts of this case, however, there is no reason to impute counsel's poor judgment to the defendant. Here then, because no legal counsel was present as required at the time of actual confrontation between witnesses and suspects, the identifications made at both lineups should have been suppressed. Because of our holding on the issue of the requirement of counsel at the second and third lineups we do not reach the issue of the unfairness of either of these lineups.