Opinion ID: 2995169
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Jackson’s Sixth Amendment Claim

Text: As we indicated above, it is clear from the record that Jackson was not represented by counsel at the May 30, 1975 appearance at which his sentence was to be executed. What remains to be determined, then, is whether the conclusion of the Indiana Court of Appeals that the absence of counsel at that appearance did not violate the petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel was contrary to or an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent as required by 28 U.S.C. sec. 2254(d). The Sixth Amendment requires that criminal defendants must be provided with counsel unless the right is competently and intelligently waived. See Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 339-45, 83 S. Ct. 792, 9 L. Ed. 2d (1963). As the Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized, [t]he right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 68-69, 53 S. Ct. 55, 77 L. Ed. 158 (1932). Criminal defendants have a right to counsel not only at trial but also at all critical stages of the prosecution. See Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1, 9-10, 90 S. Ct. 1999, 26 L. Ed. 2d 387 (1970); see also United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 226, 87 S. Ct. 1926, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1149 (1967) ([I]n addition to counsel’s presence at trial, the accused is guaranteed that he need not stand alone against the State at any stage of the prosecution, formal or informal, in court or out, where counsel’s absence might derogate from the accused’s right to a fair trial.) (footnote omitted). The inquiry into whether a particular proceeding is a critical stage of the prosecution focuses on whether potential substantial prejudice to the defendant’s rights inheres in the . . . confrontation and the ability of counsel to help avoid that prejudice. Coleman, 399 U.S. at 9 (quotation omitted). The Supreme Court has made it clear that sentencing is a critical stage at which the Sixth Amendment requires the assistance of counsel. See Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 358, 97 S. Ct. 1197, 51 L. Ed. 2d 393 (1977); see also Townsend v. Burke, 334 U.S. 736, 741, 68 S. Ct. 1252, 92 L. Ed. 1690 (1948) (finding a denial of due process where uncounseled defendant was sentenced on the basis of assumptions concerning his criminal record which were materially untrue). Although a defendant may waive his right to counsel, see Gideon, 372 U.S. at 340, waiver may not be presumed from a silent record. See Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109, 114-15, 88 S. Ct. 258, 19 L. Ed. 2d 319 (1967). Jackson first asks us to find that the Indiana Court of Appeals applied a rule that was contrary to Supreme Court precedent. He alleges that the facts of his case are materially indistinguishable from the facts in Mempa v. Rhay, 389 U.S. 128, 88 S. Ct. 254, 19 L. Ed. 2d. 336 (1967), in which the Supreme Court found that the petitioners had been denied the right to counsel. Id. at 137. In the consolidated cases in Mempa, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether petitioners, who appeared at a deferred sentencing hearing without representation, had been denied the right to counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment. Petitioners’ deferred sentencing hearings were held pursuant to a Washington statute which allowed a judge to order probation and defer imposition of sentence. See id. at 130. Both of the petitioners had pleaded guilty to an offense with the advice of counsel, been placed on probation, and later committed a crime which led the prosecuting attorney to move for the revocation of probation. See id. at 130- 33. At the subsequent hearings to revoke probation and impose sentence, neither petitioner was represented by counsel. See id. at 131, 132. The Supreme Court found that the Sixth Amendment required that petitioners have the assistance of counsel at such a hearing whether it be labeled a revocation of probation or a deferred sentencing hearing. Id. at 137. The Court’s holding was based on its determination that, at such a hearing, certain legal rights may be lost if not exercised at this stage, id. at 135, namely the right to appeal and the right to withdraw a guilty plea, see id. at 136-37. Although Mempa and the case at hand both involve deferred appearances, we disagree with Jackson’s contention that the facts of his case are materially indistinguishable from the facts of Mempa. Jackson’s claim that the May 30, 1975 appearance was equivalent to the deferred sentencing hearing in Mempa is not supported by the record. In Mempa, the petitioners’ sentences were not imposed at the initial hearing. Instead, petitioners were placed on probation, with sentence to be imposed later--only if the terms of probation were violated. Therefore, when the petitioners in Mempa appeared at the probation revocation/sentence imposition proceeding, it was, in effect, as if they were being sentenced for the first time. Jackson’s situation is materially different. Although the Supreme Court in Mempa rejected the State’s contention that the petitioners were actually sentenced at the first hearing and that the second hearing was a mere formality, id. at 135, we find that characterization appropriate in Jackson’s case. The transcript of Jackson’s March 27, 1975 sentencing hearing reflects that sentence was actually imposed at that time. At that initial hearing, the Judge stated, [t]he Court . . . now sentences both defendants to not less than one (1) nor more than ten (10) years. Tr. of Marshall Jackson Sentencing H’rg at 3 (emphasis added). The judge also told Jackson and his brother, I have imposed sentence for both of you as one (1) to ten (10) years. You won’t begin serving that time today but you will be back here on April 25,/4 do you understand that? Id. That sentence was imposed at the initial hearing is also evidenced by the fact that, at that time, the judge performed all of the functions required for sentencing: he acknowledged that he had reviewed the pre-sentence investigation report, ordered the defendants committed to the Department of Corrections, and gave the defendants credit for time served. Moreover, the judge referred to the purpose of the May 30 appearance as execution of sentence and not as sentencing, deferred sentencing, or imposition of sentence. Therefore, because sentence had already been imposed on Jackson when he appeared for the execution of his sentence, the facts of Jackson’s case are materially distinguishable from the facts in Mempa. Jackson next argues that the Indiana Court of Appeals erred by holding that, even if Jackson was denied the right to counsel, this error was harmless. He claims that harmless error analysis does not apply to violations of the right to counsel and that the Indiana Court of Appeals therefore applied a rule of law contrary to Supreme Court precedent. Although the Supreme Court has made it clear that [a]ctual or constructive denial of the assistance of counsel alto gether is legally presumed to result in prejudice, see Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 692, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984), the court has also implied that a momentary lapse in representation during a critical stage may be subject to a harmless error analysis. See Satterwhite v. Texas, 486 U.S. 249, 256, 108 S. Ct. 1792, 100 L. Ed. 2d 284 (1988) (suggesting that Sixth Amendment violations that do not pervade the entire proceeding may be subject to harmless error analysis). We need not resolve this question, however, because we find that the Indiana Court of Appeals’ determination that Jackson’s right to counsel was not violated at the May 30 appearance is not contrary to established Supreme Court precedent. Although the Supreme Court has never directly confronted the issue of whether the execution of an already imposed sentence constitutes a critical stage such that counsel is required, see Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1, 9, 90 S. Ct. 1999, 26 L. Ed. 2d 387 (1970), Jackson may still obtain habeas relief if he is able to show that the state court’s application of Supreme Court precedent was unreasonable. See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 407-08, 120 S. Ct. 1495, 146 L. Ed. 2d 389 (2000). In an attempt to do so, Jackson argues that the Indiana Court of Appeals’ refusal to find that the May 30, 1975 appearance was a critical stage where counsel was required was an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent. Jackson claims that, even if the only purpose of his appearance was to execute his sentence, the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Mempa mandates the extension of the right to counsel to such proceedings. The Supreme Court has directed that whether counsel is required at a particular proceeding is dependent on the ability of counsel to provide assistance to the defendant at that point. Thus, the central question in determining whether a proceeding is a critical stage is whether potential substantial prejudice to defendant’s rights inheres in the . . . confrontation and the ability of counsel to help avoid that prejudice. Coleman, 399 U.S. at 9 (quotation omitted). The Supreme Court’s finding in Mempa that the petitioners had certain rights at the second sentencing hearing-- and therefore required counsel to ensure the proper exercise of those rights--was partially based on the fact that the Washington law in effect at the time allowed a guilty plea to be withdrawn at any point prior to sentencing./5 See Mempa, 389 U.S. at 136. Although Jackson, at one point, had a similar right to withdraw his plea for any fair and just reason, Ind. Code sec. 35-4.1-1-6 (repealed 1981),/6 that right did not exist at his May 30 appearance because sentence had already been imposed. At that point, Jackson would have only been entitled to withdraw his plea if he could prove that withdrawal [wa]s necessary to correct manifest injustice. Id. In Mempa, the Supreme Court was also concerned about the possibility that the absence of counsel at the deferred sentencing hearing would cause petitioners to lose their right to appeal because Washington law provided that an appeal in a case involving a plea of guilty followed by probation can only be taken after sentence is imposed following revocation of probation. 389 U.S. at 135-36 (citing State v. Farmer, 237 P.2d 734 (Wash. 1951)). Jackson, on the other hand, could not have lost his right to appeal at the May 30, 1975 appearance because a conviction based upon a guilty plea may not be challenged . . . by direct appeal under Indiana law. See Weyls v. State, 362 N.E.2d 481, 482 (Ind. 1977). Therefore, because we are not convinced that Jackson was in danger of losing any rights by appearing without counsel on May 30, we cannot say that it was unreasonable for the Indiana Court of Appeals to conclude that Jackson had not been denied the right to counsel. The Supreme Court has directed that a federal habeas court may not issue the writ simply because that court concludes in its independent judgment that the relevant state-court decision applied clearly established federal law erroneously or incorrectly. Rather that application must also be unreasonable. Williams, 529 U.S. at 411. Even if the Indiana Court of Appeals was incorrect in finding that the May 30 appearance was not a critical stage of the prosecution requiring counsel, we can say that, under the relevant Supreme Court precedent, it was not unreasonable for the court to make that finding.