Opinion ID: 1973855
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: was the defendant unconstitutionally denied her right to testify?

Text: The key issue presented is whether the defendant can be deemed to have waived her right to testify. We recognize that certain constitutional rights of a criminal defendant are so fundamental that they are deemed to be personal rights which must be waived personally by the defendant. In this category of personal rights is found the decision whether to plead guilty, Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (1969); the decision whether to request a trial by jury, Adams v. U. S. ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269 (1942); the decision to appeal, Fay v. Noia, 377 U.S. 391 (1963); the decision whether to forego the assistance of counsel, Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975); and the decision to obtain the assistance of counsel and to refrain from self-incrimination, Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). [2, 3] We are not convinced that the right to testify falls within this category of fundamental rights, which can only be waived in open court on the record by the defendant. To be sure, the right to testify is an important constitutional right. However, we believe that the right to testify, as distinguished from those rights considered to be so fundamental as to be personal to the defendant, does not go to the very heart of the adjudicatory process. Thus, for example, in Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. at 242, it was held to be plain error for the trial judge to accept a guilty plea without an affirmative showing that it was intelligent and voluntary. The Supreme Court reasoned that the plea of guilty . . . is more than a confession. . .; it is itself a conviction; nothing remains but to give judgment and determine punishment. Id. at 242. The plea of guilty, when accepted, operates as a waiver by the defendant of numerous fundamental rights that ensure a fair trial including the privilege against self-incrimination; the right to trial by jury; and the right to confront one's accusers. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. at 243. Similarly, the decisions whether to waive the right to an appeal, the assistance of counsel, or to be tried by a jury, are so fundamental to the concept of fair and impartial decision making, that their relinquishment must meet the standard set forth in Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458 (1938). That is, the waiver must be an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. at 464. The duty is on the trial court to ascertain knowing relinquishment. The constitutional right of an accused to be represented by counsel invokes, of itself, the protection of a trial court, in which the accused  whose life or liberty is at stake  is without counsel. This protecting duty imposes the serious and weighty responsibility upon the trial judge of determining whether there is an intelligent and competent waiver by the accused. While an accused may waive the right to counsel, whether there is a proper waiver should be clearly determined by the trial court, and it would be fitting and appropriate for that determination to appear upon the record. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. at 465. The Supreme Court said that failure of the trial court to make this determination results in loss of jurisdiction by that court to proceed. The trial court in the case at bar was not required to advise the defendant that she had a right to testify. To initiate this inquiry would necessitate a further determination of whether the decision was the defendant's own and that the decision was not made under some misapprehension on her part of the consequences either way. The defendant's right to testify in a criminal case, by contrast, was long considered to be solely a tactical decision to be left exclusively to the determination of defense counsel. Until recently, it was the established rule that counsel. . . . [is] free to keep defendants from testifying whenever counsel see fit. Any suggestion to the contrary is chimerical. United States v. Poe, 352 F.2d 639, 641, (D.C. Cir. 1965); Sims v. Lane, 411 F.2d 661 (7th Cir. 1969). We perceive no need for courts in post conviction hearings to delve into the processes by which an attorney and his client determine whether the defendant should waive his right to testify. [7] [4] The defendant is free to accept or reject counsel to aid in his defense. Faretta v. California, supra . When the defendant accepts counsel to conduct the defense, the decision whether to assert or waive certain constitutional rights of the defendant is delegated to the attorney. Henry v. Mississippi, 379 U.S. 443, 451 (1965). This Court has rejected the contention that the defendant has a constitutional right to be actively represented in the courtroom by counsel and by himself. Moore v. State, 83 Wis.2d 285, 265 N.W.2d 540 (1978). [5-7] We conclude that the decision whether to testify should be made by the defendant after consulting with counsel. But we also conclude that counsel, in the absence of the express disapproval of the defendant on the record during the pretrial or trial proceedings, may waive the defendant's right to testify. If counsel waives the defendant's right to testify, and that decision was prejudicial to the defendant, the objection of the defendant should be on the failure to obtain the effective assistance of counsel. [8] The Illinois Supreme Court has focused upon the issue presented here, and the problem of second-guessing by the defendant after his conviction. The line between vigorous persuasion and coercion is a fine one; the lawyer is obligated not to present testimony that he is satisfied is not true, and he cannot call upon the trial judge to make the decision for him. . . . By hypothesis, in every case in which the issue is raised, the lawyer's advice will in retrospect appear to the defendant to have been bad advice, and he will stand to gain if he can succeed in establishing that he did not testify because his lawyer refused to permit him to do so. People v. Brown, 54 Ill.2d 21, 24, 294 N.E.2d 285 (1973). In that case the court held that in the absence of a contemporaneous assertion by the defendant of his right to testify at the trial, the trial judge properly denied a post conviction hearing on the issue. [8] There is nothing in the record to suggest that at the time of the trial, the defendant refused to acquiesce in her trial counsel's decision not to put her on the stand. The record at the trial is silent, and the record on the post conviction motion merely shows that although she disagreed with her attorney's decision, she reluctantly accepted his advice. She also had adequate opportunity before the trial to raise her objection. The defendant was in the chambers with counsel and the trial judge when the question as to whether she would testify arose. She chose not to speak when her attorney told the trial judge that he did not expect her to take the stand. She said later that she did not speak because she did not understand her attorney's reasoning. It is apparent that even at that late date, she was relying upon her attorney's advice and accepted that advice. We do not believe that either this court, or trial courts, are in a position to determine whether the criminal defendant accepted counsel's advice, or was deprived of the right to testify when the trial record is silent on the question. We decline to recommend that a trial judge, sua sponte advise, a defendant of the right to testify. Such admonition is subject to abuse in interpretation and may provoke substantial judicial participation that could frustrate a thoughtfully considered decision by the defendant and counsel who are designing trial strategy. [9, 10] The fundamental purpose in requiring that the accused be afforded a lawyer at every critical stage of the prosecution is to ensure that the defendant's constitutional rights are jealously guarded. We in no way mean to hinder the defendant's right to testify. If counsel determines that it is not advisable for the defendant to testify and the defendant acquiesces in that decision, then the right will be deemed waived. If on the other hand the defendant at the time of the trial raises his objection in the record before the trial court, he must be given the option to testify. We will not determine when advice stops and the refusal to permit a defendant to testify begins in post conviction proceedings based on a silent record. By the Court.  Order affirmed. SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, J. ( dissenting ). As I read the majority opinion, it holds: The criminal defendant has a federal constitutional due process right to testify in her own behalf. The decision whether to testify should be made by the defendant personally after consultation with counsel. Although the right to testify is important, it is not so fundamental that it can only be waived in open court on the record by the defendant. Defense counsel's failure to call defendant to testify constitutes a waiver of the defendant's right to testify unless the defendant expressly advises the trial court on the record at pretrial proceedings or during the trial of her wish to testify. If counsel waives defendant's right to testify and defendant after trial asserts that she did not consent to the waiver, defendant's recourse is to move to set aside the conviction on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel, if the waiver was prejudicial to the defendant. The majority has in effect created a third category of constitutional rights, namely, an important constitutional right which lies somewhere between a fundamental right, which only the defendant may personally waive, and a less fundamental constitutional right labeled a trial or tactical decision, which is left exclusively to the determination of defense counsel without any necessity for consultation with or concurrence by the defendant. The majority puts the right to testify into this new third category. I think the majority's creation of a third category of constitutional rights labeled important constitutional rights just adds to the present confusion caused by the existence of two categories of rights: fundamental and tactical. As the state's brief wisely points out, courts have a difficult time determining whether a particular right is fundamental or tactical because there appears to be no authoritative standard by which to determine into which category a particular right is to be placed. Now the majority adds a third category of rights without establishing any guidelines to determine which rights fit into this category and without, as I shall discuss further, making rights in this third category significantly different from those in the tactical rights category. I can understand why the majority is reluctant to relegate the right to testify to the category of a tactical trial decision completely within counsel's control. The decision whether to testify is a matter of higher quality and dignity than trial happenings such as whether to object to evidence. Wright v. Estelle, 572 F.2d 1071, 1078 (5th Cir. 1978) (Godbold, J. dissenting). A fundamental requisite of due process is the opportunity to be heard. Wisconsin v. Constantineau, 400 U.S. 433, 437 (1971). A primary element of the defendant's opportunity to be heard is the right to offer testimony, including the defendant's own story. In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 273 (1948); Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 294 (1973); Dawson, Due Process v. Defense Counsel's Unilateral Waiver of Defendant's Right to Testify, 3 Hastings Const. L.Q. 517, 525-529 (1976). In at least one respect the majority correctly treats the important constitutional right to testify like a fundamental right  the decision whether to exercise or waive the right is to be made by the defendant, not counsel. Mr. Chief Justice Burger, concurring in Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 93, n. 1 (1977), distinguished those decisions which rest with defense counsel and those which rest with the defendant. He commented [o]nly such basic decisions as whether to plead guilty, waive a jury or testify in one's own behalf are ultimately for the accused to make. For this statement the Chief Justice cited the American Bar Association Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to the Prosecution Function and the Defense Function. Sec. 5.2 of Standards Relating to the Defense Function, pp. 237-238 (App. Draft 1971), provides as follows: 5.2 Control and direction of the case. (a) Certain decisions relating to the conduct of the case are ultimately for the accused and others are ultimately for defense counsel. The decisions which are to be made by the accused after full consultation with counsel are: (i) what plea to enter; (ii) whether to waive jury trial; (iii) whether to testify in his own behalf. (b) The decisions on what witnesses to call, whether and how to conduct cross-examination, what jurors to accept or strike, what trial motions should be made, and all other strategic and tactical decisions are the exclusive province of the lawyer after consultation with his client. (c) If a disagreement on significant matters of tactics or strategy arises between the lawyer and his client, the lawyer should make a record of the circumstances, his advice and reasons, and the conclusion reached. The record should be made in a manner which protects the confidentiality of the lawyer-client relation. The commentary to sec. 5.2 makes clear the intent of the draftsmen that the right to testify can be waived only by the defendant personally:  a. Allocation of decision-making power The history of the criminal process in our system and the rights vested in an accused under the Constitution mark out certain basic decisions as belonging to the client; other decisions fall within the province of the lawyer. . . . . . . In making each of these decisions  whether to plead guilty, whether to waive jury trial, and whether to testify  the accused should have the full and careful advice of his lawyer. Although counsel should not demand that his own view of the desirable course be followed, he is free to engage in fair persuasion and to urge his considered professional opinion on his client. Ultimately, however, because of the fundamental nature of these three decisions, crucial in such basic matters governing his own fate, the decisions on these matters belong to the accused. Id. at 238-239. I read this court's decision in State v. Harper, 57 Wis.2d 543, 557, n. 8, 205 N.W.2d 1 (1973), as adopting standard 5.2 of the American Bar Association Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to the Defense Function (Approved Draft 1971). This court should not now move away from Standard 5.2. [1] The state argues that the decision whether to testify must be left to counsel because rarely is the accused as capable as the attorney of making a knowing and intelligent choice in the matter. I do not think the issue can be determined by looking at whether counsel or defendant is more capable of making the choice. The defendant's liberty is at stake  not counsel's. It seems to me that our concepts of freedom of choice, of fairness to the individual and of respect for the individual mandate that we recognize the defendant's right to make the significant decision whether to testify under oath. Although the majority opinion recognizes the defendant's right to decide personally whether to testify, the majority opinion then surprisingly concludes that counsel can waive the right, just as counsel can waive constitutional rights which are tactical trial decisions. [2] The majority concludes that there is a waiver of this important constitutional right if the defendant fails to stand up at trial or pretrial proceedings and make known to the trial court her wish to take the stand. If the defendant fails to object on the record to counsel's failure to call her to the stand, the defendant is bound by counsel's action. I think it is unrealistic to impose such an obligation on the defendant. I would expect that no defendants other than those who are also attorneys or who are very experienced in criminal judicial proceedings would stand up at a trial or at a pretrial proceeding and do battle with defense counsel over the question of whether the defendant should testify. Because the majority opinion is so quick to find defendant's waiver of this important constitutional right, it appears that the majority is treating the defendant's important constitutional right the same as a tactical trial decision. The majority fails to describe the difference between the trial court's role when defendant stands up to disagree with defense counsel on defendant's testifying and the trial court's role when defendant disagrees with defense counsel on tactical trial decisions. The majority fails to describe what the trial court is to do when the defendant makes known her disagreement with defense counsel as to her testifying; I assume that the trial court cannot prohibit the defendant from testifying. Nor does the majority opinion tell us what the obligations of defense counsel are in advising a defendant of her constitutional right to testify or not to testify or in advising the trial court in the event of an irreconcilable disagreement between counsel and client. But the majority does offer the defendant a way out of the waiver trap, saying: If the counsel waives the defendant's right to testify, and that decision was prejudicial to the defendant [3] the objection of the defendant should be on the failure to obtain the effective assistance of counsel. This language leaves unclear whether the majority is merely applying the general rule relating to ineffective counsel where tactical trial decisions are concerned or whether the majority is saying that counsel's failure to advise the defendant that she had a constitutional right to decide personally whether or not to testify and that she need not abide by counsel's advice on this decision, in and of itself, constitutes ineffective representation, unless the defendant knew of her right to testify against counsel's advice or under the circumstances should have known of her right to testify. In the case at bar, after the verdict, newly retained defense counsel moved for a new trial on the ground of ineffective trial counsel, specifying that trial counsel did not allow the defendant to testify. In this motion for a new trial the defendant claimed that counsel had made a strategic error in not having her testify. Counsel did not raise the issue of defendants' unknowingly and unintentionally waiving her constitutional right to testify. The trial court held a hearing on the issue, and the defendant and trial counsel testified at this hearing. The trial court concluded that the attorney's decision not to have the defendant testify was sound trial strategy and that the charge of ineffective counsel was not proved. The trial court said: . . . The chief thrust of defendant's motion [for a new trial] is to incompetence of counsel because the client did not testify. It is apparent to the Court that the client had recently been convicted of the crime of adultery in another Court in this county. This conviction could have been presented to the jury to impeach her testimony had she testified. It was necessary for trial counsel to weigh this fact. In fact, the testimony shows he did this. The testimony further shows that these young persons were hanging around her place for one reason or other, a number of them, and to get this adultery before the jury, any trial counsel would shiver in his boots to have that brought before the jury with these young men testifying. As the Supreme Court said in the Simmons case [57 Wis.2d 285], we believe, however, that an attack on professional competence of another attorney should [not] be undertaken lightly, and should not be predicated upon post-conviction. Counsel's preference for what he might have done in the same situation; and again at page 299. There has been a failure to show that the trial conduct was the result of incompetence and not sound trial strategy. Certainly, I don't believe any counsel of any competence whatsoever would have placed this woman on the stand under the circumstances of this case in view of the testimony which he knew very well was to be brought out on the trial. . . . Counsel tried this case, the Court is very familiar with the case, and believes that the case was properly presented when he was faced with the facts he had. . . . [R. 123-124]. In resolving the motion for a new trial the trial court was properly concerned with the question of trial strategy which had been raised; the trial court was not concerned with the constitutional right to testify, an issue which had not been raised. Under the established rules applicable to challenging convictions on the ground of ineffective counsel where tactical trial decisions are concerned, the challenge is decided not on the ground that counsel failed to advise the client of a particular constitutional right or on the ground that counsel did not heed the client's wishes on such tactical trial decisions, but rather on the ground that under all the circumstances, the representation was not equal to that which the ordinarily prudent lawyer, skilled and versed in criminal law, would give to clients who had privately retained his services. State v. Harper, 57 Wis.2d 543, 557, 205 N.W.2d 1 (1973). The defendant's post-conviction motion under sec. 974.06 raises issues that were not raised in her previous motion for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The defendant asserts in her 974.06 motion papers that she told her trial attorney that she wanted to testify, that her attorney told her not to testify, that she was not informed that she had a constitutional right to testify or that the final decision whether to testify was hers; and that she would have testified if she had known that she had that right. In her 974.06 motion the defendant is contending that she did not voluntarily and knowingly accede to counsel's advice and that trial counsel in fact prevented her from testifying. The trial court mistakenly concluded that the files and records of this action [the 974.06 motion] conclusively show that the defendant is entitled to no relief for the reason that all the matters raised by the defendant in this motion were raised . . . [by her prior motion for a new trial] and were decided against the defendant . . . . By affirming the trial court's order summarily dismissing the 974.06 motion based on a constitutional right to testify, the majority is in effect applying the same rules applicable to challenging convictions on the grounds of ineffective counsel where tactical trial decisions are concerned to defendant's waiver of the right to testify. Thus the majority is treating the right to testify, which it characterizes as an important constitutional right, in the same way as it would treat a tactical trial decision. I suggested previously that the majority opinion might be interpreted as saying that counsel's preventing the defendant from exercising her important constitutional right to testify is conduct which in and of itself constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. I conclude that apparently the majority did not intend this interpretation, because the majority affirms the trial court's summary dismissal of defendant's 974.06 motion instead of granting defendant's request that this court remand the cause to the trial court to take testimony on the factual issue raised. I believe defendant's motion alleges facts which, if true, would entitle her to relief and that therefore the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing. The majority opinion, without giving the defendant an opportunity to be heard on the issue, concludes that although she disagreed with her attorney's decision, she reluctantly accepted his advice. I would remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the defendant intentionally relinquished or abandoned a known right. I therefore dissent.