Court Opinion

ID: 9850290
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:54:41.214601+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:34.628138
License: Public Domain

Berry, President,
dissenting in part and concurring in part:
I dissent from the statement contained in the majority opinion that: “The reasoning of the court in the Mempa and Walkling cases indicates clearly that the criminal defendant is entitled to the assistance of counsel at any proceeding at which his probation is revoked.” Apparently, the majority opinion rests the disposition of this case on this statement which will govern all future cases where the criminal defendant did not have the assistance of counsel at the time his probation was revoked regardless of whether sentence had been previously imposed and the criminal trial completed or where the imposition of sentence had been suspended until after the revocation of probation.
*518It is true that in the instant case sentence was not imposed until after the revocation of probation and I agree with the majority that the assistance of counsel must be provided unless waived when the defendant’s sentence is imposed, as that is part of the trial of a criminal case. The entire matter of probation after conviction, either by guilty plea or verdict of the jury and sentence by the court, is an act of grace. The statement in the majority opinion, to which I dissent, is based on the decision of the consolidated case of Mempa v. Rhay and Walkling v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles, 389 U. S. 128, 19 L. Ed. 2d 336, 88 S. Ct. Rep. 254. I do not think the Mempa and Walkling cases are authority for such statement. In that consolidated case the defendant Mempa pleaded guilty with counsel and was placed on probation by the judge without the imposition of a sentence, and at the revocation hearing he was not represented by counsel. His probation was revoked and he was then sentenced. Under the applicable law in the State of Washington, which is entirely different from the law governing such cases in this State, the trial judge was required to impose the maximum sentence provided by law for the offense for which he was convicted; and furthermore, under the Washington law the sentencing judge was also required by statute to recommend the length of time such person should serve. It was held in that case that an attorney should have been present to point out matters which the court should take into consideration in making its recommendations,
One of the reasons stated in the consolidated case of Mempa and Walkling for requiring the assistance of counsel was that under the Washington law it might result in the loss of appeal. While the reasoning behind this statement is somewhat obscure, it was stated at the end of the opinion that: “All we decide here is that a lawyer must be afforded at this proceeding whether it be labeled a revocation of probation or a deferred sentencing.” That statement clearly refers to such procedure under the Washington law, and in the summary statement in the Supreme Court Reporter it is made abundantly clear, wherein it is *519stated that the reason for the invalidity of the proceeding in that case was: “* * * in view of apparent necessity of aid of counsel to present cases as to sentences and to preserve certain legal rights which might otherwise be lost under Washington procedure.”
The statute dealing with the revocation of probation in this state, Code, 62-12-10, as amended, provides that if a person placed on probation violates the provisions of such probation he shall be “* * * brought before the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, for a prompt and summary hearing.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines the word “summary” in the following language: “The term used in connection with legal proceedings means a short, concise, and immediate proceeding.” No state is required to provide for probation of defendant after his being convicted of a crime, and if it does so it stipulates its terms and conditions. Where probation is provided for by statute it may not even require a hearing, but if a hearing is provided it must be held in the manner set forth even if it be summary. Hamrick v. Boles, 231 F. Supp. 507.
It has been held by the Supreme Court of the United States that probation is not a right guaranteed by the constitution but is an act of grace granted to one convicted of a crime, and may be coupled with such conditions as provided in the statute. In the absence of statutory provisions the probationer is not only not entitled to the assistance of counsel but is not entitled to any hearing on the revocation. Escoe v. Zerbst, 295 U. S. 490, 55 S. Ct. 818, 79 L. Ed. 1566.
In the case of Rose v. Haskins, 388 F. 2d 91, in which the defendant had been sentenced on two charges, placed on parole a total of three times on the two charges, and all paroles revoked, in discussing the case of Mempa v. Rhay, supra, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit stated: “We do not regard the recent decision of the Supreme Court in Mempa v. Rhay, 389 U. S. 128, 88 S. Ct. 254, 19 L. Ed. 2d 336 (1967) as throwing light on our problem. In that case sentencing in the state court had *520been deferred subject to probation. The case was still pending in the state court. The Supreme Court held that the defendant was entitled- to counsel at the sentencing when probation was revoked.” The case of Eason v. Dickson, 390 F. 2d 585 (1968), which involves a similar question to the one discussed here and which was also decided after the ease of Mempa v. Rhay, supra, in connection therewith stated in a footnote: “The status of this prisoner is unlike that of petitioner in Mempa v. Rhay, 389 U. S. 128, 88 S. Ct. 254, 19 L. Ed. 2d 336 (1967) whose sentence was ‘deferred subject to probation.’ Here, by contrast, sentence has already been imposed and the prisoner has been turned over to the Adult Authority. * * This clearly sets out the point I am making in this separate opinion, that, contrary to the statement contained in the majority opinion, the case of Mempa v. Rhay, supra, is not applicable where the sentence has already been imposed upon a criminal defendant and he is then placed on probation. If the probation is later revoked, counsel is not needed in every case unless the state law has a provision which requires the assistance of counsel. However, where a criminal defendant is placed on probation without sentence after his conviction by a jury or a plea of guilty and then violates the conditions of the probation, assistance of counsel should be provided if he is then to be sentenced after the revocation. This was the situation in the Mempa case and in the case at bar.
For the reasons stated herein, I am of the opinion that under West Virginia law the assistance of counsel is not required in all hearings dealing with the revocation of probation which has been granted to a criminal defendant after sentence has been imposed by the court.