Court Opinion

ID: 9768533
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 06:07:46.715962+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:41.765457
License: Public Domain

CLINTON, Judge,
concurring.
Like Judge Meyers, I join the opinion of the Court. I add these remarks in response to his concurring opinion, in which he advocates we hold appellant had no right to counsel at his “preliminary initial appearance” because by that time adversarial judicial proceedings had not begun.
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, § 10, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, guarantee that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions ” the accused shall have “the Assistance of Counsel for his defence,” and “the right of being heard by himself or counsel, or both[,]” respectively.1
*723On the question of when the right to counsel must be honored in the course of a “criminal prosecution,” the prevailing federal view is derived from the principle laid down in Poivell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, at 69, 53 S.Ct. 55, at 64, 77 L.Ed. 158, at 170 (1932), that one accused of crime “requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him.”2 Thus the right “attaches” when accusatory proceedings are initiated against him — indiscriminately described as “adversary judicial proceedings” and “judicial criminal proceedings,” Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, at 688, 92 S.Ct. 1877, at 1882, 1883, 32 L.Ed.2d 411, at 417 (1972) (but right to counsel under Wade and Gilbert inapplicable to preindictment or pre-charge show-up); “judicial proceedings” and “adversary proceedings,” Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, at 399, 401, 97 S.Ct. 1232, at 1239, 1240, 51 L.Ed.2d 424, at 436, 438 (1977) (initiated in one place by arrest on warrant, booking and “arraignment” thereon before a judge who advised him of Miranda rights and committed to jail to await transfer to another place);3 “adversary judicial criminal proceedings,” Moore v. Illinois, 434 U.S. 220, at 228, 98 S.Ct. 458, at 464-465, 54 L.Ed.2d 424, at 433 (1977) (rejecting view that corporeal identification conducted without counsel excludable only if made after indictment, because “prosecution” commenced with filing of complaint followed by “preliminary hearing [to] determine ... probable cause to bind [accused] over to grand jury and to set bail”).4
*724As the Supreme Court recognized in Kirby v. Illinois, supra:
“... But the point is that, while members of the Court have differed as to the existence of the right to counsel in the contexts of some of the above cases, all of those cases have involved points of time at or after the initiation of adversary judicial criminal proceedings — whether by way of formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment.”
Id., 406 U.S. at 689, 92 S.Ct., at 1882, 32 L.Ed.2d, at 417 (first emphasis in original). Later in Breiver v. Williams, supra, the Supreme Court added: or arrest on warrant and arraignment thereon5 Accord: Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625, at 629, 106 S.Ct. 1404, at 1407, 89 L.Ed.2d 631, at 638 (1985) (magisterial arraignment signals initiation of adversary judicial proceedings and thus attachment of Sixth Amendment right to counsel).6
Thus, all things considered, resolution of the issue in the instant cause does not turn on whether “the State has filed the kind of accusatory pleading upon which a conviction might lawfully be based[,]” as Judge Meyers would have it. See page 721. Although it is *725clear enough that the Supreme Court regards as a “formal charge” a sworn complaint under its rules and would under our own rules, see note 1, ante, that term is not a talisman for invoking constitutional rights.
For Sixth Amendment purposes the Supreme Court has made clear that an arrest with a warrant (Breiver v. Williams) or without a warrant (Michigan v. Jackson) followed by an arraignment thereon initiates “adversary judicial criminal proceedings.” But that question is “distinct from the question whether the arraignment itself is a critical stage requiring the presence of counsel, absent a valid waiver.” Michigan v. Jackson, supra, 475 U.S. at 629, n. 3, 106 S.Ct., at 1407, n. 3, 89 L.Ed.2d, at 638, n. 3.7 After a magisterial arraignment “government efforts to elicit information from the accused, including interrogation, represent ‘critical stages’ at which the Sixth Amendment applies, [citations omitted].” Id., 475 U.S. at 630, 106 S.Ct., at 1408, 89 L.Ed.2d, at 638.
Because I agree the PIA did not constitute a critical stage in the circumstances presented here, I join the per curiam majority opinion in this cause. Unlike Judge Meyers, however, I believe the majority does well to eschew any holding that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not inhere at a PIA because judicial adversarial proceedings have not yet begun as of that time.

. In Texas the traditional conceptual scope of a "criminal prosecution,” once memorialized in statutes, is "the whole or any part of the procedure which the law provides for bringing offenders to justice;" the terms “criminal action” and "criminal accusation” are used in the same sense. See State v. Eaves, 800 S.W.2d 220, at 223, n. 11 (Tex.Cr.App.1990), and authorities cited therein. That issuing a warrant for arrest based upon a complaint pursuant to Articles 15.-01, 15.03, 15.04 and 15.05, V.A.C.C.P., and thereafter carrying out duties imposed by Article 15.17, V.A.C.C.P., including informing accused of right to counsel and to an examining trial, are part of such procedure for "bringing offenders to justice" is self-evident. See Nehman v. State, 721 S.W.2d 319, 322 (Tex.Cr.App.1986).
While lacking a similar definition, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to "govern the procedure in all criminal proceedings [in federal courts],” id., Rule 1, are intended to "provide for the just determination of every criminal proceeding,” id., Rule 2. The first procedure prescribed for "bringing offenders to justice” is to swear out a complaint upon which an arrest warrant or summons may issue "if there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that defendant has committed it[,]” id., Rules 3 and 4, followed by arrest of the accused. The second is an initial appearance before the magistrate during which the duties vary according to classification of the offense, but in any event implicate the right to counsel; the third procedure is a preliminary examination, unless *723waived. Rule 5(b) and (c); Rule 5.1 and Rule 58.
Thereafter, in each jurisdiction during the conduct of "criminal prosecutions” there are, of course, other pretrial procedures required or available; though called by similar names, the purpose and function of which are not necessarily the same.
All emphasis is mine throughout unless otherwise indicated.

. Rejecting any notion that the constitutional principle is limited to presence of counsel at trial, the Supreme Court has explained:
"... 'It is central to that principle that in addition to counsel's presence of 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.’ United States v. Wade, supra, 388 U.S. at 226, 87 S.Ct. at 1932.”
Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1, at 9, 90 S.Ct. 1999, at 2003, 26 L.Ed.2d 387, at 396 (1970).

. An “arraignment” in one jurisdiction, there Iowa, may not be the same type of "proceeding” in another, for example, in Alabama. See Hamilton v. Alabama, 368 U.S. 52, 54, at n. 4, 82 S.Ct. 157, 159, at n. 4, 7 L.Ed.2d 114, at 116, n. 4 (1961) (arraignment has different consequences in various jurisdictions); see also Fed. Rule Crim.Pro. 10 and 11.
Accordingly, one must examine the cases with some care before likening another to our own particularly focussed pretrial “arraignment” required by Article 26.01 and prescribed in Articles 26.02, V.A.C.C.P. But compare "Forty Eight Hour Hearing” formerly prescribed in Harris County, described in Ex parte Clear, 573 S.W.2d 224, at 226-227 (Tex.Cr.App.1978), with an Article 15.17 proceeding before a magistrate — elsewhere sometimes called an "arraignment,” e.g., Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625, 106 S.Ct. 1404, 89 L.Ed.2d 631 (1986) (passim).

.More particularly, for near unanimous Supreme Court (two justices concurring with opinions), Justice Powell wrote:
"The Court of Appeals ... read Kirby as holding that evidence of corporeal identification conducted in the absence of defense counsel must be excluded only if the identification is made after the defendant is indicted, [emphasis in original; record cites omitted]. Such a reading cannot be squared with Kirby itself, which held that an accused’s rights under Wade and Gilbert attach to identifications conducted ‘at or after the initiation of adversary judicial criminal proceedings,’ including proceedings instituted 'by way of formal charges [or] preliminary hearing.’ [citations omitted]. The prosecution in this case was commenced under Illinois law when the victims’ complaint was filed in court, [citation omitted]. The purpose of the preliminary hearing was to determine whether there was probable cause to bind petitioner over to the grand jury and to set bail. Petitioner had the right to oppose the prosecution at that hearing by moving to dismiss the charges and to suppress the evidence against him. [citation omitted]. He faced counsel for the State, who elicited the victim’s identification, summarized the State’s other evidence against petitioner, and urged that the State be given more time to marshal its evidence. It is plain that 'the government ha[d] committed itself to prosecute,’ and that petitioner found 'himself faced with the prosecuto-rial forces of organized society, and immersed in the intricacies of substantive and procedural criminal law.’ Kirby, supra, 406 U.S. at 689, 92 S.Ct., at 1882. The State candidly concedes that this preliminary hearing marked the ‘initiation of adversary judicial criminal proceedings' against petitioner [record references *724omittcd], and it could hardly contend otherwise. The Court of Appeals therefore erred in holding that petitioner's rights under Wade and Gilbert had not yet attached at the time of the preliminary hearing.”
Id., 434 U.S. at 228-229, 98 S.Ct., at 464-465, 54 L.Ed.2d, at 433-434.

. "There can be no doubt in the present case that judicial proceedings had been initiated against Williams ... A warrant had been issued for his arrest, he had been arraigned on that warrant before a judge ..., and he had been committed by the judge to confinement in jail.”
Id., 430 U.S. at 399, 97 S.Ct., at 1239-1240, 51 L.Ed.2d, at 436.
In United States v. Goveia, 467 U.S. 180, 104 S.Ct. 2292, 81 L.Ed.2d 146 0984), the Supreme Court noted that subsequent cases had confirmed the view that the right to counsel attaches with “initiation of adversary proceedings,” citing, e.g., Moore v. Illinois, supra, 434 U.S. at 226-227, 98 S.Ct., at 463-464, 54 L.Ed.2d, at 432-434 and Brewer v. Williams, supra, 430 U.S. at 398-399, 97 S.Ct., at 1239-1240, 51 L.Ed.2d at 435-437.

. The opinion of the Supreme Court actually decides two causes ultimately consolidated for purposes of appeal by the Supreme Court of Michigan: People v. Bladel and People v. Jackson, 421 Mich. 39, 365 N.W.2d 56 (1984).
The respective homicide offenses arc not related, but each cause presents a common question, to-wit:
"Whether the rule of Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981) 'applies to a defendant who has been formally charged with a crime and who has requested appointment of counsel at his arraignment.’ ”
The court below held that postarraignment confessions were improperly obtained in violation of the Sixth Amendment because both Bladel and Jackson "requested counsel during their arraignments, but were not afforded an opportunity to consult with counsel before the police initiated further interrogations.” Michigan v. Jackson, supra, at 626, S.Ct., at 1406, L.Ed.2d, at 636, quoting from 421 Mich., at 67-68, 365 N.W.2d, at 69. The Supreme Court agreed with that holding. Ibid.
In Jackson’s case, the Michigan Supreme Court points out that since he was arrested for a felony without a warrant, the arresting officers were required by a Michigan statute "to bring him before a magistrate for arraignment without unnecessary delay." 365 N.W.2d at 70. Bladel was first arrested, questioned and released without being charged; when investigating officers later obtained evidence tending to incriminate him, the officers caused him to be arrested in another state, and upon his waiving extradition and being brought back and questioned, Bladel was arraigned before a magistrate, during which he requested appointment of counsel.
In those contexts, the Supreme Court justified its application of Edwards v. Arizona to the Sixth Amendment right to counsel — "at least after the initiation of formal charges," viz:
"Indeed, after a formal accusation has been made — and a person who had previously been just a 'suspect’ has become an ‘accused ’ within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment — the constitutional right to the assistance of counsel is of such importance that the police may no longer employ techniques for eliciting information from an uncounseled defendant that might have been entirely proper at an earlier stage of their investigation.”
Id., 475 U.S. at 632, 106 S.Ct., at 1409, 89 L.Ed.2d, at 639. And after rejecting more opposing arguments on the subject, the Supreme Court concluded and held:
"... We conclude that the assertion [of right to counsel] is no less significant, and the need for additional safeguards is no less clear, when the request for counsel is made at an arraignment and when the basis for the claim is the Sixth Amendment. We thus hold that, if police initiate interrogation after a defendant's assertion, at an arraignment or similar proceeding, of his right to counsel, any waiver of the defendant’s right to counsel for that police-initiated interrogation is invalid.”
Id., 475 U.S. at 636, 106 S.Ct., at 1411, 89 L.Ed.2d, at 642.

. "[A]fter the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings, the Sixth Amendment provides a right to counsel at a 'critical stage' even where there is no interrogation and no Fifth Amendment applicability. See United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967)....” Michigan v. Jackson, supra, 475 U.S. at 632, n. 5, 106 S.Ct., at 1409, n. 5, 89 L.Ed.2d, at 640, n. 5. Furthermore, the right to counsel at a “critical stage” does not depend on a request by the defendant. Id., at n. 6.