Court Opinion

ID: 9499416
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:48:06.833114+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:29.792276
License: Public Domain

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that a defendant’s consolidation hearing is not a critical stage of his prosecution. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
Roeur Van (“Van”) was tried for assault with intent to commit murder in a consolidated trial in Michigan state court with co-defendant Vanna Ket (“Ket”). The two men were originally indicted separately, and the prosecution moved to consolidate their trials along with two other co-defendants.1 Id. Unlike the other three defendants at the consolidation hearing, Van’s counsel did not appear on his behalf. Id. At the hearing, the prosecutor made legal arguments in favor of the state’s motion to consolidate. Van, a Cambodian immigrant with limited English skills and no legal training, stood silently throughout the hearing, and the state judge never even acknowledged Van’s presence in the room. The state judge ruled in the prosecution’s favor and consolidated the trials. Van was convicted of one count of assault with intent to commit murder and sentenced to fifteen to thirty years of imprisonment.
The Sixth Amendment ensures that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” U.S. Const. amend. VI. Where a defendant “is denied the presence of counsel at ‘a critical stage,’ ” we reverse his or her conviction under the Sixth Amendment. Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 695, 122 S.Ct. 1843, 152 L.Ed.2d 914 (2002) (quoting United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 659, 104 *317S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984)). We do not require that the defendant show any prejudice, and we do not inquire into what effect counsel’s absence had on the trial. Id. Rather, “ ‘the complete denial of counsel during a critical stage of a judicial proceeding mandates a presumption of prejudice,”’ and is “per se reversible error.” French v. Jones, 332 F.3d 430, 436, 438 (6th Cir.2003) (quoting Roe v. Flores Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 483, 120 S.Ct. 1029, 145 L.Ed.2d 985 (2000)). In these cases, counsel’s absence is “ ‘so likely to prejudice the accused that the cost of litigating the[ ] effect in a particular case is unjustified.’ ” Bell, 535 U.S. at 695, 122 S.Ct. 1843 (quoting Cronic, 466 U.S. at 658-59, 104 S.Ct. 2039)).
It follows that we may not inquire into the particulars of the case at bar when analyzing whether an event or proceeding constitutes a critical stage. The majority and concurrence address the critical stage question by examining the details of the case at bar and asking whether Van was prejudiced by his counsel’s absence under the particular facts of this case. By approaching the issue in this manner, they are engaging in an inquiry as to whether Van suffered prejudice. This approach does an end run around the rule that prejudice is presumed where one is denied counsel during a critical stage. Id. In our determination of whether a proceeding or event constitutes a critical stage, we must broadly examine whether an unrepresented defendant would be subject to an unacceptable risk of prejudice. Contrary to what the concurrence states, a “distant perspective” is exactly what is required when inquiring into whether a particular type of pre-trial proceeding constitutes a critical stage. Concurring Op. at 22.
There is no question that Van’s counsel was absent from the consolidation hearing. Thus, if the consolidation hearing is a critical stage of the prosecution, our path is clear — we must grant Van’s habeas petition under the Sixth Amendment. The task before us is to define what constitutes a critical stage and to determine (without inquiring into the particulars of Van’s case) whether a consolidation hearing qualifies as such.
A critical stage is “a step of a criminal proceeding ... that h[olds] significant consequences for the accused.” Id. at 696, 122 S.Ct. 1843 (footnote omitted). In determining whether a type of proceeding or event is a critical stage, we look at whether that particular stage has the “potential [for] substantial prejudice to [a] defendant’s rights.... ” United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 227, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967). Also helpful to our analysis is an examination of “whether the accused required aid in coping with legal problems or assistance in meeting his adversary.” United States v. Ash, 413 U.S. 300, 313, 93 S.Ct. 2568, 37 L.Ed.2d 619 (1973), quoted in Patterson v. Illinois, 487 U.S. 285, 298, 108 S.Ct. 2389, 101 L.Ed.2d 261 (1988). Where a proceeding is adversarial, “counsel [is] needed to render ‘Assistance’ in counterbalancing any ‘overreaching’ by the prosecution.” Id. at 314, 108 S.Ct. 2389.
We have said that the period from arraignment to trial is “ ‘perhaps the most critical period of the proceedings. . . .' " Mitchell v. Mason, 325 F.3d 732, 743 (6th Cir.2003) (quoting Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 57, 53 S.Ct. 55, 77 L.Ed. 158 (1932)). Because so much of what occurs during the pre-trial period may affect the ultimate outcome in a case, a variety of proceedings and events during the pretrial process have been identified as critical stages. See, e.g., Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 471, 101 S.Ct. 1866, 68 L.Ed.2d 359 (1981) (consent to a psychiatric interview); Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 236-37, 87 *318S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (pretrial lineup); White v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 59, 60, 83 S.Ct. 1050, 10 L.Ed.2d 193 (1963) (preliminary hearings); Mitchell, 325 F.3d at 748 (pretrial investigation); Sullivan v. Pitcher, 82 Fed.Appx. 162, 165 (6th Cir.2003) (unpublished) (plea hearing); United States v. Collins, 430 F.3d 1260, 1264 (10th Cir.2005) (competency hearing); United States v. Hamilton, 391 F.3d 1066, 1070 (9th Cir.2004) (suppression hearing). With the foregoing in mind, I examine the features of a consolidation hearing.
A defendant who is unrepresented by counsel at a consolidation hearing is exposed to a serious risk of prejudice. Although the decision as to whether a defendant will be tried alone or with co-defendants may affect the outcome of a case, an unrepresented accused may be unlikely to realize the consequences of failing to challenge a motion to consolidate. Thus, he or she may not challenge the motion even where the potential consequences in joining other defendants may be devastating to the unrepresented accused. For example, evidence of a co-defendant’s wrongdoing could lead the jury to the erroneous conclusion that the defendant is guilty. Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 539, 113 S.Ct. 933, 122 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993). A jury could erroneously convict “if essential exculpatory evidence that would be available to a defendant tried alone were unavailable in a joint trial.” Id. Other potential prejudice might arise if jointly tried defendants’ defenses are “mutually antagonistic.” Id. at 538, 113 S.Ct. 933.
The fact that joint trials are often favored at law highlights the need for counsel at the consolidation hearing. See id. at 537, 113 S.Ct. 933; M.C.R. 6.121, 1989 staff cmt. A judge is likely to consolidate unless the accused brings forth compelling reasons not to do so. Thus, the unrepresented defendant faces all the more difficulty in protecting himself or herself from the potential harms of a joint trial.
The consolidation hearing is adversarial. It takes place in a courtroom, in front of a judge, with the prosecution marshaling legal arguments in favor of the state’s position to join the defendants. See M.C.R. 6.121; M.C.R. 6.120. This is the very type of trial-like, adversarial setting where the unrepresented defendant is subject to substantial prejudice without “the guiding hand of counsel.” Wade, 388 U.S. at 225, 87 S.Ct. 1926 (quoting Powell, 287 U.S. at 69, 53 S.Ct. 55). At a consolidation hearing “the accused [is] confronted, just as at trial, by the procedural system, or by his expert adversary, or by both.” Ash, 413 U.S. at 310, 93 S.Ct. 2568. The judge listens to arguments, probes counsel, and renders a decision. In this setting, it is without question that an unrepresented defendant in a consolidation proceeding faces the potential for tremendous prejudice.
I would hold that a consolidation hearing does constitute a critical stage of the pretrial process, that under the Sixth Amendment a defendant is entitled to counsel at this proceeding, and that denial of counsel at this stage is per se reversible error. Because Van was undisputedly without representation at the consolidation hearing, I would grant Van’s petition for habe-as corpus. Accordingly, I dissent.

. The two other co-defendants ultimately pleaded guilty, and thus were not tried with Van and Ket.