Court Opinion

ID: 9681701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:55:01.851418+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:35.497611
License: Public Domain

DOUGLAS, Judge
(dissenting).
The offense occurred on May 1,1974. On June 27, 1974, appellant contracted with a Fort Worth attorney, Jack Beech, to represent him. On September 16,1974, a motion for a speedy trial was filed and the trial was set for November 5, 1974. Appellant requested and received a continuance on November 5 because his attorney, Jack Beech, had been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in DeWitt County. Appellant’s trial was reset for December 11, 1974..
On the morning of December 11, Max Blankenship, an attorney and employee of Jack Beech, appeared before the trial court and requested a continuance on behalf of appellant. This motion was made because attorney Beech had been admitted to the hospital on December 10, 1974, due to the recent and severe aggravation of a back injury.
In support of his sworn motion for continuance appellant testified that he had hired Beech not Blankenship and that he felt that Beech was more familiar with his case. Appellant stated that he had talked with Blankenship only two or three times about his case and that those conferences were during court appearances. Appellant stated that the most Blankenship had done on his ease was attend the pretrial hearing with Beech and file some motions relating to his case. Appellant testified that he had discussed his case with Beech once or twice a week since June, 1974.
In support of the motion for continuance Max Blankenship testified that he had been employed by Beech on a full time basis since October, 1974, and that he had not discussed this case with appellant before the initial motion for continuance in November. Blankenship stated that although he had prepared and filed some motions in appellant’s case none required knowledge of the particular facts of appellant’s case. He stated that in his opinion it would be in appellant’s best interest to be represented by Beech who had more experience, qualifications as a trial lawyer, and familiarity with the case. Blankenship also testified that he had appeared in court prepared only to argue the motion for continuance and that he was due in court in an adjacent county to resume jury selection in another case. He stated that the judge in that case had given him permission to request the continuance in appellant’s case but expected him to return to trial in his court.
The trial court gave appellant until 1:00 p. m. to acquaint Blankenship with the facts of his case. Appellant excepted to this ruling.
During the hearing on appellant’s motion for new trial, held on December 30, 1974, Beech testified that he had been employed by appellant, that he had entered the hospital the day before the trial and was in traction and under medication on the day of the trial. He stated that he had tried more felony trials than had Blankenship, that a large percentage of these trials had been drug cases, that he was generally a more experienced trial lawyer than Blankenship and, therefore, less likely to make mistakes at trial. He testified that he had grown up in Parker County and would be more familiar with the people and the jury panel than would Blankenship who had never been a resident there. He also stated that he had interviewed the key police witness and would have more insight into his testimony than would Blankenship who had never talked with him before the trial. Beech testified that when preparing a motion Blankenship consulted with him and not the client on the substance of the motion. He also stated that Blankenship was an employee and not a partner of his *728firm and that Blankenship had been with him only a short time. An affidavit by Dr. George Naugles recited that he was on the staff of White Settlement Hospital and that he had treated Jack Beech for some ten years. An x-ray of the back showed that Beech had a narrow space between two vertebrae which indicated a ruptured disc. He ordered Beech to the hospital on the 10th of December, 1974. Beech was being given the drug norflex and he could not function properly with or without medication.
Although the disposition of a motion for continuance lies within the sound discretion of the trial court, Chance v. State, 528 S.W.2d 605 (Tex.Cr.App.1975), if the object of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is to be met, an appellant should be allowed representation of his own choosing. Chandler v. Fretag, 348 U.S. 3, 75 S.Ct. 1, 99 L.Ed. 4 (1954). This is especially so when a request for such representation is not unreasonable and would not unduly hinder the administration of the trial court.
In this instance, appellant presented a verified motion for continuance. Appellant had previously requested only one other continuance. The testimony showed that neither request for continuance had been due to any lack of diligence or preparation on the part of appellant or his attorney, but rather due to circumstances beyond either’s control. The record shows that appellant had hired Beech several months before the trial, that Beech had discussed the case with appellant on a continuing basis and that he was more familiar with the case than was Blankenship.
The evidence given at the motion for continuance also supports appellant’s contention that his retained counsel was hospitalized and that Blankenship was an employee not a partner in Beech’s office. The record also shows that Blankenship, at the beginning of appellant’s trial, was in the midst of another trial and was not free to concentrate on appellant’s case. There is no indication in the record that the motion for continuance was an effort on appellant’s part to contravene his earlier motion for a speedy trial or that the attorney’s illness was feigned in any way.
The nature of the offense and record of the trial would indicate that the morning given to Blankenship to familiarize himself with the facts of the case would not be sufficient time to prepare an adequate case for the appellant.
We should hold that in this instance the trial court abused its discretion in forcing appellant to trial without benefit of counsel of his own choosing.
The judgment should be reversed and the cause remanded.
ONION, P. J., concurs in this dissent.