Court Opinion

ID: 9846911
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:50:19.426365+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:57.017800
License: Public Domain

*264McCOMB, J.
I dissent. At the time of defendant’s appeal, the matter of appointment of counsel on appeal for indigents was governed by the decision of this court in People v. Hyde (1958) 51 Cal.2d 152 [331 P.2d 42], where it was stated that, upon application of an indigent defendant for counsel on appeal, the justices of the appellate court should undertake an investigation of the record in order to determine whether such counsel would be “helpful to the defendant or the court,” and, if it were concluded that no such benefit would accrue if counsel were appointed, should deny the application. (51 Cal. 2d 152,154.)
In Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353 [9 L.Ed.2d 811, 83 S.Ct. 814] it was decided that the denial of counsel on appeal by means of such a procedure constituted an “invidious discrimination” in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, for it required an indigent person to make a preliminary showing of merit without the aid of counsel before legal assistance on appeal would be afforded, whereas a person able to pay for counsel on appeal was not “forced to run this gantlet.” (372 U.S. 353, 357 [9 L.Ed2d 811, 814].) The court emphasized as the basis of its decision its concern for fundamental equality of opportunity between rich and poor. Observing that the indigent who failed to survive the “gantlet” would necessarily be compelled to prosecute his appeal without the assistance of counsel, it concluded : “There is lacking that equality demanded by the Fourteenth Amendment where the rich man, who appeals as of right, enjoys the benefit of counsel’s examination into the record, research of the law, and marshalling of arguments on his behalf, while the indigent, already burdened by a preliminary determination that his ease is without merit, is forced to shift for himself. The indigent, where the record is unclear or the errors are hidden, has only the right to a meaningless ritual, while the rich man has a meaningful appeal.” (372 U.S. 353, 358 [9 L.Ed.2d 811, 815].)
The Douglas decision clearly establishes that an application for counsel to present the appeal of an indigent must not be denied if such action will result in an “ invidious discrimination” between rich and poor. Further, the denial of an application is tainted by such discrimination when its sole basis is that of an investigation on the part of the appellate court of the nature contemplated in People v. Hyde, supra, 51 Cal.2d 152. However, the fact that such an investigation was undertaken in the instant case, as is reflected in the order of the *265Court of Appeal (see fn. 4 of the majority opinion), does not compel us to withhold from our consideration other circumstances surrounding the application which might cause us to conclude that its denial did not result in “invidious discrimination” against defendant.
In the instant case, defendant, through his filing of substantial briefs, his initiation of proceedings to require augmentation of the record on appeal, and his request to appear personally at oral argument, manifested an intention to proceed with his appeal in propria persona. Apparently, defendant sought to modify his position in this regard, and to make application for appointment of counsel, only after his request to be personally present at the time of oral argument had been denied. This modification was not even then complete, for defendant persisted in his request that he be allowed a personal appearance. Finally, and most importantly, the application was made on the day immediately preceding that scheduled for oral argument. There was no request that the cause be continued for oral argument so that counsel could adequately review the record and prepare for the argument. In sum, it appears that defendant’s application for appointment of counsel on appeal was little more than a request that counsel be appointed at the eleventh hour in order to make an oral presentation of the arguments presented by defendant’s pro se briefs.
Applying to the instant case the rationale of Douglas v. California, supra, 372 U.S. 353,1 am of the view that the denial of defendant’s belated application for appointment of counsel did not violate any right secured to him by the equal protection clause. A comparison of the position of the indigent with that of the “rich” man does, of course, reveal differences. The defendant who can afford legal assistance but nevertheless proceeds in propria persona prior to oral argument, then seeks to be represented by retained counsel, will in all probability be allowed such representation, for the state certainly has no cognizable interest to be protected in such an instance. However, ‘ ‘ as the United States Supreme Court pointed out in the Douglas case, absolute equality is not required; only ‘invidious discrimination’ denies equal protection.” (People v. Shipman (1965) 62 Cal.2d 226, 232 [42 Cal.Rptr. 1, 397 P.2d 993].) The rich defendant seeking to substitute counsel on appeal at the last moment places no burden thereby upon the People or the courts—assuming, of course, that the motion for such substitution is not accompanied by a request for continuance of oral argument. Further, it is to be presumed that counsel *266sought to be substituted in such circumstances is prepared in the premises. In the situation of the instant case, on the other hand, the granting of the request for appointment of counsel would produce one of two equally unsatisfactory results. Either the case would be argued at the scheduled date by counsel unprepared to make a presentation of the quality expected by his profession, or a continuance would have to be granted in order to allow adequate preparation. The first alternative is unthinkable; the second is clearly improper in view of the fact that the necessity for continuance derives wholly from the tardiness of defendant’s application for legal assistance.
The initiative for the procurement of counsel on appeal rests equally upon the rich man and the poor man. The defendant able to afford counsel must affirmatively contact such counsel and arrange for representation; the defendant unable to afford counsel must affirmatively contact the appellate court so that counsel may be assigned. Similarly, a defendant wishing to have counsel speak for him on appeal—whether or not that defendant can afford to retain such counsel—has the responsibility of exercising his initiative in a timely way so that counsel can be prepared to make argument at the time set therefor. The defendant, rich or poor, who fails to discharge that responsibility, pays the price in terms of the quality with which his ease is presented for appellate review.
From the foregoing, it appears that, applying the rationale of the Douglas case to the problem at hand, the Court of Appeal’s denial of defendant’s application for counsel on appeal did not result in a denial of equal protection of the laws.
For the foregoing reasons, I am of the view that the order to show cause should be discharged and the writ denied.