Court Opinion

ID: 9628629
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:27:21.074279+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:08.981813
License: Public Domain

Rosellini, J.
(concurring) — I believe that the rule which is implicit in the majority opinion is the just and proper rule in a case of this type. As I understand that rule, it is: If the record does not show that the court fully advised the defendant of his right to counsel and does not show that the defendant had prior or independent knowledge of the nature and extent of this right, it will be conclusively presumed that he did not competently and intelligently waive it.
While it is true that the burden is upon the defendant to show that he did not competently and intelligently waive his right to counsel, I do not believe that he should be required to prove a lack of knowledge on his part, for such proof would be impossible in most cases. If he can show that he was not advised of his rights, he has established a prima facie case of ignorance, and the burden shifts to the state to show that he had actual knowledge.
It would serve no useful purpose here to set forth again the reasoning which this court followed in deciding in In re Wilken v. Squier, 50 Wn. (2d) 58, 309 P. (2d) 746, that an indigent defendant has a right, under the constitution, to be advised of his right to counsel. I think it should be manifest that a fair trial can seldom be assured without the aid of counsel; that, as the constitutions of the United States and of this state recognize, equal justice requires that no man be denied counsel simply because he cannot afford it; and that the right of an indigent to have an attorney paid by the state if he desires one, is an empty right if he has no knowledge of it.
There is in the dissenting opinion an objection that we paraphrased RCW 10.40.030 in the Wilken case; but I do not think the paraphrasing departs in any way from the spirit of the statute. The rights of an indigent defendant are constitutional, and the statute reflects legislative confirmation of these rights, but they are not legislatively created.
The dissenting opinion suggests that we are holding that *172the'trial court loses jurisdiction of the cause if it fails to advise the defendant fully of his right-to counsel. I do not so understand our cases. It is true that the case is here upon a writ of habeas corpus, which contains an allegation that the defendant is being illegally held, and that the granting of such a writ ordinarily produces the release of the defendant. But the statute (RCW 7.36.130) specifically provides for the writ where it is alleged that a constitutional right of the defendant has been violated, even though he is held.under a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. In cases such as this, the defendant is not set free, but is ordered returned to the county in which he was convicted for a new trial. I see no jurisdictional question involved.