Brown v. State

485 S.W.2d 424, 1972 Mo. LEXIS 1149
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 9, 1972
Docket56989
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 485 S.W.2d 424 (Brown v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. State, 485 S.W.2d 424, 1972 Mo. LEXIS 1149 (Mo. 1972).

Opinion

BRUCE NORMILE, Special Judge.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the trial court overruling appellant’s Motion to Vacate two separate sentences under Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R. The appeal having been taken to this court prior to January 1, 1972, the effective date of new Article V of the Constitution, jurisdiction is in this court pursuant to then Art. V, § 3 of the Missouri Constitution, V.A.M.S. Our review is “limited to a determination of whether the findings, conclusions and judgment of the trial court are clearly erroneous.” Rule 27.26(j). Crosswhite v. State, Mo., 426 S.W.2d 67; Warren v. State, Mo., 482 S.W.2d 497, 499.

On September 17, 1970, appellant Edward Wayne Brown entered pleas of guilty in the Circuit Court of Johnson County, Missouri, to the separate offenses of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s permission and breaking jail. He was thereupon sentenced by the court to a term of three years’ imprisonment on the motor vehicle charge and to a term of two years’ imprisonment on the jail break charge. The second sentence was ordered to run consecutively to the first sentence and appellant’s request for credit for jail time denied.

Appellant’s first point on this appeal charges ineffective assistance of his two court-appointed attorneys for their failure to timely apply to the trial court for a psychiatric evaluation under § 552.020, RSMo 1969, V.A.M.S., to determine if appellant were competent to freely and voluntarily enter his pleas of guilty to the two charges.

Section 552.020, subd. 1, provides that: “No person who as a result of mental disease or defect lacks capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his own defense shall be tried, convicted or sentenced for the commission of an offense, so long as the incapacity endures.” Section 552.020, subd. 2, provides that: “Whenever any judge or magistrate has reasonable cause to believe that the accused has a mental disease or defect, excluding fitness to proceed he shall, . ” order a psychiatric examination as further provided therein.

In fact, no such application was made in either of the appellant’s cases, nor did the court otherwise order such an examination. It is apparent, however, that none of the evidence relating to appellant’s alleged incompetence to proceed was presented to *427 the court prior to the acceptance of the guilty pleas.

The evidence at the hearing on the 27.26 motion included testimony from the appellant that he was under a great mental strain during his four months’ jail confinement prior to the arraignments, that he lost about seventeen pounds in weight and twice attempted suicide by slashing his wrists because he was mad at the sheriff about the food in the jail. Although he received medical attention to the wrists, appellant was not hospitalized for these injuries. Appellant also testified that he had received psychiatric attention for suicidal tendencies in 1962 when he was approximately twenty years old. Again in 1968 or ’69, he had a psychiatric evaluation and treatment while in confinement for a federal offense after cutting on some unidentified part of his body. As stated, the trial court was not aware of the above matters at the time of the arraignments.

At the 27.26 hearing, appellant also stated that his own behavior was quite unusual during that period in that he had turned himself in following his jail break. Appellant further testified, however, that he was fully aware at the arraignments of the nature of both charges against him, and that he understood the range of punishment that might be imposed upon him. Appellant did not testify that he lacked understanding of the proceedings or any ability to assist in his own defense.

At the 27.26 hearing, the sheriff who had appellant in custody for a four-month period testified that there was nothing unusual about appellant as compared with the other prisoners except for the wrist-slashing incident and the jail break. Appellant’s attorney on the motor vehicle charge conferred with appellant approximately ten times. His attorney on the jail break charge testified that he had adequate time and opportunity to visit with the appellant following his original appointment and that he had had at least four, and perhaps more, different conferences with him. Both attorneys were aware of the wrist-slashing incidents and discussed them with appellant. After learning of those incidents, one of his attorneys stressed to appellant that he could have a psychiatric evaluation as to his competence and that counsel would request it. However, appellant responded that he had previously had psychiatric evaluation, that he was not interested in any more, and that there was certainly nothing wrong with him mentally. Other testimony of the attorneys was that appellant could communicate with them and was able to inform them as to the facts in the various cases; that appellant seemed normal in attitude, demeanor and understanding on the day of the arraignments; that appellant certainly knew and understood what was going on at the time and understood the nature and extent of the charges against him; and that appellant was elated over the possibility of getting out of the county jail.

After the defendant’s plea of guilty to the jail breaking charge, his attorney did suggest to the court that the defendant was in need of psychiatric care. This was done in requesting that the sentences be made to run concurrently. The attorney also stated: “I think this individual is mixed up, he left jail and then turned himself in and I ask the Court to give consideration to these sentences running concurrently.” The court thereafter offered appellant the opportunity to withdraw his plea if he desired, but defendant-appellant declined. Allocution was then had and appellant was sentenced.

The trial court made findings at each arraignment that the appellant’s plea was voluntarily entered with a full understanding of the charges. A finding was also made on the Rule 27.26 hearing that the pleas were voluntarily made with understanding of the nature of the charges, that appellant was mentally competent and that appellant had refused psychiatric examination after suggestion of counsel. The trial court further found on the 27.26 hearing that the appellant’s attorneys were highly *428 experienced and that they had each effectively represented appellant.

In support of his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to request a psychiatric evaluation under § 552.-020, appellant cites Brizendine v. Swenson, D.C., 302 F.Supp. 1011. In that case, ineffective assistance of counsel was found because of failure to request such an evaluation. However, the attorney there was completely unaware of Chapter 552, RSMo 1969, V.A.M.S., and of the defendant’s rights under it. Although the defendant’s attorney insisted prior to and throughout the trial that Brizendine was not competent to proceed, no application was made for examination to determine Brizendine’s fitness to proceed to trial. In the present case, appellant was not only advised by his attorneys of his rights to a psychiatric evaluation for such a determination, but he actually declined it. “Ineffectiveness of counsel cannot result from the giving of correct advice.” Tucker v. State, Mo., 482 S.W.2d 454, 456.

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Bluebook (online)
485 S.W.2d 424, 1972 Mo. LEXIS 1149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-state-mo-1972.