Cowan v. State

1974 OK CR 196, 528 P.2d 327
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 7, 1974
DocketNo. PC-74-225
StatusPublished

This text of 1974 OK CR 196 (Cowan v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cowan v. State, 1974 OK CR 196, 528 P.2d 327 (Okla. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

OPINION AND DECISION

BRETT, Judge: '

The appellant, James Henry Cowan, was charged, tried and convicted in Case No. CRF-72-308, in the District Court, Tulsa County, for the crime of Robbery with Firearms. He was sentenced to serve a term of thirty (30) years imprisonment in the State Penitentiary. That conviction was affirmed by this Court in Cowan v. State, Okl.Cr, 507 P.2d 1256 (1973). Cowan subsequently filed in the District Court, Tulsa County, an application for post conviction relief, alleging he was denied a fair and impartial trial because the trial judge erred in overruling his motion for severance of his trial from that of his co-defendant, Lloyd Clark, and that he was denied his sixth amendment right to effective representation by counsel when co-defendant Clark’s attorney was appointed on the morning of trial to represent him as well. Cowan’s contention in this regard is two-pronged: He claims that he was denied effective assistance of counsel, first, because there was an actual conflict of interest between himself and his co-defendant, which precluded fair and effective representation by a single attorney, and second, because his court appointed attorney was given no time to.,consult with him and to prepare his defense. And Order refusing to grant an evidentiary hearing and summarily denying post conviction relief was entered by the District Court, Tulsa County, on March 5, 1974. On April 3, 1974, Cowan filed an appeal in this Court from that Order, urging that the trial judge erred in failing to grant an eviden-tiary hearing for the reason that the record before the judge was not sufficient to make a determination of the substantial questions of fact and law raised by Cow-an’s application.

After considering the record submitted with that appeal, this Court entered an Order on June 26, 1974, affirming in part and reversing in part the Tulsa County District Court Order, and remanding the matter to that Court for further eviden-tiary hearing. In that Order this Court stated:

“It is our opinion that the questions of whether error was committed in denying separate trials and whether a conflict existed between the interest of the two co-defendants precluding fair representation by a single attorney have been conclusively determined by this Court in Cow[329]*329an v. State, Okl.Cr., 507 P.2d 1256 . (1973) and may not be again raised through the Post Conviction Procedure Act. The ruling of the trial judge upon those questions is hereby AFFIRMED. Cowan, therefore, has now exhausted his State remedies upon these questions.
“In reviewing our opinion in Cowan v. State, however, we cannot find that the question of whether Cowan’s appointed attorney was, under the special circumstances of this case, given sufficient time to prepare his defense and to provide representation sufficient to meet constitutional standards has been considered and decided by this Court.
“The record of the trial court supports Cowan’s contention that on the morning his trial commenced, his co-defendant’s attorney, Public Defender Ed Crockett, was appointed to represent him as well as co-defendant Clark. Cowan had previously been represented by Andrew T. Dalton, also of the Tulsa Public Defender’s Office. The record reveals that in arguing the motion for new trial, Mr. Crockett told the trial judge that he had been unprepared to defend this petitioner and had not discussed with him any ‘possible defenses, any witnesses that he might wish to call, any theory of defense, any proposed negotiated pleas, anything of that nature . . . ’ (Tr. 235).
“Now, therefore, after considering the petition and the response filed herein and being sufficiently advised in the premises, this Court finds that defendant’s application for post conviction relief raises substantial questions of fact and law, and that the record before this Court is inadequate to make a determination of the issue presented and therefore this matter should be, and hereby is, REMANDED to the District Court, Tulsa County, for an evidentiary hearing for the purpose of making specific findings of fact relevant to the determination of the ultimate question of whether under the special facts and circumstances of this case the assignment of counsel on the morning of trial precluded the giving of effective aid in the preparation and trial of the case. Those specific findings of fact include the following:
“1. Was Cowan given the opportunity to consult with Andrew T. Dalton, the appointed attorney who represented him prior to trial, concerning the preparation of his case, including the existence of any witnesses to be subpoenaed in his behalf.
“2. When was Cowan first given to understand that his appointed counsel, Andrew T. Dalton, would not appear at his trial. Did Cowan thereafter make any attempt to secure further representation.
“3. How much time, if any, was appointed counsel Ed Crockett given on the morning of trial to consult with Cowan concerning his defense, including the advisability of Cowan’s taking the stand to testify in his own behalf.
“4. To what extent did attorney Crockett confer with attorney Dalton concerning the preparation of Cowan’s case for trial.
“5. To what extent did attorney Crockett confer with Cowan during the progress of the trial and especially concerning whether or not Cowan should or should not testify during his trial.”

In that Order this Court further directed that James H. Cowan should be returned to the jurisdiction of the court for the purpose of participating in the evidentiary hearing, and ordered that the court make specific findings of fact and rulings of law on the questions and to transmit two copies of the record of said evidentiary hearing to this Court. The evidentiary hearing was conducted by Judge James Dillard, who was assigned to Tulsa County to con[330]*330duct the original trial; and the records now have been filed with this Court. The State was represented by Mr. Cliff Hopper, Assistant District Attorney for Tulsa County, and the appellant was represented by Mr. Tom Coleman of the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office. The trial judge made specific findings of fact in accordance with the order of this Court and concluded as a matter of law that Cowan was not denied his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel in the preparation and trial of his case. Having reviewed the evidence presented at the evi-dentiary hearing below, we affirm that finding.

The duty imposed on the courts to assign counsel to defend an indigent accused of a crime is not an empty formality and is in no way discharged by an assignment of counsel at such a time or under such circumstances as to prevent counsel from rendering effective assistance in the preparation and trial of case. Appointed counsel in a criminal case “ . . . must be given a reasonable time to prepare for trial, to investigate the facts, and examine the law applicable to the case.” Davis v. State, Okl.Cr., 368 P.2d 519, 521 (1962). What constitutes a reasonable time, however, depends upon the special facts and circumstances of each case. See Riddle v. State, Okl.Cr., 374 P.2d 634 (1962); Neighbors v. State, 83 Okl.Cr. 331, 177 P. 2d 133 (1947).

In the instant case, the court appointed Andrew T. Dalton of the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office to represent Cowan at the time of his initial appearance.

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Related

Cowan v. State
1973 OK CR 132 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1973)
Riddle v. State
1962 OK CR 98 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1962)
Davis v. State
1962 OK CR 7 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1962)
Neighbors v. State
1947 OK CR 7 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1947)
Noel v. State
1920 OK CR 55 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1920)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1974 OK CR 196, 528 P.2d 327, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cowan-v-state-oklacrimapp-1974.