Ex Parte Windham

634 S.W.2d 718, 1982 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1050
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 23, 1982
Docket68835
StatusPublished
Cited by117 cases

This text of 634 S.W.2d 718 (Ex Parte Windham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ex Parte Windham, 634 S.W.2d 718, 1982 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1050 (Tex. 1982).

Opinions

OPINION

DALLY, Judge.

This is a post-conviction proceeding in which the petitioner seeks relief under the provisions of Article 11.07, V.A.C.C.P.

[719]*719The petitioner was convicted of the offense of theft of property of a value over $10,000 in Comanche County. The punishment was enhanced to imprisonment for thirty years. The petitioner appealed to this Court but his conviction was affirmed in an unpublished per curiam opinion, Windham v. State, (No. 59,465, decided June 18, 1980.)

The petitioner now asserts that his right to due process of law was violated when the trial court failed to grant his motion for a continuance which thereby denied petitioner of the counsel of his choice.

The petitioner had been charged with the offense for over a year and had retained an attorney, Ben D. Sudderth, for approximately the same period of time. On October 13, 1977, the petitioner was reindicted for the same offense. The reindictment amended the original indictment to include the serial number of the stolen tractor. Trial was set for Monday, October 17. Sud-derth’s partner, Keith Woodley, filed a motion to quash, a motion in limine, and a motion for continuance on the seventeenth. At the pretrial hearing Woodley appeared with the petitioner and requested a continuance until Sudderth could return and represent the accused. The petitioner testified that he had talked to Sudderth recently and made arrangements to meet him at his office on the seventeenth. When he arrived at the office he was informed Sudderth was trying a case in a different county. Wind-ham asked Woodley to prepare a motion for continuance so that the proceeding would be delayed until Sudderth could defend him. Windham testified that he was unaware that Sudderth would not be present on the seventeenth and that he still wanted Sud-derth to represent him. He added that he had never discussed the facts of the case with Woodley. Woodley testified that Sud-derth informed him that Windham would be coming into the office on October 17. Woodley stated that Sudderth was involved in another trial in a different county which would probably last two days.

The record reveals that no prior motions for continuance were filed even though Sudderth was apparently aware of the scheduling conflict. The witnesses for the prosecution were present and ready to testify on October 17. The record from the pretrial hearing also reflects that it was discovered that the appellant was served with the new indictment on the same day as the hearing. Thus under Art. 26.03, V.A.C. C.P. the petitioner was entitled to be arraigned only after the expiration of two days. Woodley informed the court, “I’m not so concerned about the two days. I don’t think it’s going to make much difference whether we go to trial today or go to trial Thursday.” The trial court, still concerned with the possible problem, later stated, “... my suggestion on that would be that we go ahead and serve that copy of the indictment upon him and go to trial on one of these other matters and set this for Thursday or next week. And that will eliminate that problem in it, ... ” Nonetheless Woodley subsequently waived the two day service of the indictment and waived arraignment.

The trial court informed Woodley he was willing to delay the reception of evidence until the following day to enable Sudderth to appear on the behalf of the defendant. The jury was then selected and testimony did not begin until the next day.

At the hearing on the application for writ of habeas corpus Woodley once again testified. He stated that at the time of the trial Sudderth had twenty years of experience to his five. He had not discussed the facts with Windham prior to October 17. He said that Windham had requested that he obtain a continuance. He added that he could not remember if he discussed the waiving of arraignment with the petitioner. The petitioner also testified at the hearing. He denied that he understood or knew about the waiver. He did not discuss the case with Woodley on the evening of October 17 and made no effort to contact Sudderth that night. With these facts in mind we now turn to the merits of petitioner’s claim.

The petitioner does not contend that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. The record reflects that the petitioner was [720]*720ably represented and this Court has repeatedly held that a denial of a continuance will not be a basis for ineffective assistance of counsel when the accused was ably represented. Moreno v. State, 587 S.W.2d 405 (Tex.Cr.App.1979); Cerda v. State, 557 S.W.2d 954 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Miller v. State, 537 S.W.2d 725 (Tex.Cr.App.1976), cert. denied 429 U.S. 1099, 97 S.Ct. 1120, 51 L.Ed.2d 547 (1977); Taylor v. State, 507 S.W.2d 563 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Payton v. State, 503 S.W.2d 787 (Tex.Cr.App.1974). Rather, the petitioner’s contention is that by overruling his motion for continuance the trial court denied him his right to be represented by counsel of his own choice.

The Supreme Court has long recognized that an accused “should be afforded a fair opportunity to secure counsel of his own choice.” Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 53 S.Ct. 55, 77 L.Ed. 158 (1932); Chandler v. Fretag, 348 U.S. 3, 75 S.Ct. 1, 99 L.Ed. 4 (1954). However the right to obtain counsel of one’s own choice is neither unqualified nor absolute. United States v. Barrentine, 591 F.2d 1069 (5th Cir. 1979); Gandy v. Alabama, 569 F.2d 1318 (5th Cir. 1978). Thus that right must be balanced with a trial court’s need for prompt and efficient administration of justice.

The Supreme Court in Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575, 84 S.Ct. 841, 11 L.Ed.2d 921 (1964) stated:

“The matter of continuance is traditionally with the discretion of the trial judge, and it is not every denial of a request for more time that violates due process even if the party fails to offer evidence or is compelled to defend without counsel. Contrariwise, a myopic insistence upon expeditiousness in the face of a justifiable request for delay can render the right to defend with counsel an empty formality. There are no mechanical tests for deciding when a denial of a continuance is so arbitrary as to violate due process. The answer must be found in the circumstances present in every case, particularly in the reasons presented to the trial judge at the time the request is denied.” [citations omitted.]

In reviewing the circumstances of each case various factors must be weighed against one another.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
634 S.W.2d 718, 1982 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1050, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ex-parte-windham-texcrimapp-1982.