Hall v. Florida

395 F. Supp. 1044, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12093
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJune 2, 1975
DocketNo. 74-526-Civ-J-S
StatusPublished

This text of 395 F. Supp. 1044 (Hall v. Florida) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. Florida, 395 F. Supp. 1044, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12093 (M.D. Fla. 1975).

Opinion

ORDER

CHARLES R. SCOTT, District Judge.

Petitioner, an inmate at Florida State Prison, Starke, Florida, seeks federal [1046]*1046habeas, corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S. C. § 2254.

In 1969, petitioner, along with two others, was tried in the Circuit Court of Duval County, Florida, for the slaying of Sidney Parnell. Parnell’s death occurred during the 1968 robbery of the Ribault Grocery Store in Duval County, Florida. After trial by jury, petitioner was convicted of first degree murder on the theory of felony murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. His conviction was affirmed by the District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District, on June 10,1971. Hall v. State, 249 So.2d 59 (Fla.App.1971). Petitioner now alleges six defects in the trial court proceedings which he claims denied him due process of law. After review of the entire record of the state court proceedings, this Court finds petitioner’s allegations to be without merit. In rejecting the petition without an evidentiary hearing, this Court is not unmindful of its responsibilities under Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed.2d 770 (1963). The nature of the allegations and the completeness of the record, however, obviate the necessity of a hearing in this case. Jennings v. Wainwright, 486 F.2d 1041 (5th Cir. 1973). Petitioner’s individual allegations and this Court’s reasons for rejecting them are set forth below.

Three of petitioner’s allegations arise from a single occasion. This occasion was a coroner’s inquest held to inquire into the death of Sidney Parnell. The events preceding the inquest are simply stated. The robbery of the store and Parnell’s death occurred on September 25, 1968. There were several eye-witnesses. Within a few days, petitioner was arrested in Tallahassee, Florida. A coroner’s inquest was held October 7, 1968. Petitioner appeared at the inquest with his co-defendants. He was handcuffed and was not represented by counsel. At the outset of the proceedings petitioner was advised as follows:

THE CORONER: Herman Hall, Albert Eugene Paschal, Mitchell Lee Simpson, all three of you are charged with murder. Before me, a Justice of the Peace * * * (affidavit read.)
THE CORONER: Now, we are going to hold an inquest and also you have a right to have a preliminary hearing if you so desire; you have a right to an attorney, you have a right to refuse to testify. In the event you do testify anything you may say can be and possibly will be used against you at a preceding hearing. Is there any questions you would like to ask about your rights? Any one of you or all of you would like to have a preliminary hearing along with this inquest?
How about you, Herman Hall?
HERMAN HALL: I have nothing to say.
THE CORONER: Albert Eugene Paschal ?
ALBERT EUGENE PASCHAL: No.
THE CORONER: How about you, Mitchell Lee Simpson ?
MITCHELL LEE SIMPSON: Nothing to say. The same way, I guess, I have nothing to say either.
THE CORONER: In other words, you don’t want to have a preliminary hearing? At a preliminary hearing you have a right to testify and you have a right to cross examine any of the witnesses that do testify, but you do not have to have a preliminary hearing at this time, we can just hold an inquest. I will ask Mr. Booth to further advise you along these lines.
MR. BOOTH: All of you know and understand you have a right to have an attorney to represent you?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
MR. BOOTH: In other words, to proceed with the preliminary hearing it would be better to have a lawyer to represent you and advise you, in other words, we will proceed with the inquest only unless you are willing to waive the right to hold the preliminary hearing, and as long as you do not [1047]*1047have an attorney I think that would be the proper thing to do, and since they have said they had nothing to say, Your Honor, I think it would be best to proceed with the inquest only.
THE CORONER: I feel the same way, Mr. Booth, so we will just have the preliminary hearing at another time and we will just have the inquest now.

The inquest then proceeded. The prosecuting attorney presented evidence detailing Parnell’s death, including eyewitness testimony. At the close of the inquest, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged. Thereafter, petitioner was retained in custody. He was indicted on October 18, 1968, and tried on November 3, 1969.

Petitioner now alleges that the coroner’s inquest was illegally held and that as a consequence of it he was: (1) denied his right to effective counsel; (2) subjected to double jeopardy; and (3) exposed to the state’s witnesses under circumstances so suggestive as to taint the witnesses’ later in-court identification.

As to the legality of the inquest, the question of whether it was proper for the state to hold an inquest when there were witnesses to the death; and the question of whether this particular inquest was properly conducted, are not before this Court. In the absence of any prejudice to petitioner’s federally protected rights, the legality vel non of the inquest is a matter of state law only. Cf. Cappetta v. Wainwright, 433 F.2d 1027 (5th Cir. 1970). In this ease petitioner was not prejudiced by the inquest itself. He was afforded all the pre-indictment safeguards he was entitled to. He therefore cannot complain. Pugh v. Gerstein, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975).

A coroner’s inquest is not an adversary proceeding. Rather, it is an inquiry into the method of death (%. e., by felony, mischance or accident) and into the instrumentality of death. On October 7, 1968, no adversary proceedings were yet pending against petitioner. He was, therefore, not entitled to the appointment of an attorney for the inquest. Pugh v. Gerstein, supra; Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 92 S.Ct. 1877, 32 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972). Furthermore, petitioner was not twice put in jeopardy. The form of the coroner’s jury verdict was guilty as charged. This did not, however, constitute a conviction. The only consequence of the verdict was that petitioner was bound over for indictment. He was not in jeopardy until his trial in November 1969. At this trial, the coroner’s jury verdict was of no consequence. It was never mentioned. Furthermore, if it could be said that the inquest constituted jeopardy, petitioner was found guilty. He cannot, then, claim prejudice by the November trial. His double jeopardy claim is without merit.

Petitioner’s remaining inquest-related claim is more substantive. The inquest was a pre-trial confrontation between petitioner and the state’s witnesses.

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Related

Townsend v. Sain
372 U.S. 293 (Supreme Court, 1963)
United States v. Wade
388 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Simmons v. United States
390 U.S. 377 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Kirby v. Illinois
406 U.S. 682 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Neil v. Biggers
409 U.S. 188 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Gerstein v. Pugh
420 U.S. 103 (Supreme Court, 1975)
United States v. Cleveland Kimbrough
481 F.2d 421 (Fifth Circuit, 1973)
William Jennings, Jr., 006952 v. Louie L. Wainwright
486 F.2d 1041 (Fifth Circuit, 1973)
Jack Roland Murphy v. State of Florida
495 F.2d 553 (Fifth Circuit, 1974)
Jackson v. United States
258 F. Supp. 175 (N.D. Texas, 1966)
Murphy v. State of Florida
363 F. Supp. 1224 (S.D. Florida, 1973)
Hall v. State
249 So. 2d 59 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1971)
Paschal v. State
251 So. 2d 257 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1971)
Conyers v. Wainwright
309 F. Supp. 1101 (S.D. Florida, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
395 F. Supp. 1044, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12093, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-florida-flmd-1975.