Kenney v. Haugh

163 N.W.2d 428, 1968 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 986
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedDecember 10, 1968
Docket53372
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 163 N.W.2d 428 (Kenney v. Haugh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kenney v. Haugh, 163 N.W.2d 428, 1968 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 986 (iowa 1968).

Opinion

SNELL, Justice.

Petitioner has appealed from denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus.

He is presently confined in the Men’s Reformatory.

In 1964 petitioner was charged, tried before judge and jury, found guilty and sentenced for violation of section 708.1, Code of Iowa.

Respondent warden also holds a mittimus for petitioner’s confinement on a sentence for breaking jail. This sentence is to commence from the expiration of the sentence on the burglary conviction. Only the burglary sentence is involved herein.

We find nothing entitled “Record.”

This appears in petitioner’s “abstract for appeal”:

“Petitioner subsequently requested that his conviction be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court and an attorney was appointed therefor who prosecuted said appeal by clerk’s transcript without the knowledge and consent of petitioner. * * *
“Petitioner’s court appointed attorney during the trial reviewed the transcript of petitioner’s conviction and decided there wasn’t sufficient merit to appeal; allowed the matter to be considered on a clerk’s transcript and did not specifically notify the petitioner that he intended to send up a clerk’s transcript instead of an appeal including brief, argument, and assigned error.”

The conviction was affirmed January 12, 1965. State v. Kenney, 132 N.W.2d 358. *429 In September 1966 petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus claiming violation of due process in the manner in which the appeal was submitted.

During the trial of the instant case it was stipulated that the original appeal was submitted by means of a clerk’s transcript.

Petitioner has at all times, during trial of the felony charge, on appeal therefrom, at the trial on the present habeas corpus proceeding and now on appeal, been represented by counsel.

I. We are not faced here with any problem of discrimination because of indi-gency. There is no claim that petitioner has been denied anything because he was poor.

Although it is not argued and does not affirmatively appear we assume he was without substantial financial resources.

II. Unquestionably the wealthy enjoy advantages not available to the less fortunate but in our state due process is not denied an accused because of poverty.

If an accused desires but is unable to employ counsel, “ * * * the court must allow him to select or assign him counsel, not exceeding two * * Section 775.4, Code of Iowa.

Article I, section 10, Constitution of the State of Iowa provides for compulsory process for an accused’s witnesses.

Section 775.5 provides:

“Fee for attorney defending. An attorney appointed by the court to defend any person charged with a crime in this state shall be entitled to a reasonable compensation to be decided in each case by the court, including such sum or sums as the court may determine are necessary for investigation in the interests of justice and in the event of appeal the cost of obtaining the transcript of the trial and the printing of the trial record and necessary briefs in behalf of the defendant. Such attorney need not follow the case into another county or into the supreme court unless so directed by the court at the request of the defendant, where grounds for further litigation are not capricious or unreasonable, but if he does so his fee shall be determined accordingly. Only one attorney fee shall be so awarded in any one case.”

Section 793.1 provides for appeal.

Section 793.8 provides:

“Transcript at expense of county. If a defendant in a criminal cause has perfected an appeal from a judgment against him and shall satisfy a judge of the district court from which the appeal is taken that he is unable to pay for a transcript of the evidence, such judge may order the same made at the expense of the county where said defendant was tried.”

Petitioner here has had the advantage or the opportunity to take advantage of each of these provisions.

III.There is no claim that there was ever any request for submission of the original appeal on written brief and argument and oral argument. We quote from petitioner’s Statement of Facts:

“Appellant requested an appeal to the Supreme Court of his conviction; his court appointed attorney examined the transcript and elected to appeal on a Clerk’s transcript, without making this fact known to petitioner. * * *”

The attorney who represented petitioner at the time of the original trial and appeal testified. He recalled that the petitioner did not request him to file briefs and orally argue. The attorney said that after reviewing the transcript he did not believe at that time that it had any merit to take it to the Iowa Supreme Court. He stated that he did not receive word from the petitioner to file a record in the case but that he did affirmatively respond to petitioner’s requests for copies of the Supreme Court decision and the transcript.

On May 8, 1967 the Supreme Court of the United States decided Entsminger v. State of Iowa, 386 U.S. 748, 87 S.Ct. 1402, *430 18 L.Ed.2d 501. The court held that the clerk’s transcript procedure as there applied was an inadequate and ineffective review of the merits of the proceeding culminating in conviction. That case differs somewhat from the case at bar in that there petitioner had asked his counsel to perfect a plenary appeal. Here there is no claim of any such request. However, we recognize the rule established in Entsmin-ger and do not base our decision here on that distinction.

The court referred to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493, decided the same day. There were questions other than appear in Entsminger and the case for petitioner was much stronger than in the case at bar, but the court said:

“California’s procedure did not furnish petitioner with counsel acting in the role of an advocate nor did it provide that full consideration and resolution of the matter as is obtained when counsel is acting in that capacity. The necessity for counsel so acting is highlighted by the possible disadvantage the petitioner suffered here. * * ”

Here there was no active advocacy by counsel but there was no denial of that right by the State or court. We need not express an opinion as to the extent to which Entsminger might apply to the factual situation in the case at bar. We do not believe Entsminger is controlling here.

During the past several years many “new standards” and “new rules” for determination of constitutional safeguards have been stated by the Supreme Court of the United States. Some have been applied retroactively and some have required only prospective observance. Until the Supreme Court has spoken there is difficulty in determining which of the rules operate retroactively.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Earl William Harris v. Lou v. Brewer, Warden
434 F.2d 166 (Eighth Circuit, 1970)
People v. Quiñones Ramos
99 P.R. 1 (Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 1970)
Pueblo v. Quiñones Ramos
99 P.R. Dec. 1 (Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
163 N.W.2d 428, 1968 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kenney-v-haugh-iowa-1968.