Lodermeier v. Class

1996 SD 134, 555 N.W.2d 618, 1996 S.D. LEXIS 141
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 13, 1996
DocketNone
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 1996 SD 134 (Lodermeier v. Class) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lodermeier v. Class, 1996 SD 134, 555 N.W.2d 618, 1996 S.D. LEXIS 141 (S.D. 1996).

Opinion

KONENKAMP, Justice.

[¶ 1] Gene Lodermeier appeals the denial of his application for writ of habeas corpus. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

[¶ 2] Lodermeier was convicted by a jury on October 26, 1988, of three counts of possession of stolen property and three counts of possession of property with altered serial numbers. He was sentenced to forty-five years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary. We affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Lodermeier, 481 N.W.2d 614 (S.D.1992). The facts on the present matter will be discussed to the extent necessary to resolve the issues. Although Lodermeier raised one hundred seven issues before the habeas court and now maintains thirteen issues on appeal, we find only six have sufficient merit for discussion:

I.Whether the trial court had jurisdiction.
II.Whether Lodermeier’s trial counsel was ineffective.
III.Whether SDCL 22-11-27 is unconstitutionally vague.
IV.Whether issues raised before the habeas court were improperly dismissed as res judicata.
V.Whether the trial judge’s purported bias affected his rights.
VI.Whether charges against Lodermeier were improperly joined.

ANALYSIS

[¶ 3] Our standard of review for a habeas corpus appeal is firmly established:

Habeas corpus is not a substitute for direct review. Because habeas corpus is a collateral attack upon a final judgment, our scope of review is limited. On habeas *622 review, the petitioner has the initial burden of proof. We review the habeas court’s factual findings under the clearly erroneous standard.
Habeas corpus can be used only to review (1) whether the court had jurisdiction of the crime and the person of the defendant; (2) whether the sentence was authorized by law; and (3) in certain cases whether an incarcerated defendant has been deprived of basic constitutional rights.

Loop v. Class, 1996 SD 107, ¶ 11, 554 N.W.2d 189 (citing Two Eagle v. Leapley, 522 N.W.2d 765, 767 (S.D.1994) (citations omitted)).

[¶ 4] I. Jurisdiction

[¶ 5] Lodermeier informally requested Judge Gene Paul Kean to recuse himself. Judge Kean agreed and the late Judge R.D. Hurd eventually took the assignment. 1 SDCL 15-12-21.1 provides in part:

Prior to filing an affidavit for change of judge, the party or his attorney shall informally request the judge or magistrate who, in the ordinary course, would preside at the hearing or trial, to disqualify himself. ... If the judge or magistrate grants the request, he shall forthwith notify the presiding judge, who shall assign the ease to some other judge or magistrate....

No written order assigning Judge Hurd was ever filed with the clerk of courts. Without an order, Lodermeier asserts Judge Hurd never acquired jurisdiction and thus all subsequent proceedings are void. In State v. Baldwin, 299 N.W.2d 820 (S.D.1980), this Court interpreted SDCL 15-12-32, which provides in part:

The presiding judge ... of the circuit shall review the affidavit ... [and] shall assign some other circuit judge or magistrate of that circuit ... by filing an order of such appointment with the clerk of the court of the county wherein said action is pending. From the filing of such order the judge or magistrate therein designated shall have full power, authority and jurisdiction to proceed in the matter.

Id. at 821. A formal order under SDCL 15-12-32 is an obvious prerequisite to jurisdiction as it provides, “From the filing of such order the judge or magistrate therein designated shall have full power, authority and jurisdiction to proceed in the matter.” Baldwin, 299 N.W.2d at 821; see also State v. Peterson, 531 N.W.2d 581 (S.D.1995)(conviction and judgment reversed and remanded for new trial where affidavit for removal denied on review by sitting judge, rather than presiding judge).

[¶ 6] Here the affidavit procedure was inapplicable because the informal procedure of SDCL 15-12-21.1 was used. This method averts the technical niceties of removal by affidavit found in SDCL 15-12-32. Explicit language in SDCL 15-12-32 requires an order be filed before jurisdiction vests, whereas no such requirement is found in SDCL 15-12-21.1. Lodermeier asked and Judge Kean agreed to voluntarily disqualify himself. No formal order was required to assign a new judge.

[¶ 7] II. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

[¶8] Our standard for evaluating claims of ineffective assistance of counsel derives from the two-part test enunciated in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).

To reverse a conviction on ineffective assistance grounds, a [petitioner] must show: (1) that counsel’s performance was deficient; and (2) that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. The test for prejudice is whether there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceedings would have been different.

Boykin v. Leapley, 471 N.W.2d 166, 167 (S.D. 1991).

Whether a defendant has received ineffective assistance of counsel is essentially a mixed question of law and fact. In the absence of a clearly erroneous determination by the circuit court, we must defer to its findings on such primary facts regarding what defense counsel did or did not do in preparation for trial and in his presenta *623 tion of the defense at trial. This court, however, may substitute its own judgment for that of the circuit court as to whether defense counsel’s actions or inactions constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.

Loop, 1996 SD 107, ¶11, 554 N.W.2d 189 (quoting Aliberti v. Solem, 428 N.W.2d 638, 640 (S.D.1988)).

[¶ 9] A. Sentencing

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Bluebook (online)
1996 SD 134, 555 N.W.2d 618, 1996 S.D. LEXIS 141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lodermeier-v-class-sd-1996.