Manning v. State

442 S.W.2d 207, 246 Ark. 1013, 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1341
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 26, 1969
Docket5-5412
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 442 S.W.2d 207 (Manning v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Manning v. State, 442 S.W.2d 207, 246 Ark. 1013, 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1341 (Ark. 1969).

Opinion

Oarleton Harris, Chief Justice.

On October 17, 1967, appellants, H. L. Manning, Arthur Lee Manning aud Eddie Manning, were convicted of the crime of rape, and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. They were represented by counsel who had been retained by their mother. On November 16, 1967, appellants filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied on November 20, appeal granted, and appellants given 45 days for preparation of the Bill of Exceptions. The appeal wTas not perfected.1 A petition was filed on February 14, 1968, with the trial court by the appellants, which asserted that they 'were without counsel and were paupers; they asked that the court appoint an attorney and order a transcript prepared, free of charge, for purposes of an appeal. The court found that appellants had been represented by an attorney, E. V. Trimble; that the time for an appeal liad long since expired, and no ground had been alleged under Criminal Procedure Rule No. 12 which would subjod the sentence rendered to collateral attack. On April 22, 1068, the appellants wrote the Circuit Judge, stating that their attorney had lost interest in their case, and they requested that an attorney be appointed to proceed under Rule 1. Two attorneys of the Pulaski County Bar were appointed to represent them, and a formal motion was filed by these attorneys on May 30, asking that appellants be allowed to appeal their conviction in forma, pauperis. It was asserted that the action of defense counsel in “abandoning” appellants’ cause, and the action of the court in denying legal counsel and a transcript, were a violation of their constitutional rights. Upon hearing, the Pulaski Circuit Court (First Division) denied the relief sought and entered judgment accordingly. From such judgment, appellants bring this appeal.

The petition filed by appellants has been given careful consideration, and we have reached the conclusion that no showing has been made which would entitle them to the relief sought. It is apparent from the record that the Manning Brothers- were aware that E. V. Trimble, ¡lie attorney employed by their mother, and who had conducted their defense at the trial, was not going to appeal the case, and, though not entirely clear, it appears that appellants were cognizant of this fact while they were still incarcerated at the jail, and long before appeal time had expired. "When Arthur Manning was asked if it -were true that he knew before he left the Pulaski County Jail that the case was not going to be appealed by Trimble, he replied, “I didn’t know for sure though.” All agreed that they wanted to obtain the services of a Little Rock lawyer, Allen Dishongh, to represent them, and II. L. Manning stated that he talked with Dishongh over the telephone. This contact occurred between October 17, 1967 (date of the convictions) and December 1, 1967. Though Dishongh refused employment, the brothers made no effort to communicate with the trial judge, or to advise him or any other official, that they were paupers, financially unable to employ counsel, and desired that counsel be appointed to represent them on an appeal. In fact, it appears from the record that appellants have but little use for court appointed lawyers. II. L. Manning testified, “We didn’t want no state lawyer.”3

This court, long before Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 100 L. ed. 891, 76 S. ct. 585 (1955), and Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 9 L. ed. 811, 83 S. ct. 814, reh den 373 U.S. 905, 10 L. ed. 2d 200, 83 S. ct. 1288 (1963), permitted paupers to appeal their convictions, a full transcript of the proceedings at the trial being furnished without cost, with court appointed counsel directed to handle such appeals. We have also ordered, under Criminal Procedure Rule 1 appeals, that a full transcript of the original trial proceedings be prepared without charge to the defendant, and counsel appointed to belatedly appeal a conviction. See Jackson v. Bishop, 240 Ark. 1011, 403 S.W. 2d 94. However, there was a distinct difference in Jackson and the present case, in that Jackson made known his indigency, even before the original trial, and was represented there by court appointed counsel.

The case of Swenson v. Bosler, 386 U.S. 258, 18 L. ed. 2d 33, 87 S. ct. 996 (1967), is not applicable to the present contention. There, Missouri had no rule requiring appointment of appellate counsel for indigent defendants, and if trial counsel withdrew from the case, the Supreme Court of that state would require preparation of the transcript for appeal, but would then consider the questions raised on the basis of pro se briefs by the defendant, or on no briefs at all. The United States Supreme Court held that this procedure violated Swenson’s Fourteenth Amendment rights, and we certainly agree with that decision. The court concluded its per curiam order with these words:

“"When a defendant whose indigency and desire to appeal are manifest does not have the services of his trial counsel on appeal, it simply cannot be inferred from defendant’s failure specifically to request appointment of appellate counsel that he has knowingly and intelligently waived his right to the appointment of appellate counsel.”

Here, it is evident that the need for appointive counsel was not manifest to the trial court, nor does the record indicate that appellants, or any one of them, made known a need for court appointed counsel to any official representing the state. Since the attorney who represented appellants at the trial did not advise the court, within appeal time, that he was not going to go any further with the ease, how was the court to know that there was need for an appointment to be made? The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit employed pertinent language for this type of situation in Horton v. Bomar, 335 F. 2d 583 (6th Cir. 1964), where a petition for post-conviction relief was denied:

“Finally it is claimed on behalf of the appellant that ho was denied due process and equal protection of the law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States for the reason that he was not provided with counsel to prosecute an appeal from his conviction in the state court. The appellant’s trial counsel apparently would not represent him in an appeal without the payment of an additionahfee. * * * The appellant does not claim that he ever advised the trial judge that he was unable-to employ a lawyer to prosecute an appeal or tliat he made a request for the appointment of counsel. It was well said by the District Judge, ‘ The trial judge is not obliged to inquire into the continuing status of their relationship.’ ”

The Federal Courts have also pointed out that, for a petitioner to be entitled to post-conviction relief, it must be shown that a responsible state official rejected the request for counsel. In Weatherman v. Peyton, 287 F. Supp. 819 (D.C. W. Va. 1968), the court said:

“For petitioner to b.e entitled to post-conviction relief, because of alleged violation of a constitutional right, it is not enough to show that he was indigent or that his privately employed counsel was negligent in not perfecting an appetil. The petitioner must show some state action.

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Bluebook (online)
442 S.W.2d 207, 246 Ark. 1013, 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manning-v-state-ark-1969.