McGruder v. State

505 S.W.2d 498, 256 Ark. 74, 1974 Ark. LEXIS 1387
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 25, 1974
DocketCR 73-166
StatusPublished

This text of 505 S.W.2d 498 (McGruder 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
McGruder v. State, 505 S.W.2d 498, 256 Ark. 74, 1974 Ark. LEXIS 1387 (Ark. 1974).

Opinion

J. FRED Jones, Justice.

Freddie Lee McGruder was convicted at a jury trial in the Cross County Circuit Court of the crime of grand larceny and was sentenced to seven years in the penitentiary. He now appeals from a denial of post-conviction relief following a Rule I hearing on June 18, 1973. McGruder contends that his constitutional rights were violated in that he was not properly represented by counsel at all significant stages of the proceedings; that his constitutional rights were violated in that he was denied an opportunity to fairly present his defense through the effective assistance of counsel; that through threats and harassment by police officials prior to his trial he was denied a fair trial and due process of law to which he was entitled under the Fourteenth Amendment. We find no merit in these contentions.

In his Rule I petition McGruder alleged that he was convicted of grand larceny in a jury trial and that he was represented at the trial by employed counsel of his own choice. He alleged that his attorney was incompetent in several respects including failure to exercise any peremptory challenges in the selection of the jury; failure to challenge for cause, or peremptorily strike, a Mr. Hall and a Mrs. Hicks from the jury; failure to order the issuance of a subpoena for his key witness, and failure to object to errors committed in the trial and to questions asked witnesses by the prosecuting attorney. He alleged in his verified petition that his counsel bribed his relatives into paying him $100, and that his counsel took more interest in the prosecution side of the case than he did in the defense. He further alleged that he was not advised of his constitutional rights upon arrest or after his arrest, and that police Officer Todd tried to force him to “cop out.” He alleged that following the jury verdict, the trial court never did pass sentence upon him and he alleged he had other grounds on which his constitutional rights were violated.

The record of the Rule I hearing in this case consists of 150 pages and is one of the most complete records we have seen on appeal in a Rule I case. Both McGruder and the state were well represented at the hearing and the trial court went to considerable length in not only affording McGruder every opportunity to present any evidence he had in support of the allegations in his petition, but in affording him the opportunity to participate fully in the hearing at any point in the proceeding he so desired. McGruder took full advantage of the opportunity thus afforded him but we shall only discuss here so much of the testimony that bears on his allegations.

At his Rule 1 hearing McGruder testified that he requested his counsel to subpoena Louise Townsend as a witness. He said his counsel explained to him that he was charged with grand larceny; that he had nothing on his person when arrested; that no one saw him take the shotgun he was accused of stealing and that he did not think they needed Louise Townsend as a witness. He said he asked his attorney to subpoena Johnny Jefferson at the preliminary hearing “which he did ask the court over there for. ...” He said he explained to his attorney what these witnesses would testify to, and the record on this point appears as follows:

“Q. And what did you tell him?
A. I just told him, I say, ‘Well, she knows,’ I say, ‘I didn’t take no gun out of the car with me, and the only gun, I understand, that I had possession of was a rifle which belonged to my stepfather.’ And she was going to testify to that, verify that, you know, speaking about the gun.”

McGruder testified that he asked his attorney to strike the name of Willie Hall, Jr. from the jury and that his attorney replied something to the effect that Hall used to work for him, and refused to strike or challenge Hall. He said he told his attorney that he at one time stayed with his sister who lived next door to Hall, and his sister had advised him that upon occasions Mr. Hall was kind of jealous of his wife. He said he also asked his attorney to strike Mrs. Betty Sue Hicks from the jury. He said one of the police officers told him that the whole town was against him and he knew, and pointed out to his attorney, that Mrs. Hicks lived in the town. He said he at one time worked for Mrs. Hicks’ husband but that they had never had any trouble except little “squawks” about work.

McGruder testified that in final summation before the jury, the prosecuting attorney accused him of being a professional thief, and that his attorney did not object. He said there were several questions asked and comments made, some of which were not shown in the record, to which his attorney should have objected, but did not do so.

McGruder testified that while riding to jail in a police car following his arrest. Officer Todd told him that even if he came clear at his trial he would never get out of town, so the best thing to do was “cop out, go to the penitentiary, do a little time and get out.” He said that while he was in jail awaiting trial. Officer Todd sent this message and advice to him through fellow-prisoners, including Jay Frazier. He said he was never advised of his constitutional rights and was never told he could have an attorney.

In response to some of McGruder’s allegations and testimony at his Rule 1 hearing, the trial court read to him excerpts from the trial record. As to McGruder’s contention that the trial court failed to pronounce sentence following the jury verdict, the trial court read to McGruder from the trial record, which not only showed the pronouncement of sentence, but showed that McGruder was advised of his right to appeal; the amount of appeal bond; McGruder’s inquiry as to whether a property bond would be acceptable and the court’s answer that the sheriff would determine the nature of the bond. In response to these excerpts from the record, McGruder said: “The transcript done been tampered with; I see that now.”

The trial court called to McGruder’s attention, from the record made at the trial, that McGruder’s attorney requested a drawn and struck jury; that as the jurors were drawn and questioned one at a time, the prosecuting attorney excused one, McGruder’s attorney had four disqualified and excused by the court, and that his attorney excused four on peremptory challenges. McGruder responded by stating he remembered his attorney and the prosecuting attorney picking the jury; that it was not himself picking the jury; that his attorney was not actually his attorney, “he was just somebody up there.” On cross-examination, when asked to give examples of some of the things he felt his attorney should have objected to, McGruder said: “I don't want to, you know, it might have some bearing on this case in future proceedings. I want to just like I say, leave it.”

Willie Hall, Jr. was called as a witness by McGruder at his Rule 1 hearing. Mr. Hall testified that he served as foreman of the jury at McGruder’s trial; that McGruder had at one time stayed one or two weeks with his sister who lived next door to Hall. He said he had never had any animosity or hard feelings toward McGruder and had never had any reason to do so. He said he had never expressed or entertained any jealous feelings toward his wife or McGruder, and had never actually known anything about McGruder except that he did see him around his sister’s home during ap-proximatély two weeks that he was there.

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Bluebook (online)
505 S.W.2d 498, 256 Ark. 74, 1974 Ark. LEXIS 1387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcgruder-v-state-ark-1974.