Miller v. Hudspeth

176 F.2d 111, 1949 U.S. App. LEXIS 3026
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJuly 5, 1949
DocketNo. 3859
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 176 F.2d 111 (Miller v. Hudspeth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Hudspeth, 176 F.2d 111, 1949 U.S. App. LEXIS 3026 (10th Cir. 1949).

Opinion

HUXMAN, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal by George Miller from a judgment of the District Court of the United States for the District of Kansas denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus and remanding him to the custody of the respondent, R. H. Hudspeth, Warden of the Kansas Penitentiary. A brief statement of the essential facts is as follows:

Appellant was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in the District Court of Miami County, Kansas, for the murder of F. M. Churchill, Chief of Police of the City of Osawatomie, Kansas. The homicide occurred on February 3, 1947. Petitioner was arrested on the same day, was arraigned in the Justice of the Peace Court on February 5, 1947, a preliminary hearing was held in said court on February 10, and an information was filed against him in the District Court on February 13. On March 5, 1947, he was called in the District Court for arraignment and plea. He was present in person and was represented by his attorney, LeRoy E. Harris, whom he had employed. At the arraignment, the judge asked the defendant to stand, asked him his name, and asked him whether he was represented by LeRoy E. Harris, to which [113]*113question he answered in the affirmative. He also told the court that he had had an opportunity to talk to his attorney — that he talked to his attorney that morning. The court informed him that an information had been filed against him charging him with murder in the first degree and what the court was then doing was to arraign him. The court informed him what arraignment meant, advised him that the charge would be read to him by the Clerk, that he should listen to the reading, and that after the information had been read he would be asked to plead, but before he would be required to plead, the court would further talk to him. After the reading of the information, the court advised him that he could stand mute and refuse to answer, in which event the court would order a trial to a jury, or that he could enter a plea of guilty or a plea of not guilty. The court advised him that a plea of guilty to the information charging murder in the first' degree meant that he could be imprisoned for life or that he might suffer the death penalty. Having so informed Miller, the court asked him how he desired to plead, whereupon his attorney replied, “Guilty, Your Honor.” The court, however, asked what Miller had to say about it, whereupon, Miller answered, “Guilty.” The court asked him if he understood what that plea meant and he replied that he did.

The court then informed him that his plea of guilty did not end the matter and that before the court would impose sentence it would hear evidence. The court advised Miller that, “There is no hurry, and the defendant still has his rights to have the evidence presented and heard and considered and he still, has the right to offer evidence which he might deem expedient.” The court thereupon continued the case to March 11 at 9:30 A.M. On March 11, when the case was called, Miller was present in person and by his attorney, Harris. The State introduced the testimony of eleven witnesses who testified in detail to the circumstances of the killing.' All of this evidence is set forth in the two cases before the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, Miller v. Hudspeth, 164 Kan. 688, 192 P.2d 147, and State v. Miller, 194 P.2d 498, 165 Kan. 228, and will not be repeated at length here. It is sufficient for the purpose of this opinion to say that the record before us shows that Harris, Miller’s attorney, cross examined all of these witnesses in detail. At the conclusion of the State’s case, the court asked if counsel for Miller desired the defendant to make a statement under oath and if he had any further testimony to offer. After a conference between Miller and Harris, his attorney, the attorney announced that they had no further testimony to offer. Before pronouncing sentence, the court, however, questioned Miller and brought out the fact that Miller had very little education and that what little schooling he had he obtained in Mississippi; that at Osawatomie he did railroad work; that he had never been arrested and had never been in trouble before. The judge developed from Miller himself that since his arrest no one had tried to harm him physically and that he had been well treated by the sheriff’s force. He also stated, in response to questions by the court, that no one had made any promises to. him before he entered his plea of guilty and that neither the County Attorney nor anyone else had told him how to plead. The court, at the conclusion of this question, again asked Harris, the attorney, whether the defendant had anything more to say to the court by way of informing the court, and was informed that no further statement was desired to be made on behalf of Miller. Thereupon the court imposed the death sentence.

While no timely motion for a new trial was filed, such a motion was filed out of time. The motion was heard by the District Court and was denied, and an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Kansas, where the case was regularly docketed. Due to the peculiar nature of the case and the fact that Miller was a Negro and had employed counsel of his own race, the Supreme Court appointed the Honorable Edward Rooney with directions and authority to confer with appellant and his counsel and to do any and all acts proper to present that case to the Supreme Court, and to [114]*114take such other proceedings as he deemed necessary or proper to have the legal rights of Miller adjudicated.

After a thorough investigation, and pursuant to the mandate of the Supreme Court, Mr. Rooney instituted an original proceeding in habeas corpus in the Supreme Court of Kansas. The Supreme Court appointed a Commissioner to hold hearings and make findings of fact to be presented to the Supreme Court. This was done and a report was filed with the Supreme Court by its .Commissioner in which the ■ Commissioner concluded that the writ should be conditionally allowed; that Miller should not be discharged but should be permitted to return to Miami County to withdraw-his plea of guilty, and to have such other lawful proceedings as might be just and proper. This suggestion by the Commissioner was founded upon his, conclusion that Miller was not adequately represented and that his rights had not been fully explained to him. The Commissioner based this recommendation on his findings that Miller’s attorney should have applied for a change of venue; that on March 3, when the plea of guilty was entered, the plea should have been withdrawn and reentered on the day of the sentence; that his attorney, should have filed a timely motion for a new trial; that he should have offered evidence to the court of defendant’s long record of service and his good character and standing; that if his. attorney believed defendant was in fear, he should have made the same known to the District Judge and the court; that if the attorney himself was in fear, he should have made that known to the court; that his attorney should have made a formal investigation of the feeling in Miami County and should have taken more time for consideration of defendant’s rights; that he did not fully and completely advise defendant of the distinction between murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree; that at the preliminary hearing he made no objections to defendant’s wife testifying against him; that there is nothing in the record to ■show that the defendant ever had his rights fully explained to him.

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Bluebook (online)
176 F.2d 111, 1949 U.S. App. LEXIS 3026, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-hudspeth-ca10-1949.