Miller v. State of Oklahoma

240 F. Supp. 263, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6955
District Court, E.D. Oklahoma·Decided April 12, 1965·No. No. 5749·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

DAUGHERTY, District Judge.

This case is a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by a state prisoner. Petitioner has exhausted his available state remedies without relief. See Miller v. State (Okl.Cr.), 379 P.2d 708, and Miller v. State (Okl.Cr.) 390 P.2d 253.

Petitioner was convicted on October 4, 1962, in the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, of the crime of robbery with firearms after former convic[265] tion of a felony and sentenced to fifteen (15) years imprisonment in the state penitentiary. He was represented by an attorney of his choice at his arraignment, at the jury trial, and at the time of being sentenced. Timely notice of appeal was given and an extension of time within which to serve case-made of sixty (60) days was granted, and an additional extension of thirty (30) days was subsequently granted, said ninety (90) day period dating from the date of sentence on October 18, 1962. The petitioner did not at any time waive or give up his right of appeal, but it appears has sought an appellate review of his conviction and sentence at all times. Petitioner complains herein that he was wrongfully denied his right of appeal; that reversible errors were committed during his jury trial and that he had incompetent counsel and counsel not of his choice at his jury trial.

This Court appointed counsel for the petitioner and held an evidentiary hearing on the petition for writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner testified in person and produced several witnesses and seven exhibits. The respondent offered no witnesses or exhibits.

From the evidence presented at the hearing before this Court it appears that on December 17,1962, the petitioner sent by certified mail a letter to the Presiding Judge of the Tulsa County District Court at Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which the petitioner claimed that he was an indigent and unable to pay for a case-made or to pay an attorney to test the legality of his conviction and sentence. In said letter the petitioner requested the Court for permission to proceed in forma pauperis, that he be furnished the records and case-made at the expense of Tulsa County, and by his statement that he was unable to pay an attorney, in effect requested the Court to appoint an attorney for the purpose of perfecting an appeal of his conviction and sentence. See plaintiff’s Exhibit 2.1

The petitioner produced a Receipt for Certified Mail which indicates that on December 17,1962, a communication was sent by him by such means to the Presiding Judge, Tulsa District Court, Tulsa, Oklahoma. See plaintiff’s Exhibit 5. Petitioner also produced as a witness the Postmaster of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary who testified regarding the said Receipt for Certified Mail [266] and that according to the records of his office a letter was sent by certified mail by petitioner on December 17, 1962, to the Presiding Judge of the Tulsa District Court at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The petitioner presented in the form of plaintiff’s Exhibit 2 what he said' was an original copy of the above mentioned letter to the Tulsa District Court. It is noted that this letter drawn by petitioner while in the State Penitentiary, does not conform to state requirements for the form of a pauperis affidavit. See 20 O.S.A. § 111.

Petitioner also offered in evidence a letter directed to him under date of January 18, 1962 (should be 1963), from the Public Defender in and for Tulsa County, Oklahoma. See plaintiff’s Exhibit 4. In this letter the Public Defender advised the petitioner as follows:

“Dear Mr. Miller.
The undersigned is Public Defender in and for Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Your letters were given to me for answer. The Judges of the District Court have told me to advise you that my office has no obligation to provide you with an appeal or aid you in the same.
In order to give you the benefit of the doubt, I did make diligent inquiry.
Sorry I can’t be of help.”

It thus appears from the evidence that on or about December 17, 1962, the petitioner made an appeal to the Tulsa District Court requesting that he be found to be an indigent person, and that on such basis he be provided with a free case-made of his trial proceedings and be furnished with an attorney for the purpose of appealing his conviction and sentence. It is noted that this request to the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, went forward and was received at about the time the last thirty day extension of time within which to serve case-made was granted. Thus, this request was timely made approximately thirty days before the end of the ninety day period following his sentence. The letter from the Public Defender was dated January 18, 1962, but this is obviously a typographical error and should have been dated January 18, 1963, which date was immediately after the expiration of the ninety day period following the date of sentence. Under Oklahoma law, a criminal appeal must be prefected in ninety days following sentence.

The United States Court of\Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently had the point involved in this case regarding the right to an appeal before it in the case of Chase v. Page, 343 F.2d 167, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, January Term, 1965. In this case a similar timely request for an appeal was made to the trial judge in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, and the same not being in strict conformity with the statutes of the State of Oklahoma with reference to an affidavit of poverty was disregarded by the trial judge and not answered or acted upon. The effect of the opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in the Chase case is to condemn this practice and place on a trial judge receiving such a timely request the responsibility to immediately appoint counsel to represent said defendant with instructions to make a proper showing of indigency on which to obtain a case-made at state expense and court appointed counsel in connection with an appeal of the conviction and sentence. In Chase the Court remanded the case to the federal trial court with instructions to determine whether or not the petitioner was in fact an indigent during the period allowed him for an appeal, and if so to afford the State of Oklahoma an opportunity to now grant the appeal of which he was wrongfully deprived and to do so within a reasonable time or else it will become necessary to order his release from custody on his petition for writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that he is illegally detained by the State of Oklahoma due to having been deprived of his constitutional right of appeal in violation of the equal protection of the laws and due process of law.

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Miller v. State of Oklahoma, 240 F. Supp. 263, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6955 (E.D. Okla. 1965).

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