People v. Harmon

351 P.2d 329, 54 Cal. 2d 9, 4 Cal. Rptr. 161, 1960 Cal. LEXIS 139
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedApril 8, 1960
DocketCrim. 6532
StatusPublished
Cited by77 cases

This text of 351 P.2d 329 (People v. Harmon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Harmon, 351 P.2d 329, 54 Cal. 2d 9, 4 Cal. Rptr. 161, 1960 Cal. LEXIS 139 (Cal. 1960).

Opinions

SCHAUER, J.

A jury found defendant guilty of violation of section 4500 of the Penal Code (assault with malice aforethought by force likely to produce great bodily injury, committed by one undergoing a life sentence in a state prison). Section 4500 as it read at the time of the commission of the assault and at the time of judgment herein (Stats. 1941, ch. 106, § 15) made the death penalty for such offense mandatory. This appeal from the judgment of death is taken pursuant to subdivision (b) of section 1239 of the Penal Code.

After judgment defendant asked that his court-appointed trial counsel be relieved. At a subsequent superior court hearing to settle the reporter’s transcript, defendant was represented by another counsel, also court-appointed. This court, on defendant’s request for counsel on appeal, appointed yet another attorney, who has since been relieved at defendant's request. Defendant in propria persona presents the following contentions: (1) he did not have opportunity to consult privately with counsel prior to trial; (2) the trial judge erroneously refused defendant’s request for change of trial counsel after defendant’s counsel indicated that he “was not willing to help in subpoenaing proper witnesses to support a good case for the defendant”; (3) this court should reexamine and overrule its holdings that section 4500 of the Penal Code applies to prisoners who are serving indeterminate sentences with a maximum statutory punishment of life imprisonment and whose terms have not been “fixed” (by specifically designating them as life terms) by the Adult Authority, and that such application of section 4500 is constitutional; (4) the trial judge erred in the admission of evidence; (5) the prosecuting attorney was guilty of misconduct. We have concluded that [15]*15defendant’s contentions are without merit and our independent review of the record has convinced us that the judgment should be affirmed.

Defendant’s contentions that he was denied effective representation of counsel are bare assertions without support in the record. The transcript does not disclose that defendant had any disagreement with his trial counsel, or that any complaint concerning defendant’s representation was presented to the trial court. So far as appears these contentions are recent figments of defendant’s imagination.

Defendant is directly chargeable with responsibility for the incongruity between his contentions and the record. With considerable experience in criminal law (in the capacity of one repeatedly accused and convicted of crime), defendant has chosen to refuse the services of court-appointed counsel on appeal. The testimony of defendant and the brief which he has himself prepared indicate that he is of sufficient intelligence that he should be able to appreciate the consequences of his insistence on representing himself on appeal. A letter sent by defendant personally to the district attorney after his arraignment and before the filing of the information herein suggests that defendant may have overestimated his legal ability.1 However, it appears the following rules should apply:

“Except in certain situations not here pertinent, the court cannot force a competent defendant to be represented by an attorney.” (People v. Mattson (1959), 51 Cal.2d 777, 788-789 [336 P.2d 937]; see Reynolds v. United States (1959, C.A. 9), 267 F.2d 235, 236; Duke v. United States (1958, C.A. 9), 255 F.2d 721, 724 [4, 5], cert. den. 357 U.S. 920 [78 S.Ct. 1361, 2 L.Ed.2d 1365].) When defendant in this court requested termination of the appointment of his counsel we were “not required to demand that defendant, as a prerequisite to appearing in person, demonstrate either the acumen or the learning of a skilled lawyer” (People v. Linden (1959), 52 Cal.2d 1, 17 [3] [338 P.2d 397]) and, having competently elected to represent himself, defendant “assumes for all purposes connected with his case, and must be prepared to be treated as having, the qualifications and responsibilities concomitant with the role he has undertaken” (People v. Mattson (1959), supra, 51 Cal.2d 777, 794 [17]).

[16]*16Defendant makes the assertion, unsupported by the record, that there was “no sufficient proof” that he was serving a life sentence on May 2, 1959, the date of the assault, and June 30, 1959, the date of rendition of judgment. On those dates defendant was confined under a judgment of conviction of two counts of first degree robbery, sentences running consecutively. The penalty for robbery of the first degree is imprisonment for not less than five years (Pen. Code, § 213, snbd. 1) with a maximum punishment of life imprisonment (Pen. Code, § 671). Defendant testified that his term had not been fixed by the Adult Authority, although he had repeatedly appeared before that body at hearings relating to the fixing of terms. Defendant is mistaken as to the nature and effect of the action taken by the Adult Authority. Penal Code, section 671, provides that “Whenever any person is declared punishable for a crime by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not less than any specified number of years, and no limit to the duration of such imprisonment is declared, punishment of such offender shall be imprisonment during his natural life” subject to the provisions of part 3 of the Penal Code providing for an Adult Authority and administration of the indeterminate sentence law. (See Pen. Code, §§ 1168,2 30203 and related sections.) By the terms of the applicable statutes a defendant sentenced under section 213 of the Penal Code to imprisonment in a state prison “for not less than five years” is under a life sentence unless and until the Adult Authority sees fit to relieve him of the life sentence by limiting (subject to the provisions of the above referred to Penal Code sections) the punishment to imprisonment for a span of years. In the case of a life term convict who the Authority does not believe merits a lesser term it may, and customarily does, act by simply refraining from fixing his term at a span of years. Since by statute he is already serving a life term there is no occasion for the Authority to re-declare the fact.

Prom what has been stated above it is clear that under [17]*17the law of this state, defendant was “undergoing a life sentence” within the meaning of section 4500 of the Penal Code.4 Such construction and application of the statute have repeatedly been held constitutional. In People v. Jefferson (1956), 47 Cal.2d 438, 442-444 [3-6] [303 P.2d 1024], and People v. Berry (1955), 44 Cal.2d 426, 430 [1] [282 P.2d 861], we reaffirmed the views expressed in People v. Wells (1949), 33 Cal.2d 330, 334-337 [2a-2b] [202 P.2d 53], and cases there cited, where arguments similar to those advanced by defendant here had been discussed and rejected. Other arguments concerning the application and constitutionality of section 4500 which are reiterated by defendant were viewed favorably in Ex parte Wells (1950, D.C., N.D.Cal., S.D.), 90 F.Supp. 855, 858 [1], but thereafter rejected by this court in the case of In re Wells

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Bluebook (online)
351 P.2d 329, 54 Cal. 2d 9, 4 Cal. Rptr. 161, 1960 Cal. LEXIS 139, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-harmon-cal-1960.