People v. Sandoval

353 N.E.2d 715, 41 Ill. App. 3d 741, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 3016
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 10, 1976
Docket75-405
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 353 N.E.2d 715 (People v. Sandoval) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Sandoval, 353 N.E.2d 715, 41 Ill. App. 3d 741, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 3016 (Ill. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE SEIDENFELD

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant was convicted of burglary upon his guilty plea and was sentenced to a term of two to six years in the penitentiary. His appeal raises the question whether his confessions to crimes other than this charge of burglary which were taken in the absence of and without notice to his appointed counsel could properly be introduced in his sentencing hearing.

Defendant was arrested on December 9, 1974. The public defender was appointed to represent him on the burglary charge on December 11, 1974. Prior to defendant’s indictment he was interrogated by sheriffs deputies on December 16,1974, and again on December 21,1974, relating to matters other than the charged burglary. Defendant entered his guilty plea to the present charge on March 26, 1975. At his subsequent sentencing hearing the State sought to introduce statements pertaining to the unrelated charges. A hearing was conducted on the issue of voluntariness. The deputies testified that defendant was fully advised of his Miranda rights prior to the questioning on each occasion and that defendant said he understood his rights, made no requests and in addition signed written waiver forms on each occasion. At the hearing the defendant acknowledged that he had received his full Miranda warnings on both December 16 and 21. It was also determined that although the public defender’s office had been appointed and had appeared in court with defendant prior to either of the interviews no one from the defender’s office had been notified of the proposed questioning.

The trial court found that the defendant had been fully advised of his Miranda rights, had waived them voluntarily and concluded that the police were not barred from interviewing the defendant without notice to his counsel as to matters other than those charged in the pending case. The statements were then introduced. In them defendant confessed to other burglaries, thefts and to vandalism resulting in approximately *30,000 worth of damage to a cemetery. It is clear that the statements were substantially relied upon by the judge in sentencing.

Defendant first notes that constitutional rights protecting an accused from self-incrimination and permitting him the assistance of counsel apply at the sentencing stage of criminal proceedings. He argues that the police impermissibly ignored the existence of the attorney-client relationship in violation of his privilege against self-incrimination. He also contends that there could be no knowing and intelligent waiver since the interrogation was initiated by the police and not at the request of the defendant and because defendant did not specifically reject the presence and advice of his attorney. He relies on Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 12 L. Ed. 2d 246, 84 S. Ct. 1199 (1964), and Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 12 L. Ed. 2d 977, 84 S. Ct. 1758 (1964).

The State responds that Massiah applies only to post-indictment incriminating statements, whereas in this case the statements were made prior to indictment. In addition, the State argues that Massiah does not apply because the admissions were unrelated to the prosecution in which the statements were introduced. The State also contends that Massiah applies only to evidence introduced at trial, not at a sentencing hearing.

In Massiah the United States Supreme Court concluded that the sixth amendment right to the assistance of counsel meant that the defendant had that right with respect to surreptitious interrogation conducted after indictment and held that the statements could not be used as evidence against defendant at trial. (377 U.S. 201, 204-05,12 L. Ed. 2d 246,249-50, 84 S. Ct. 1199,1202.) In Escobedo the same court held that the defendant has the right to counsel at the accusatory stage of criminal proceedings (378 U.S. 478, 491,12 L. Ed. 2d 977, 986, 84 S. Ct. 1758,1765.) See also People v. Costa, 38 Ill. 2d 178, 183 (1967).

Massiah did not contemplate the issue of waiver. Miranda (Miranda v. State of Arizona, 384 U.S. 436,476-77,16 L. Ed. 2d 694,725,86 8. Ct. 1602, 1628 (1966)) did not contemplate circumstances in which counsel had already been appointed.

In People v. Kelley, 10 Ill. App. 3d 193, 196-97 (1973), we concluded that the Massiah doctrine did not make all post-indictment incriminating statements obtained in the absence of counsel even though already retained per se inadmissible; buti that the right to counsel in those circumstances could be waived by a defendant acting knowingly and intelligently. 1 See also People v. Morgan, 35 Ill. App. 3d 10,350 N.E.2d 27, 34 (1976).

Several Federal Courts of Appeal have dealt with the effect of the taking of a defendant’s statement after he has counsel but in absence of such counsel.

In United States v. Springer, 460 F.2d 1344 (7th Cir. 1972), the court was asked to affirm as a principle that Massiah and related cases stand for the rule that law enforcement officials cannot procure a statement of any kind from a defendant who has an attorney without at least prior notice to, if not the consent of, the attorney. (460 F.2d 1344, 1350.) The court, however, held that there was no such per se rule; and that a constitutional right, such as the right to counsel, may be waived. The defendant also sought to argue alternatively that even a higher Miranda burden is put on the government after retention of counsel to show an intelligent and knowing waiver. The court recognized “that there is a higher standard imposed to show waiver of the presence of counsel once counsel has been appointed than before ° ° 0 ” (460 F.2d 1344, 1352) but held that voluntariness becomes a question for the trier of the facts whose finding if it has “substantial support” will not be disturbed on review (460 F.2d 1344,1350). In a dissenting opinion, then Circuit Judge Stevens concluded that the work of the agents was purely trial preparation and that in this context the interrogation without notifying appointed counsel was a procedural irregularity which violated the due process clause of the fifth amendment. 460 F.2d 1344, 1355.

In Williams v. Brewer, 509 F.2d 227 (8th Cir. 1975), the court concluded that the district court had properly reversed a State court holding that defendant had knowingly waived his right to counsel.

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426 N.E.2d 1070 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1981)
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Bluebook (online)
353 N.E.2d 715, 41 Ill. App. 3d 741, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 3016, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-sandoval-illappct-1976.