Powell v. State of Arkansas

310 F. Supp. 142, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12727
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 25, 1970
DocketNo. FS-70-C-18, 19 and 20
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 310 F. Supp. 142 (Powell v. State of Arkansas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Powell v. State of Arkansas, 310 F. Supp. 142, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12727 (W.D. Ark. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION

PAUL X. WILLIAMS, District Judge.

On February 16, 1970 M. M. Powell, Peter C. Mavrikis and Carl Wayne Matthews effected a removal of the above styled cases and a statutory stay of proceedings in the prosecution against each of them by filing petitions purporting to bring the proceedings within the terms of 28 U.S.C. § 1443. They were permitted to amend and include an allegation that the civil rights of each petitioner was also violated under the terms of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

The petitioners complied with 28 U.S.C. § 1446 by giving notice of the filing of the petitions to all adverse parties and filing a copy with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Polk County, Arkansas, [143]*143which effected removal and stayed the prosecution pending in the State Court.

The Prosecuting Attorney of Polk County, Arkansas and the Attorney General of Arkansas each filed a petition to remand together with notice that same would be presented to and heard by the Court on February 20, 1970.

On February 20, 1970 the motions to remand were presented, the State of Arkansas appearing by its Attorney General, through his deputy, Hon. Don Langston. The petitioners appeared by their attorneys Hon. William Moore and Hon. Sherman Kusin.

After hearing oral arguments the Court took the matter under advisement and now enters its finding that each case should be remanded, having been improvidently removed to this Court and that this Court is without jurisdiction in each case.

In each case the petitioner is charged with robbery and alternatively with grand larceny in an information filed against him by the Prosecuting Attorney of Polk County, Arkansas.

In each petition for removal it is first alleged in general terms that the present petitioner is being denied and cannot enforce his equal civil rights as a citizen of the United States. This allegation lacks specificity sufficient to determine whether or not there is basis in fact for such an allegation.

Petitioners next state that each has a right under the Fifth Amendment not to be deprived of liberty without due process and a right under the Sixth Amendment to trial by an impartial jury and that these rights have been violated by pre-trial publicity of such nature that each petitioner cannot receive a fair trial in Polk County, Arkansas; and that the jury in Polk County was selected by Commissioners and is not constitutionally qualified to sit in judgment of each defendant.

If this last contention is true it is of such nature that it can be first determined by the State Trial Court, then by the Arkansas Supreme Court on appeal, and then by the highest Court of our land, the Supreme Court of the United States. None are within the scope of 28 U.S.C. § 1443.

The Court notes that in a short time the jury in Polk County will be chosen under the relatively new Random Selection Plan — and if there is a showing of merit, it is to be considered that the Circuit Court of Polk County will in a proper manner see to it that each defendant is afforded a Constitutional Jury.

Petitioners allege that the information is vague and indefinite; that each has a right under the Sixth Amendment to be confronted with witnesses against him, and to have process for obtaining witnesses, and that their rights have been violated by the trial judge’s refusal to allow sufficient time to take depositions of the witnesses who are to testify against him. None of these allegations are within the scope of 28 U.S.C. § 1443.

The statute under which removal is sought reads as follows.

28 U.S.C. § 1443 Civil right eases

“Any of the following civil actions or criminal prosecutions, commenced in a State Court may be removed by the defendant to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place wherein it is pending: (1) Against any person who is denied or cannot enforce in the courts of such State a right under any law providing for the equal civil rights of citizens of the United States, or of all persons within the jurisdiction thereof;
(2) For any act under color of authority derived from any law providing for equal rights, or for refusing to do any act on the ground that it would be inconsistent with such law.”

As to § 1443 (2) we find no application whatsoever to petitioners herein. For a good discussion of this issue see State of Arkansas v. Shaddox, 261 F. Supp. 566 (W.D.Ark.1966), and State of [144]*144Arkansas v. Howard, 218 F.Supp. 626 (E.D.Ark.1963).

Petitioners main thrust under the petition for removal is directed to § 1443 (1) and this opinion is so written.

The United States Supreme Court in the case of Georgia v. Rachel, 384 U.S. 780, 86 S.Ct. 1783, 16 L.Ed.2d 925, (1966) enunciated the principles which control and govern these causes as to all the allegations set out in the petitions for removal. The Court said:

“On the basis of the historical material that is available, we conclude that the phrase ‘any law providing for * * * equal civil rights’ must be construed to mean any law providing for specific civil rights stated in terms of racial equality. Thus, the defendants’ broad contentions under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment cannot support a valid claim for removal under § 1443, because the guarantees of those clauses are phrased in terms of general application available to all persons or citizens, rather than in the specific language of racial equality that § 1443 demands. As the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has concluded, § 1443 ‘applies only to rights that are granted in terms of equality and not to the whole gamut of constitutional rights * * *.’ ‘When the removal statute speaks of “any law providing for equal rights,” it refers to those laws that are couched in terms of equality, such as the historic and the recent equal rights statutes, as distinguished from laws, of which the due process clause and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are sufficient examples, that confer equal rights in the sense, vital to our way of life, of bestowing them upon all.’ ” (384 U.S. 792, 86 S.Ct. 1790.)

During oral argument counsel for the petitioners quite candidly admitted to the Court that there were no racial overtones in these cases but urged the Court to extend the doctrine to other situations such as the ones at hand. The United States Supreme Court has not chosen to extend removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1443 and this Court does not consider it wise nor legal to do so.

In City of Greenwood v.

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Bluebook (online)
310 F. Supp. 142, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powell-v-state-of-arkansas-arwd-1970.