Riojas v. Turner

304 F. Supp. 559, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10198
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedOctober 3, 1969
DocketNos. C-300, 306, 248 and 213-69
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 304 F. Supp. 559 (Riojas v. Turner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Riojas v. Turner, 304 F. Supp. 559, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10198 (D. Utah 1969).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION

CHRISTENSEN, District Judge.

The first two eases mentioned above were initiated by unverified letters from prisoners in the Utah State Prison, leave was granted by the Chief Judge to file these letters in forma pauperis as petitions for writs of habeas corpus, and they were docketed as habeas corpus cases and assigned to me by our automatic assignment system. The latter two cases involve letters similarly addressed and unverified, asking for further relief by way of rehearings or otherwise in matters already assigned to me.

Civil Number 300-69, Riojas and Martin v. Turner, was initiated by the following letter to the Chief Judge:

We Gary Martin and Jimmy Riojas are writing in regard to our parole violation when we were violated with out a lawyer being present at our board hearing. I, Jimmy Riojas did receive a three year date in April 67, I also was convicted of a new charge. We have heard that you have stated that this is not constitutional. Since then I have sen people released from the state prison who were faced with the circumstances that we are faced with. We would appreciate any and all advice to this matter that you could give us. We would appreciate it if you would [560]*560appoint an attorney to come out here to the prison and talk to us.

Number C 306-69, Kanosh v. Turner, was initiated by the following letter similarly addressed:

I am writing to you in regards to an inmate at the Utah State Prison, who is illiterate, and who I believe has had his Constitutional Rights violated.
His name is Edward Kanosh, USP #12121.
He was violated on the grounds, “using intoxicants in violation of the order of the Board of Pardons,” on February 5th, 1969, without counsel, due to lack of funds and knowledge.
Neither he nor myself are very well acquainted with the law, nor have the law book available.
He would appreciate a chance to consult with an attorney, but he is still without funds to retain one.
We place our faith in the justice of your court.

Based upon these letters on August 22, and September 2, 1969, respectively, the Chief Judge entered orders in the following terms:

The Court having examined the application for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by the above named petitioner, together with the Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis and the required affidavit,
IT IS ORDERED that petitioner be, and he is hereby authorized to proceed in forma pauperis, and the Clerk is directed to file forthwith the petitioner’s application without prepayment of fees and costs or security therefor.

In C 248-69, Brown v. Turner, on August 26, 1969, after an evidentiary hearing, I entered findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment determining that petitioner’s claim with respect to one sentence was moot since he already had served it and that as to the other sentence under attack, state court findings that his plea was voluntary were fully supported by the evidence, that there was no evidence that the plea was not intelligently and advisedly made and that plaintiff was not denied the right to counsel, but rather was represented effectively by counsel. Plaintiff’s appeal of this decision is now pending in the Court of Appeals.

The plaintiff, Brown, has now written the following letter to the Chief Judge asserting new grounds for relief, and this letter has been referred to me pursuant to the assignment rule:

Would you see Raymond Berry about making an order to release me. I was not given a hearing at my Parole Revocation. Judge Sherman Christensen did not consider that when I was before him on a Writ of Habeas Corpus. If you want some information would you please Mr. Raymond Berry, my attorney, which was appointed by you to represent me. I should of been released with the first fellows you granted. I am ignorant of the laws. I don’t have no one to help me. I also would like to talk private with you on some matters in the prison hear on. If you care to send some one I can give you the true facts about anything and everything hear in this Prison. I been hear 3% years on a 1 to 10. [Illegible] * * * which I was forced to plead guilty to or be tried on a 5 to life sentence they say I did. I was under the influence of narcotics when they charged me with this crime. And another fellow would like to see you on a [illegible] if you would send one down. His name is Randel Bryant who has been hear over 5 years and he could not have had a fair trial as he had a stroke and is unable to converse with anyone. Thanking you, Chester Brown.

In C 213-69, William Whetton v. John W. Turner, Warden, I held on the original petition that without a showing of the exhaustion of state remedies or any pending appeal or habeas corpus proceeding either in the state or this court, I had no authority to order the state to provide him with a copy of his trial transcript. No appeal was taken from this ruling within the time required by law, or at all.

[561]*561Under date of September 22, 1969, the plaintiff has written the following letter on the subject to the Chief Judge:'

Repeated attempts to obtain a copy of my “trial transcript” have resulted in repeated failures.
Attached is a copy of the “denial” of the Supreme Court of my “Petition for a writ of mandamus” requiring the Third District Court (Salt Lake County, Utah) to show cause, if any it had, why I should not be granted a “transcript” of my “trial” consistent with the holding of the Supreme Court in Gardner v. California, 37 U.S. Law Week 4098 [393 U.S. 367, 89 S.Ct. 580, 21 L.Ed.2d 601] (Jan. 21, 1969).
Inasmuch as a person of means (financial means) would be able to support his contentions in a Habeas Corpus or Coram Nobis proceeding by the use of his “Trial Transcript” it would seem that the Denial of such subject — matter to me an indigent defendant, would be condemned as the “invidious discrimination” condemned in Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12 [76 S.Ct. 585, 100 L.Ed. 891] (1956) and Long v. District Court, 385 U.S. 192 [87 S.Ct. 362, 17 L.Ed.2d 290] (1966).
I feel compelled to seek your aid in causing the “transcript” to be furnished to me under the Federal Constitutional Guarantee of “Equal Protection of the Laws” and in the interest of justice. Especially in view of the fact that I am imprisoned for a capital offense — which I am sure the “transcript” will show a total absence of malice of any kind and other facts which are fatal to the validity of my conviction.
I shall be most sincerely grateful for your favorable consideration in regard to the forestated “transcript” being prepared and forwarded to me. Thank you.
Respectfully submitted,
William Whetton.

I had already pointed out in my memorandum decision on the original petition that, unlike the situation discussed in Gardner v.

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304 F. Supp. 559, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10198, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riojas-v-turner-utd-1969.