Roulette v. Swenson

332 F. Supp. 714, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11156
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedOctober 20, 1971
DocketNo. 19364-4
StatusPublished

This text of 332 F. Supp. 714 (Roulette v. Swenson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roulette v. Swenson, 332 F. Supp. 714, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11156 (W.D. Mo. 1971).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS WITHOUT PREJUDICE

ELMO B. HUNTER, District Judge.

Petitioner, a convicted state prisoner who is currently confined in the Missouri State Penitentiary at Jefferson City, Missouri, has filed in forma pauperis a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the constitutional validity of his state conviction and sentence. Leave to proceed in forma pauperis was granted by the Court in the order to show cause entered on May 14,1971.

On November 26, 1968, petitioner was sentenced by the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, to a term of life imprisonment following his jury conviction for murder in the first degree. Petitioner took a direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Missouri, but that appeal was unsuccessful. See: State v. Roulette, 451 S.W.2d 336 (Mo.1970). Petitioner has not subsequently sought state post-conviction relief under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R.

On direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Missouri, petitioner raised the following contentions: (1) that the trial “court erred in refusing to sustain defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal,” (2) that the trial “court erred in admitting in evidence a supposed oral confession of the defendant by reading to the defendant the alleged oral confession of an accomplice which was hearsay, because defendant was denied the right to cross-examine [his alleged accomplice], and (3) that an instruction given by the trial court was erroneous because it “assumed that the defendant made a lawful confession and the court directed to find if said confession was voluntary but did not submit the question if this oral confession of the accomplice was voluntary and true, but if not so found, then the statement was not binding as this defendant [petitioner].” On appeal, the Supreme Court of Missouri determined that, under the facts presented during pre-trial hearings in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, and at trial, the testimony or confession referred to by petitioner constituted an oral confession of petitioner himself, rather than an oral statement of his alleged accomplice since petitioner actively assented to the statement of his alleged accomplice and later either stated that such statements were accurate or corrected those which he deemed inaccurate. In arriving at its decision, the Supreme Court of Missouri also noted by way of dicta that “there was and is no question about Miranda warnings or other rights” and that there existed “proof of the corpus delicti, proof of ‘both the criminal act and the criminal agency of the defendant’ * * The court also stated that the trial court had made specific findings, which were supported by the record, that petitioner’s confession was freely and voluntarily made, and that petitioner had been fully advised of his constitutional rights.

In support of his present application for federal habeas corpus relief, petitioner states the following, inter alia:

“The State of Missouri failed to prove the criminal act and the criminal agency of petitioner.
“The trial court introduced oral confession allegedly obtained following petitioner’s arrest at a time when he [716]*716was not represented by counsel, and the court introduced a confession of petitioner’s co-defendant without allowing the right of cross-examination. “The State of Missouri prejudicially erred in instructing petitioner’s jury that the mentioned confession was voluntarily obtained and failed to show said confession was voluntarily obtained all of which was a denial of a fair trial, due process and equal protection of the law as secured by the U.S. Constitution.”

Since it appeared that petitioner had raised these contentions on appeal to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Court directed respondent to show cause why relief should not be granted. Later, however, in response to an order of the Court directing petitioner to state whether he desired to offer additional evidence to that shown by the' state court record, petitioner offered the affidavit of his alleged accomplice which stated:

“[J]ames Roulette, Jr., was not a party in the crime in which he was tried and convicted and seeks the relief from this Court.
“[T]he police officers failed to advise me or the petitioner of any Constitutional rights.
“[T]he petitioner neither confessed as alleged by the police officers, nor did he acknowledge any confession by the nod of his head as alleged by the interrogating officer.”

And, in his traverse to the response of respondent, petitioner raised a new contention which has never previously been raised; namely, that police officers had violated his rights as afforded by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, and that he “was subjected to ‘Custodial Interrogations’ where he was denied the presence of counsel.” Because of that newly raised contention, the Court, on June 22, 1971, directed petitioner to further clarify the contentions he desired to present to this Court during these federal proceedings. In response to that order, petitioner alleged the following, inter alia:

“1. It is one of Roulette’s contentions that the alleged confession (if any) introduced at trial was obtained in violation of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 [86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694] (although it is not clear from the filings available whether this precise issue was presented to the Missouri Supreme Court).
“2. It is one of Roulette’s claims that he was deprived of the right to counsel at the time of the alleged confession, if any, was taken. (Although petitioner also claims there was not confession, and although there would be not such question had counsel in fact been present).
“The above affirmative answers are made as a part of his contention that he was denied the right to confront his co-defendant.”

Also, in that response to this Court’s order, petitioner admits that the evidence he now seeks to offer in this federal proceeding has never been offered in any state proceeding, post-conviction or otherwise.

In the absence of exceptional circumstances, a state prisoner must exhaust all currently available state post-conviction remedies before seeking federal habeas corpus relief. 28 U.S.C. § 2254; Baines v. Swenson, 384 F.2d 621 (8th Cir. 1967); Collins v. Swenson, 384 F.2d 623 (8th Cir. 1967); Hooper v. Nash, 323 F.2d 995 (8th Cir. 1963), cert. den. 376 U.S. 945, 84 S.Ct. 802, 11 L.Ed.2d 768 (1963); and White v. Swenson, 261 F.Supp. 42 (W.D.Mo. 1966).

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Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
James William Smith v. State of Kansas
356 F.2d 654 (Tenth Circuit, 1966)
Jimmie Baines v. H. R. Swenson, Warden
384 F.2d 621 (Eighth Circuit, 1967)
Jesse Franklin Collins v. Harold Swenson, Warden
384 F.2d 623 (Eighth Circuit, 1967)
Sammie L. Love v. State of Alabama
411 F.2d 558 (Fifth Circuit, 1969)
Marden A. Mayes v. Maurice H. Sigler, Warden, Etc.
428 F.2d 669 (Eighth Circuit, 1970)
White v. Swenson
261 F. Supp. 42 (W.D. Missouri, 1966)
Richardson v. Swenson
293 F. Supp. 275 (W.D. Missouri, 1968)
Dixon v. State of Missouri
295 F. Supp. 170 (W.D. Missouri, 1969)
State v. Roulette
451 S.W.2d 336 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1970)
Huffman v. Missouri
313 F. Supp. 730 (W.D. Missouri, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
332 F. Supp. 714, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11156, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roulette-v-swenson-mowd-1971.