Schwensow v. Burke

252 F. Supp. 336, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7803
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedApril 5, 1966
DocketNo. 65-C-263
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 252 F. Supp. 336 (Schwensow v. Burke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schwensow v. Burke, 252 F. Supp. 336, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7803 (E.D. Wis. 1966).

Opinion

REYNOLDS, District Judge.

Ronald Erwin Schwensow, an inmate of the Wisconsin State Prison at Wau-pun, Wisconsin, has filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus with this court alleging that he is unlawfully detained because (1) he was denied the right to have counsel present at his preliminary examination, (2) he was deprived of his right to a preliminary examination since the Court waived preliminary examination without his consent, (3) he gave a statement of confession after requesting and being denied counsel, which state[337]*337ment was obtained after continuous questioning and which influenced his plea of guilty, and (4) his attorney “amounted to no representation.” A response to the petition has been filed, and the petitioner has filed a reply.

A brief statement of the background facts is pertinent. On Friday, July 5, 1963, at 3:53 A.M., a West Milwaukee police officer received a radio dispatch to investigate a burglary at the Flintrop Arms Corporation in the Village of West Milwaukee, Milwaukee County. Upon arrival, he discovered that a large plate glass window on the south side of the building and a glass showcase inside the building had been broken, and that several guns had been removed from the showcase.

There were blood stains on the inside of the display case and on the window ledge. A trail of blood led from the apparent point of entry, the southwest corner of the building, across West National Avenue to the west side of South 41st Street. The blood trail ended on South 41st Street at a point where tire tracks showed that a vehicle had been parked. A lug wrench was found just west of the place where the vehicle was parked, and a 22 caliber automatic hand gun was found midway between the point of entry and the place where the vehicle was parked. This gun was later identified as coming from the Flintrop Arms Corporation.

At 3:55 A.M. the same morning, detectives investigated an accident that occurred at 1442 South 36th Street, Milwaukee. They found a 1955 Chevrolet two-door sedan with Indiana license plates, the right front end of which had been driven into a post supporting trolley wires. (It was later established that this automobile had been stolen from a visitor to Milwaukee.) In this car they found an Astro 22 caliber pistol. The detectives checked out this pistol and discovered that it came from the Flintrop Arms Corporation which had been burglarized earlier that morning.

The detectives followed a trail of blood leading from the auto to a house at 1565 South 34th Street in the City of Milwaukee. They were permitted to search the home and found petitioner hiding under a bed. Petitioner was bleeding. Oh top of the bed under which petitioner was hiding, the detectives found four automatic pistols which later were identified as coming from the Flintrop Arms Corporation.

Petitioner was immediately arrested without a warrant and taken to a hospital where he was treated for cuts oh his “hands and arm” which required some twenty-two stitches. He was then taken to the detective bureau and questioned at length. At 3:55 P.M. on July 5, 1963, petitioner signed a statement of confession. Petitioner asserts that during the entire period of his questioning, he was denied food, sleep, and an attorney and was suffering from pain and a hangover.

The record reveals that on August 28, 1963, in the Circuit Court of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, the petitioner- was convicted of and sentenced for operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent and for burglary, and that he is now serving the sentence imposed on that day.1 Petitioner did not appeal his conviction to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He did, however, file a petition for writ of habeas corpus. His petition was denied by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. State ex rel. Schwensow v. Burke, an unpublished opinion of the Wisconsin Supreme Court filed September 14, 1965. He has thus exhausted his state court remedies.

Petitioner was found guilty after pleading guilty to the offenses charged. It is well settled that in pleading guilty to the charges for which he was sentenced, the petitioner waived objections to prior proceedings, including prior violations, if any, of his constitutional [338]*338rights. United States ex rel. Staples v. Pate, 332 F.2d 531 (7th Cir. 1964); United States v. French, 274 F.2d 297 (7th Cir. 1960). This is not true, of course, if petitioner’s plea of guilty was not understandingly and voluntarily entered.

The petitioner’s allegation that his court-appointed counsel “amounted to no representation” might be interpreted as a claim that he did not understandingly plead guilty. Petitioner alleges that his attorney failed to prosecute the case properly and erroneously advised him to plead guilty. The record (T. p. 6)2 clearly indicates that petitioner sought the appointment of the particular attorney who represented him.

“THE COURT: Did you ask Mr. Philip Murphy to act as your lawyer in these cases ?
“THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
“THE COURT: Have you paid him?
“THE DEFENDANT: No, sir.
“THE COURT: Do you want me to appoint him for you ?
“THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.”

It is thus clear that petitioner voluntarily chose and requested the Court to appoint the attorney he now alleges afforded him no representation.

Throughout the course of proceedings against him in the Circuit Court, petitioner was represented by his attorney and never once objected to the quality of said representation. In state court proceedings of this nature, an attorney representing an indigent will not be compensated unless he is formally appointed by the Court before whom he represents the defendant. After his plea of guilty, petitioner expressed the desire that the attorney whose representation ■ he now questions receive such a formal appointment so that said attorney would receive compensation from the State for his services. At this time petitioner was certainly aware that this attorney had only met with him twice out of court and had advised him to plead guilty.

One could only conclude from the record that petitioner understood not only the charges brought against him (T. p. 5) but also the nature and effect of a guilty plea thereto (T. p. 4). The petition makes no factual allegation as to deficiency in legal representation which, liberally construed, would tend to support the conclusion that as a result thereof petitioner did not understand the nature and effect of his plea of guilty or did not make such plea voluntarily. The mere fact that counsel advises his client to plead guilty for tactical reasons does not mean that such plea, when made, is involuntary or without the knowledge and understanding of his client. Even if it is true that counsel was unprepared at other points in the proceedings, which we do not decide, such lack of preparation would have no bearing upon petitioner’s plea of guilty when petitioner admits counsel discussed his plea with him, advising him to plead guilty, and the Court explains to him the nature and possible consequences of such a plea (T. pp. 4, 5).

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Bluebook (online)
252 F. Supp. 336, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7803, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schwensow-v-burke-wied-1966.