State ex rel. Thompson v. Henderson

246 So. 2d 859, 258 La. 548, 1971 La. LEXIS 4336
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedApril 26, 1971
DocketNo. 51344
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 246 So. 2d 859 (State ex rel. Thompson v. Henderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Thompson v. Henderson, 246 So. 2d 859, 258 La. 548, 1971 La. LEXIS 4336 (La. 1971).

Opinion

In re: Joe Thompson, Jr. applying for writs of certiorari, prohibition, mandamus and habeas corpus.

Writs refused. The showing made does not warrant the exercise of our supervisory jurisdiction.

BARHAM, J.,

dissent? from the refusal and assigns written reasons.

DIXON, J.,

dissents from refusal to grant writs. Even after an evidentiary hearing,( the record is silent and does not disclose that the plea of guilty was intelligently and voluntarily made. The requirements of Boykin have not been met.

BARHAM, Justice (dissenting from refusal to grant writs).

[549]*549This relator pleaded guilty on November 10, 1969, to a charge of simple burglary and was sentenced to a term of two years. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Eighth Judicial District Court, Parish of Grant, alleging that he did not make a knowing and intelligent waiver of his rights, that he involuntarily pleaded guilty, that he was not in fact guilty, and that the record made up by that court at the time of his plea of guilty is silent as to whether the court apprised him of his rights and whether he waived those rights. The court granted an evidentiary hearing in an attempt to supply the requirements of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (June 2, 1969). At the evidentiary hearing the court stated from the bench, not under oath, that it always asks the defendants whether their rights have been explained to them by their counsel. The court said it was sure from its policy that this was done in this case, and that relator answered affirmatively that his rights had been explained. The court further assumed from its general practice that relator also stated at the time of his guilty plea that it was made of his own will and accord.with full knowledge of his rights.

In our consideration of writ applications we have consistently believed that Boykin v. Alabama should not have retroactive effect, relying upon the holding in Halliday v. United States, 394 U.S. 831, 89 S.Ct. 1498, 23 L.Ed.2d 16 (May 5, 1969), that McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (April 2, 1969), was not to be retroactive in application. Our court has had several disagreements in passing upon writ applications as to the meaning of Boykin v. Alabama. We have vacillated in our approach to pre-Boykin pleas of guilty, and we have vacillated in our approach to post-Boykin pleas of guilty. It should be apparent from the number of writ applications we receive that the trial courts also differ in their views on this matter. Whatever the majority of this court may determine the meaning of Boy-kin to be, we should once and for all put it to rest, if not for our benefit so as to have a cohesive court, then for the benefit of the trial courts so that they will not continue to commit error in one direction or the other.

The federal district courts and courts of appeals have a fairly uniform understanding of the meaning of Boykin, and numerous pleas of guilty made in the state courts after Boykin have been set aside in the federal system under writs of habeas corpus because the federal judges considered that Boykin had not been complied with.

McCarthy v. United States held that in federal prosecutions Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure must be complied with in every respect. It held that at the time of the plea the trial judge must [551]*551determine that the defendant knew of his constitutional rights which were to be waived by the plea, that he knowingly and intelligently waived these rights, and that he entered a plea “voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge”. Moreover, it was held that the record made at the time of the plea should affirmatively show that the explicit inquiry was made and that the response indicated a knowing and intelligent waiver and a voluntary plea. If the record made at the time of the plea — • this would usually consist of the minutes— did not reflect full compliance with Rule 11, the defect could not be cured by a later evidentiary hearing which might establish that all the criteria had been met except for the affirmative showing on the record. Halliday v. United States refused to make this holding retroactive.

In Boykin v. Alabama, the Supreme Court of the United States held:

“ * * * It was error, plain on the face of the record, for the trial judge to accept petitioner’s guilty plea without an affirmative showing that it was intelligent and voluntary. * * *
“ * * * The requirement that the prosecution spread on the record the prerequisites of a valid waiver is no constitutional innovation. In Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U.S. 506, 516, 8 L.Ed.2d 70, 77, 82 S.Ct. 884, we dealt with a problem of waiver of the right to counsel, a Sixth Amendment right. We held: ‘Presuming waiver from a silent record is impermissible. The record must show, or there must be an allegation and evidence which show, that an accused was offered counsel but intelligently and understanding^ rejected the offer. Anything less is not waiver.’
“We think that the same standard must be applied to determining whether a guilty plea is voluntarily made. For, as we have said, a plea of guilty is more than an admission of conduct; it is a conviction. Ignorance, incomprehension, coercion, terror, inducements, subtle or blatant threats might be a perfect cover-up of unconstitutionality. The question of an effective waiver of a federal constitutional right in a proceeding is of course governed by federal standards. Douglas v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 415, 422, 13 L.Ed.2d 934, 938, 85 S.Ct. 1074.
“Several federal constitutional rights are involved in a waiver that takes place when a plea of guilty is entered in a state criminal trial. First, is the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and applicable to the States by reason of the Fourteenth. Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 12 L.Ed.2d 653, 84 S.Ct. 1489. Second, is the right to trial by jury. Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 20 L.Ed.2d 491, 84 S.Ct. 1444. Third, is [553]*553the right to confront one’s accusers. Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 13 L.Ed.2d 923, 85 S.Ct. 1065. We cannot presume a waiver of these three important federal rights from a silent record.” (Emphasis supplied.)

The two justices who composed the minority in Boykin pointed out that the majority held, first, that the judge must inquire into the knowing, intelligent, and voluntary character of the plea and, second, that there must be an affirmative record left which reflects that inquiry.

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Related

State Ex Rel. Jackson v. Henderson
255 So. 2d 85 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1971)
State ex rel. Patterson v. Henderson
252 So. 2d 436 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1971)
State ex rel. Martin v. Henderson
252 So. 2d 437 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1971)
State ex rel. Gross v. Henderson
248 So. 2d 830 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
246 So. 2d 859, 258 La. 548, 1971 La. LEXIS 4336, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-thompson-v-henderson-la-1971.