State v. Ellison

550 P.2d 101, 26 Ariz. App. 547, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 901
Court of Appeals of Arizona·Decided May 27, 1976·No. 1 CA-CR 1439·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

OPINION

FROEB, Judge.

Appellant Billy G. Ellison brings this appeal from an order of the trial court revoking probation and sentencing him to not less than two nor more than five years in the Arizona State Prison.

Previously a jury had found appellant guilty of aggravated battery. Imposition of sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for two years beginning December 11, 1974.

While on probation appellant was charged in the police court of Gila Bend with disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor. On March 26, 1975, he entered a plea of guilty to the charge and was sentenced to, and served, 45 days in the county jail. He was not represented by counsel in these proceedings, nor does the record from Gila Bend Police Court indicate whether appellant waived his right to be represented by an attorney.

On June 16, 1975, a petition to revoke probation in this case was filed in the superior court, alleging that appellant had violated the terms of his probation due to his conviction and sentence for disturbing *548 the peace in Gila Bend. Appellant, now represented by the public defender, responded with a motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that the conviction of disturbing the peace in Gila Bend was invalid. He argued that, in the absence of a showing that appellant had knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in those proceedings, the conviction could not be relied upon by the court as a basis for revocation of probation.

The trial court denied the motion and held a hearing to determine if the terms of probation had been violated. The only evidence presented was the official record of the Gila Bend Police Court consisting of a one-page summary of the proceedings leading to conviction and sentence of appellant for disturbing the peace. 1 At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court found that appellant had violated the condition of probation which required him to conduct himself as a law-abiding Gitizen. Thereafter, the court determined that his probation should be revoked.

Appellant bases his appeal upon the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25, 92 S.Ct. 2006, 32 L.Ed.2d 530 (1972). In that case the Supreme Court held that “absent a knowing and intelligent waiver, no person may be imprisoned for any offense, whether classified as petty, misdemeanor, or felony, unless he was represented by counsel at his trial.” 407 U.S. at 37, 92 S.Ct. at 2012. Appellant argues that because the record does not show a waiver of counsel in the Gila Bend case and because the conviction resulted in his incarceration, it cannot lawfully be the basis for the revocation of probation and sentence in this case. We agree that Arger-singer compels this conclusion.

The record in the Gila Bend case is silent as to a knowing and intelligent waiver of counsel and thus it cannot be presumed that such a waiver occurred. Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109, 88 S.Ct. 258, 19 L.Ed. 319 (1967); State v. Renaud, 108 Ariz. 417, 499 P.2d 712 (1972). Contrary to the argument of the State, the mere recital in the record of the Gila Bend proceeding that appellant was “informed of his legal rights” is insufficient to establish a waiver of counsel.

The rule of Argersinger barring incarceration where a defendant is not represented by counsel logically ^ applies to a case, such as this, where the revocation of probation and imposition of sentence is based solely upon the record of conviction in another case in which the defendant was without counsel. Cottle v. Wainwright, 477 F.2d 269 (5th Cir. 1973); State v. Harris, 312 So.2d 643 (La.1975); People v. Brooks, 16 Mich.App. 759, 168 N.W.2d 658 (1969).

The principle here has also been applied with respect to the use of such a conviction to enhance punishment under recidivist or repeat offender statutes. Burgett, supra; Renaud, supra. As stated by the United States Supreme Court in Burgett:

To permit a conviction obtained in violation of Gideon v. Wainwright to be used against a person either to support guilt or enhance punishment for another offense . . is to erode the principle of that case. Worse yet, since the *549 defect in the prior conviction was denial of the right to counsel, the accused in effect suffers anew from the deprivation of that Sixth Amendment fight. [389 U.S. at 119; 88 S.Ct. at 262]

Where it is impermissible to use such a conviction to enhance punishment in a later case, so too must it, fail as the basis for revocation of probation where the result is incarceration.

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State v. Ellison, 550 P.2d 101, 26 Ariz. App. 547, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 901 (Ark. Ct. App. 1976).

550 P.2d 101 (State v. Ellison) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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