United States ex rel. Dove v. Thieret

693 F. Supp. 716, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8738, 1988 WL 82463
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 3, 1988
DocketNo. 87-2414
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 693 F. Supp. 716 (United States ex rel. Dove v. Thieret) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States ex rel. Dove v. Thieret, 693 F. Supp. 716, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8738, 1988 WL 82463 (C.D. Ill. 1988).

Opinion

[718]*718ORDER

BAKER, Chief Judge.

The petitioner, Gerald Wayne Dove, seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. On December 10, 1985, an Illinois state court convicted Gerald Dove (Dove) of murdering his wife, Melodie Dove (Melodie). In his petition for habeas relief, Dove alleges that the Illinois state proceeding violated tenets of the Constitution because the trial court admitted evidence obtained in violation of Dove’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. Specifically, Dove alleges that the government gained incriminating evidence through unnecessary delays in incarceration1 and the wrongful use of an informant. Dove alleges that such tactics impaired his privilege against self-incrimination and his right to counsel. (Docket No. 1, p. 5.) Dove has filed a memorandum in support of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus (Docket Nos. 8 and 9) and the state has responded. (Docket No. 10.)

FACTS2

On August 30, 1985, the Decatur Police Department received a report that Melodie Dove was a missing person. Melodie was last seen by her mother at approximately 11:00 p.m. on August 29, 1985, as Melodie was leaving her mother’s house to pick up a television set from Dove. A taxi cab driver recalled driving Melodie to Dove’s residence, and one of Dove’s neighbors reported seeing a woman fitting Melodie’s description arrive at Dove’s home after 11:00 p.m. on August 29th.

On September 11, 1985, Officer Mowen of the Decatur Police Department received an anonymous phone call at 3:00 a.m. from an unknown male. The caller explained that Dove had taken Melodie outside of the county, had tied and gagged her, and was taking food and water to her. Officer Mowen subsequently learned that the caller might be Gerald Alsup, a long-time friend of Dove’s.

Later in the day on September 11, 1985, Mowen phoned Alsup and asked him to come to the police station. Alsup went to the station and told police substantially the same information that Officer Mowen had received in the anonymous phone message earlier in the morning. Alsup neither admitted nor denied making the call.

Following their conversation with Alsup, the police obtained a warrant for Dove’s arrest. The arrest warrant was based upon a complaint signed by Robert Davis, a Decatur Police Officer. The complaint was based upon information gained from Officer Davis’ personal knowledge and upon evidence in police reports regarding the investigation of Melodie’s disappearance. Officer Davis presented the complaint to a judge who then issued an arrest warrant for Dove. (See Report of Proceedings in People v. Dove, Volume III, pp. 56-60.)

After the Decatur police received the arrest warrant, Mowen recruited Alsup to obtain evidence from Dove. Alsup agreed [719]*719to wear an electronic listening device and to engage Dove in a conversation regarding Melodie’s condition. The transcript of that conversation leaves no doubt that Als-up repeatedly inquired about what had happened to Melodie, and that Alsup repeatedly urged Dove to talk louder for the obvious purpose of insuring adequate reception. It is clear that Alsup engaged Dove in conversation with the intent to elicit incriminating remarks from Dove. During the conversation, Dove told Alsup that Mel-odie was alive and that he had repeatedly struck Melodie.

Dove was arrested on Wednesday, September 11, 1985, at 8:00 p.m., shortly after his conversation with Alsup. Dove was taken to the Decatur Police Station where the Decatur Police attempted to interrogate him. Dove asked for an attorney and the interrogation was terminated. During the afternoon of September 13, 1985, Dove was transferred from the Decatur Police Station to the county jail. Dove was not taken to court for an initial appearance until Monday, September 16,1985. At that time, a three-count information charging Dove with murder was filed, and counsel was appointed to represent him. (See Report of Proceedings in People v. Dove, Vol. I, pp. C9-C14.)

On September 15, 1985, Alsup notified the Decatur Police that Dove had telephoned Alsup at home and had asked Alsup to visit the county jail. Since September 15th fell on a Sunday, under jail rules, Alsup needed special permission to visit Dove. The Decatur Police arranged Als-up’s visit and advised the jail authorities that Dove’s visit was “regarding the investigation.” Initially, the police asked Alsup to wear a recording device during the visit, but the plan was abandoned after the State’s Attorney advised the police that such a procedure would likely be illegal. After conferring with the State’s Attorney, Decatur Police Officers testified that they explained to Alsup that he would be strictly on his own, that he could not question Dove on behalf of the police, that he was not being asked to interrogate Dove, and that he was under no obligation to report the content of any conversation with Dove. The police also said that they requested Alsup to inform them if Melodie was still alive so that the police might rescue her. Alsup testified that the police did not require him to visit Dove or to report to them the substance of his conversation with Dove. Alsup also says that on September 15th the police did not ask him to find out where Melodie was.

During the September 15th conversation with Alsup, Dove admitted that he had killed Melodie, told Alsup where the body was located, and asked Alsup to move the body to avoid its discovery by the police. (Report of Proceedings in People v. Dove, Vol. II, C320-32.) Alsup decided to report the details of his conversation with Dove to the police. Alsup negotiated an immunity agreement for himself and provided the police with the information regarding Melo-die’s murder. Based upon that information, the police located Melodie’s body. The two conversations between Alsup and Dove were admitted into evidence during Dove’s murder trial and he was convicted and sentenced to twenty years of incarceration.

SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO COUNSEL

In relevant part, the Sixth Amendment guarantees that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to ... have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” U.S. Const. Amend. VI. The Supreme Court has long recognized the importance of counsel in criminal proceedings. In Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 68-69, 53 S.Ct. 55, 64, 77 L.Ed. 158 (1932), the court concluded that:

The right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by [sic] counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law. If charged with crime, he is incapable, generally, of determining for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence. Left without the aid of counsel he may be put to trial without a proper charge, and convicted [720]*720upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise admissible. He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he may have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he may not be guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know how to establish his innocence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
693 F. Supp. 716, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8738, 1988 WL 82463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-dove-v-thieret-ilcd-1988.