United States Ex Rel. Guy v. McCauley

385 F. Supp. 193, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11701
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedDecember 9, 1974
DocketCiv. A. 73-C-84
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 385 F. Supp. 193 (United States Ex Rel. Guy v. McCauley) 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
United States Ex Rel. Guy v. McCauley, 385 F. Supp. 193, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11701 (E.D. Wis. 1974).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

JOHN W. REYNOLDS, Chief Judge.

Betty Jean Guy, presently incarcerated at the Wisconsin Home for Women, Taycheedah, Wisconsin, has petitioned this court for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 et seq.

On March 19, 1971, petitioner was found guilty of the sale of a dangerous drug (namely, cocaine), in violation of § 161.41 (lm), Wis.Stats. A short time later, on April 2, 1971, the petitioner *194 was found guilty of possession of heroin, in violation of § 161.02(1), Wis.Stats. Petitioner was sentenced in both cases on April 2, 1971, to serve concurrent four-year terms in the Wisconsin Home for Women.

Petitioner has exhausted her state remedies pursuant to the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b). She filed a motion to suppress in the trial court. A hearing on said motion was heard prior to trial, and the motion was denied by order of the Honorable L. J. Foley, Jr., Circuit Judge, Circuit Court of Milwaukee County. By stipulation of the parties, all testimony at the hearing on suppression was received as evidence for the purpose of trial. Petitioner appealed from the judgment and order of the circuit court, and in the decision of State v. Guy, 55 Wis.2d 83, 197 N.W.2d 774 (1972), the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court. After examination of the trial court transcript and the opinion of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, I find that the grounds raised in this petition were raised before both the trial court and the appellate court.

There is no allegation that petitioner did not receive a full and fair evidentiary hearing at the state court level. Therefore, an evidentiary hearing was not warranted in this matter. On February 20, 1973, I granted petitioner leave to proceed in forma pauperis in this matter.

I. FACTS

The facts, as they appear from the record, follow. On December 5, 1970, shortly before noon, petitioner was arrested at her home by several officers of the Milwaukee Police Department on an arrest warrant charging her with the sale of cocaine. The arresting officers were members of the narcotics division of the vice squad of the Milwaukee Police Department and were familiar with paraphernalia used by heroin users. While the officers were inside the petitioner’s home and engaged in conversation with the petitioner, they observed on a bedroom nightstand various paraphernalia typically employed in the heating and administering of heroin. Present on this table were a couple hypodermic needles, an eyedropper, a glass of water, small pieces of copper- wire, a “cooker” (a burned bottle cap with a wad of cotton in the middle) and white residue. A “cooker” is used to “cook up” the heroin before administering it into the arm.

One of the arresting officers, Detective Randa, advised two policewomen, Officers Atkinson and Honeck, to search petitioner. He gave no instructions about how the search was to be conducted but assumed that the policewomen knew how to search the petitioner. The search took place in the following manner. Petitioner and the two women police officers went into petitioner’s bathroom and closed the door. At the time petitioner was clad only in a nightgown and underpants. In the bathroom she was told to strip, bend over, and spread her buttocks. It was difficult for petitioner to bend over because she was seven months pregnant, but she succeeded. The police women then looked into her privates and found nothing.

Detective Randa asked the policewomen, after they came out of the bathroom, if they had had a chance to search the petitioner “real well.” Because of cramped quarters and poor lighting in the petitioner’s bathroom, Officers Atkinson, Honeck, and Randa decided that petitioner should be transported to the vice squad section of the Safety Building in Milwaukee and searched a second time because there was more light and more room in the vice squad room.

Detective Randa testified that he had known petitioner for about six years in his capacity as a narcotics division officer, and that he had been involved in an earlier prosecution of petitioner for possession of heroin. In addition, Randa stated that he had been informed by a “reliable informer” four or five years before that petitioner was known to carry heroin in her vagina. He had known the informant for about seven years but did not know the occupation of *195 the informant. He also did not know where the informant got his information.

The search of the petitioner which ultimately caused her conviction for possession of heroin and the present petition took place in the vice squad room. Petitioner was again told to disrobe by the two policewomen. She disrobed, bent over, this time leaning on a chair, and one of the policewomen, using rubber gloves, assisted her in spreading her buttocks. While the second policewoman held an ordinary flashlight, the other observed the corner of a plastic container protruding from petitioner’s vagina. Petitioner removed the container and gave it to the policewomen. The plastic bag was later determined to contain four smaller plastic packets. Subsequent chemical analysis established that they contained a total of .29 grams of heroin.

Policewoman Atkinson testified as to the search of female prisoners in general. The following exchange of questions and answers took place (Tr., at 117):

“Q. Now, why did you search her privates ?
“A. It’s a routine search of female prisoners.
“Q. You search all the privates of all female prisoners?
“A. Yes, I do.
“Q. For what did you search ?
“A. Anything that they possibly might be carrying or concealing.
“Q. In this particular case, for what did you search ?
“A. Heroin.”

The facts further show that petitioner had several prior felony convictions. On March 25, 1969, she was convicted for possession of heroin and sentenced to not less than two and not more than six years. On or about August 30, 1967, she was convicted of forgery. She was sentenced to not more than four years; execution of the sentence was stayed and she was placed on probation for two years. This was revoked and she was incarcerated at the Wisconsin Home for Women on or about June 26, 1968.

II. JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction is present to decide this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 1 Petitioner is presently “in custody” pursuant to a judgment of a court of the State of Wisconsin and has exhausted her available remedies before resorting to this court.

Respondent argues that as a matter of judicial convenience this court should apply the concurrent sentence doctrine of Benton v. Maryland,

Related

Olushola Akinmboni v. United States
126 A.3d 694 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2015)
Evans v. State
827 A.2d 157 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2003)
United States v. Fitten
42 M.J. 179 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1995)
DaVee v. Mathis
812 S.W.2d 816 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1991)
United States v. Andonian
735 F. Supp. 1469 (C.D. California, 1990)
Robert Salinas v. Chief Harold Breier
695 F.2d 1073 (Seventh Circuit, 1982)
State v. Clark
654 P.2d 355 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1982)
State v. Hartzog
635 P.2d 694 (Washington Supreme Court, 1981)
Salinas v. Breier
517 F. Supp. 1272 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1981)
People v. Seymour
398 N.E.2d 1191 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1979)
United States Ex Rel. Williams v. Morris
447 F. Supp. 95 (N.D. Illinois, 1978)
United States Ex Rel. Wolfish v. Levi
439 F. Supp. 114 (S.D. New York, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
385 F. Supp. 193, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11701, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-guy-v-mccauley-wied-1974.