United States v. Yodock

224 F. Supp. 877, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6467
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 20, 1963
DocketCiv. No. 8082
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 224 F. Supp. 877 (United States v. Yodock) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Yodock, 224 F. Supp. 877, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6467 (M.D. Pa. 1963).

Opinion

SHERIDAN, Chief Judge.

Petitioner, John Yodock, filed a petition titled, “Writ of Error Coram Nobis and Motion to Set Aside Conviction”, which this court treated as a motion to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence under Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 and held a hearing.

On June 6, 1938, the Grand Jury returned a two count indictment which charged petitioner with the attempted robbery of the Plymouth National Bank, Plymouth, Pennsylvania, on March 31, 1938. Petitioner was convicted and sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to commence at the expiration of a state prison sentence then being served. He started to serve his federal sentence on May 9, 1948. On August 25, 1957, he received a mandatory release. He has been in prison since July 14, 1962 as a parole violator. His prospective mandatory release date is May 11, 1966.

Several grounds are alleged in the petition, but at the hearing the only one pressed was that petitioner’s constitutional rights were violated because his court-appointed counsel had insufficient time to prepare a defense.

Petitioner’s trial started in Harrisburg at 10:00 a.m. on December 6, 1939. At 4:00 a. m. on that morning petitioner, then an inmate of the Eastern Penitentiary at Philadelphia, had been awakened by two guards and told to get dressed as he was going on a trip. He arrived at Harrisburg at about 9:30 a. m. and then learned for the first time that he was under indictment for the Plymouth bank robbery. Prior to that time he had not received a copy or any notice of the indictment, which had been returned by the Grand Jury on June 6, 1938. Although Judge Watson held that the same contention in a prior petition1 was [879]*879without merit, the record clearly supports petitioner. The docket entries show that petitioner was not arraigned until December 6, 1939.2 Petitioner’s allegation and testimony are not an attempt to contradict the record, as concluded by Judge Watson. That he was arraigned according to law on the trial date is not responsive to the charge that he did not know of the accusation prior to the trial date. The docket entries also show that the bench warrant, issued June 17, 1938, was returned on June 22, 1938 as unserved because of the absence of the defendant from the jurisdiction.3

When the ease was called for trial, petitioner was without counsel. After the arraignment, Judge Watson appointed Attorney John H. Moody, of Harrisburg, as defense counsel. The trial commenced immediately with the selection of a jury. It was Mr. Moody’s first federal criminal case. He had been graduated from law school in 1937 and admitted to the Bar in 1938. He was in court as an observer. As soon as he was appointed, the trial commenced. He had no opportunity to discuss the case with his client.4 His opponent had a [880]*880year and one-half in which to prepare. One of the subpoenas, issued under date of November 17, 1939, and served on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D. C., required the proper person to appear with various articles5 which had been submitted to the Bureau in April of 1938 for testing. The trial was completed in a day plus one hour. On December 6, 1939 :

Defendant arraigned — plea of not guilty.
Court appointed counsel for defendant.
Jury selected — 28 jurors called. Defendant challenged 10. Government challenged 6.
Attorney Maguire (Asst. U. S. Attorney) — opened to jury.
Twelve witnesses were called by the Government and all but one were crossed-examined. Four witnesses were subpoenaed from York, Pa., two from Philadelphia, Pa., three from Plymouth, Pa., and one from Wyoming, Pa., Towson, Md., and Washington, D. C.
Government rested at 4:40 p. m.
Defendant rested at 4:40 p. m.

and on December 7, 1939:

Mr. Maguire closed to the jury— 10:10 a. m. to 10:35 a. m.
Mr. Moody closed to the jury-10 :35 a. m. to 10:55 a. m.
The Court charged — 10:55 a. m. to 11:10 a. m.
Jury returned a verdict of guilty.
Defendant was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to com-menee at the expiration of a state prison sentence which had 10 years to run.

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees that in all federal criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. This right is necessary to insure fundamental human rights and liberty. The right to counsel persists until there is a clear, intelligent and competent waiver by the accused. In this case, since the accused requested counsel and counsel was appointed, there is no question of waiver prior to the beginning of the trial. Assistance of counsel means effective assistance. Bute v. Illinois, 1948, 333 U.S. 640, 660, 68 S.Ct. 763, 92 L.Ed. 986; Glasser v. United States, 1942, 315 U.S. 60, 76, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680; Johnson v. Zerbst, 1938, 304 U.S. 458, 465, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 82 L.Ed. 1461.

Assistance is not effective when counsel has insufficient time to prepare a defense. Powell v. Alabama, 1932, 287 U.S. 45, 71, 53 S.Ct. 55, 77 L.Ed. 158; United States v. Bergamo, 3 Cir. 1946, 154 F.2d 31, 34. Whether time allowed counsel for a defendant for preparation for trial is sufficient depends upon the nature of the charge, the issues presented, counsel’s familiarity with the applicable law and pertinent facts, and the availability of material witnesses. Ray v. United States, 8 Cir. 1952, 197 F.2d 268.

Petitioner testified that he would have offered evidence that he was in Jersey City at the time of the robbery if he [881]*881had been given the opportunity to locate a certain truck driver who drove him from Jersey City to Scranton on the evening of March 31. Mr. Maguire testified that the Government did not have a confession or any admissions from the defendant; that the Government’s case was based on circumstantial evidence, particularly the purchase and possession of a tool which had been found at or near the bank; and that the Government’s case was the type that was “open” to a defense of alibi. In addition to the lack of opportunity to investigate and prepare a defense, petitioner was deprived of other important rights, such as the right to challenge the array of grand jurors, or otherwise attack the grand jury proceedings; to attack the arraignment; to challenge the array of petit jurors; and to attack the indictment.

Petitioner did not have effective assistance of counsel. While Judge Watson in his opinion on the prior motion 6 said Mr. Moody’s representation was conscientious and competent, the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment was not satisfied.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
224 F. Supp. 877, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-yodock-pamd-1963.