Wade v. Armontrout

655 F. Supp. 1420, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2227
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMarch 23, 1987
DocketNo. 84-861C(5)
StatusPublished

This text of 655 F. Supp. 1420 (Wade v. Armontrout) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wade v. Armontrout, 655 F. Supp. 1420, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2227 (E.D. Mo. 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LIMBAUGH, District Judge.

This case originated with the filing by petitioner, a state prisoner, of a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for writ of habeas corpus. The matter was referred to a Magistrate for recommendation and this Court adopted the findings of the Magistrate and dismissed the claim. In his claim, petitioner urged five points wherein he argued his constitutional rights were violated in a State of Missouri court proceedings. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the original dismissal of this Court in part and reversed in part. The Court affirmed dismissal of three of the five allegations and overruled the dismissal as to the remaining two. In its opinion, the Court of Appeals remanded the case to this Court for trial to determine whether the lack of proper investigation denied petitioner his right to effective assistance of counsel at the state trial and whether the state trial court’s denial of petitioner’s request for a continuance was so egregious that it was fundamentally un[1421]*1421fair. Wade v. Armontrout, 798 F.2d 304, 307 and 308 (8th Cir.1986).

Pursuant to the mandate of the Court of Appeals, an evidentiary hearing was had before the Court and this opinion constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to rule.

The Court finds that the petition for writ of habeas corpus should be dismissed because petitioner was not denied effective assistance of counsel and the Missouri trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a request for continuance.

The Court adopts certain findings of the Eighth Circuit as they are supported by the evidence now before the trial court, Wade v. Armontrout, supra, pp. 305 and 306, all as follows:

On the evening of March 28, 1982, a police officer was dispatched to check out a report of prowlers at the Roadway Terminal in St. Louis, Missouri. The officer observed an individual running from the terminal lot to a station wagon. He saw the individual place something in the back of the car and then enter on the passenger side of the car. The officer stopped the car and observed approximately ninety items of assorted clothing contained in cellophane bags scattered in the rear of the car. Roadway personnel stated that some of the clothing in the car had been stolen from the terminal. Both Wade, the driver of the car, and Willie Dean, the passenger, were arrested.
The indictment was filed on June 11, 1982, and a public defender was appointed to represent Wade. Trial was set for July 26, 1982. Five continuances were granted; four were at Wade’s request. On December 15,1982, the public defender officer was granted leave to withdraw because of a conflict of interest, and the special assistant public defender officer was appointed to represent Wade. On December 28, 1982, Wade’s counsel entered an appearance on his behalf. Trial was set for January 18, 1983.
Counsel started working for the special assistant public defender office, her first employment as an attorney, on December 16, 1982. She had approximately three weeks to prepare the case. On the day , of trial, counsel informed the court that she was not prepared to try the case because she had visited with Wade only once, had not interviewed any of the state’s witnesses, and had not visited the scene of the alleged offense. The court denied the motion for continuance, but granted counsel an opportunity to interview each state witness for five minutes before the witness testified. She also had the opportunity to interrogate the arresting officer in a pretrial suppression hearing.

At the hearing in this matter, Wade testified that shortly before the incident of March 28, 1982, he had been staying at his mother’s house and had left to purchase merchandise at an ice cream store. On his return, he stated that his mother told him a Willie Dean had called and his car had broken down and he wanted Wade to assist him. Dean called again and Wade responded by driving his mother’s car to the location from which Dean had called near Broadway and Buchanan streets. Dean entered Wade’s car and they drove to a place where Dean’s car was parked in a nearby area but which could not be specifically identified by Wade. Wade stated that he assisted Dean with the use of jumper cables in an attempt to start the engine in Dean’s car, all to no avail. Wade then testified that Dean asked him to place some merchandise in Wade’s automobile from Dean’s car and Wade consented. The parties were ultimately apprehended in Wade’s car as described hereinbefore.

Willie Dean testified that at the time in question, he was driving a stolen car which had developed battery and other mechanical problems causing it to be inoperable. He called Wade and gave the message to his mother, and a few minutes later called back and talked to Wade personally. In response to the call, Wade drove his mother’s car to pick up Dean in the vicinity of the Roadway terminal. Before that time, an unidentified party had agreed with Dean to make certain packages of clothing apparently stolen from the terminal available to [1422]*1422Dean by placing the clothing in or about a trailer on or near the terminal property. Dean placed this material in his stolen vehicle and thereafter developed the mechanical problems. Dean was not present when Wade testified and Dean denied that Wade attempted to start the engine of Dean’s car by the use of battery cables. Dean did aver that when the parties arrived at Dean’s car, the stolen merchandise was placed in Wade’s car and the parties were subsequently apprehended with this merchandise in Wade’s car.

Dean had a record of two prior felony convictions and he and Wade were charged with the crime of stealing, (third offense), in violation of § 570.040 R.S.Mo. Dean plea-bargained in that and other charges he was involved with and ultimately entered a plea of guilty to that charge. He testified that he would have made this information available by personal testimony in Wade’s trial had he been subpoenaed but no one discussed this with him.

Jane Phillips, Wade’s attorney in the state of Missouri trial was called by plaintiff and testified. She received her legal education at St. Louis University School of Law and was admitted to practice in the State of Missouri in September, 1980. Before trying Wade’s case, she had two years experience as a public defender in St. Louis County, and had tried seven felony jury cases to completion and numerous misdemeanor cases. She stated that she interviewed Wade at the city workhouse and probably spent as much as an hour with him on January 5, 1983, shortly after her entering an appearance in the case. At the interview, she received all the information that Wade had concerning the nature of his defense and as to the facts known to him. Wade also related to her all information he had available concerning his background and family and surroundings. Wade told her that Dean had admitted to him he had stolen the articles of clothing involved and that Dean wanted him to assist in removing the clothing from the scene. At once Phillips was concerned with the potential charge that could be levied against Wade of receiving stolen property which charge is in the same penalty category as that of stealing in violation of § 570.040 R.S.Mo.

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Francis Vern Kellogg v. David Scurr, Warden
741 F.2d 1099 (Eighth Circuit, 1984)
Nathaniel Wade v. Bill Armontrout
798 F.2d 304 (Eighth Circuit, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
655 F. Supp. 1420, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2227, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wade-v-armontrout-moed-1987.