Wilkerson v. Turner
Wilkerson v. Turner
Opinion of the Court
Appeal from the denial of a petition for habeas corpus. Affirmed.
As to 1) : Although there is no precise reason shown in the record why his parole was terminated by the Pardons Board, there need be none given, since there were three independent reasons reflected in the record, justifying the action of the Board, i. e., (a) he remained in Utah for 12 days after he agreed to leave, (b) he voluntarily returned to the state,
As to 2) : Having to do with improper' interrogation after his arrest in another state on suspicion of another offense committed therein, there is no comfort found in the Escobedo
As to 3) : Wilkerson was paroled conditionally on November 10, 1964. Without leaving the state pursuant to the condition, he remained two weeks. He committed a felony in Utah before he left, was taken into custody in Idaho on suspicion of having committed another felony there, and after having been questioned concerning burglar tools in the car in which he was riding with one Ledbetter, codefendant, who was also convicted of the Utah felony,
He now contends that this court denied him his constitutional rights by not appointing a second lawyer on appeal, after his first counsel appointed to pursue the appeal, — the compensated Public Defender, no less, — upon careful examination of the record, reported in writing to this court that he could find no merit to his appeal which in fact had been perfected in every procedural respect. The record was examined by a trained, appointed advocate, — not an amicus curiae (a rather fine distinction, — Ellis v. U. S.
The U. S. District Court for Utah appointed a highly reputable legal advocate to present and protect defendant’s right on this appeal from denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus.
. Which may not be too good a reason, since he voluntarily returned to face a burglary charge, of which he later was convicted.
. Escobedo v. State of Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977 (1964).
. Miranda v. State of Ariz., 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
. State v. Ledbetter, 17 Utah 2d 353, 412 P.2d 312 (1966).
. Oct. 24, 1966, 385 U.S. 922, 87 S.Ct. 235, 17 L.Ed.2d 145.
. Note 4, supra.
. 356 U.S. 674, 78 S.Ct. 974, 2 L.Ed.2d 1060 (1958).
. 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). (Note: The first paragraph of the Anders case says “We are here concerned with the extent of the duty of a court appointed appellate counsel to prosecute a first appeal from a criminal conviction, after that attorney has conscientiously determined that there is no merit to the indigent’s appeal." At •first blush this seems to assume that Mr. Murphy was a good, capable advocate,— not an amicus curiae, which, in fact, he was not. At this juncture, one easily •could expect that the court would sustain him and the state appellate courts in his '“no-merit” letter, on the very language lifted by the court in the Anders case from Ellis v. U. S., found on p. 1399, 87 S.Ct. 1396, as did all of the California judges in the Appellate Court and the Supreme Court. Yet the decision discounts all these judges’ actions and volunteers that the conceded conscientious Mr. Murphy did not say enough in his no-merit letter, saying “We believe that counsel’s hare conclusion, as evidenced by his letter is not enough,” and smacked of the treatment of one Eskridge in an entirely different case. It seems to me there was no “bare” conclusion in such letter, but one of brevity, explanatory, and born of conscientious diligence and sincerity.) ' This footnote and emphasis are mine.
. Hon. Willis W. Ritter, Chief Judge, U. S. District Court for Utah, C. 93-66, July 9, 1966.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Donald WILKERSON, and v. John W. TURNER, Warden Utah State Prison, and
- Status
- Published