FRANCIS C. BEADLES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Beadles, convicted of robbery in 1958, sought to vacate his conviction based on alleged denial of counsel, which was summarily denied. The appellate court reversed because the trial court made factual findings regarding counsel waiver without holding a hearing or creating a record, and clarified that an indigent defendant's failure to request counsel does not constitute waiver without a finding of awareness of the right to appointed counsel.
The court reversed and remanded because the trial court improperly made factual findings without a hearing or record. Additionally, the court held that an indigent defendant's mere failure to request counsel, absent a finding that the defendant was aware of the right to appointed counsel, does not constitute an affirmative waiver of that right, and a finding that a prisoner did not request counsel cannot alone suffice as a waiver of counsel.
“an indigent's failure to request counsel, absent a finding that he was aware of the right to appointed counsel, does not constitute an affirmative waiver of the right. In short, a finding that a prisoner did not request counsel cannot alone suffice as a waiver of counsel.”
Establishes the legal standard for waiver of counsel—mere failure to request is insufficient without proof of awareness of the right.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBeadles was convicted of robbery in 1958 after entering a guilty plea. In 1963, he filed a motion to vacate his conviction under Florida Criminal Proc…
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Appellant, presently in the custody of the State under conviction of robbery, appeals a summary denial of his motion to vacate and set aside the conviction and sentence.
Appellant, having pleaded guilty to and been convicted of robbery in 1958, instituted proceedings under Criminal Procedure Rule No. 1, F.S.A. ch. 924 Appendix, in 1963 seeking to have the conviction vacated. His motion to vacate alleged that he had been indigent at the time of his conviction and had been denied counsel in the proceedings incident to conviction. Two days after the motion was filed, it was *5denied. The order denying the motion found:
“ * * * [N]o grounds for the allowance of same; the record and the Court’s knowledge of this matter evidence the fact that this defendant was of full age, came into Court and voluntarily entered a plea of guilty without requesting that he he given a trial or that he be furnished counsel or pleading that he was unable to employ counsel; and it further appears from the fingerprint record of the defendant, which was before the Court at the time of the imposition of this sentence that this defendant was well versed in court proceedings having been sentenced in the State of Iowa in 1946 to ten years in connection with a charge of Larceny of Motor Vehicle, that in 1951 he was again sentenced to seven years in the State of Iowa in connection with a bad check charge and in 1958 was sentenced to ten years in Florida in connection with an Armed Robbery charge; the conclusion being inescapable that.during all of these court proceedings, he of necessity became familiar with his rights and was not without legal knowledge of his rights; the Court further finds that he was not denied a lawyer by this Court because of the fact that no request was ever made for one.”
The record of the original proceedings is silent as to any and all of the facts relied upon by the lower court. Since no hearing was held on the motion, there was no record made to substantiate the findings. Under these circumstances we must reverse the order denying appellant’s motion and remand the cause for hearing. King v. State, Fla.App.1963, 157 So.2d 440, Caminita v. State, Fla.App.1964, 159 So.2d 921.
In view of the necessity of remanding the cause, it is appropriate to point out that an indigent’s failure to request counsel, absent a finding that he was aware of the right to appointed counsel, does not constitute an affirmative waiver of the right. In short, a finding that a prisoner did not request counsel cannot alone suffice as a waiver of counsel.
Finally, in subsequent proceedings on the motion, the court should determine if, under the circumstances, the assistance of counsel is essential to accomplish a fair and thorough presentation of the appellant’s claim. Any doubt in this regard should be resolved in favor of affording counsel to the appellant. State v. Weeks, Fla.1964, — So.2d -.
Reversed and remanded for proceedings consistent with the above.
SMITH, C. J., and ALLEN and WHITE, JJ„ concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (13 total)
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Mason v. State, 176 So. 2d 76 (Fla. 1965)…not of itself a waiver. The court has a duty to inform the accused of his right to have counsel and the availability of a state-supplied lawyer, if he is unable to provide his own. King v. State, Fla.App., 157 So. 2d 440; Beadles v. State, Fla.App., 162 So. 2d 4; Sams v. [*80] State, Fla.App., 163 So. 2d 10; Stewart v. State, Fla.App. 163 So. 2d 527; Phillips v. State, Fla.App. 164 So. 2d 858; Holmes v. State, Fla.App., 165 So. 2d 433; Archer v. State, Fla.App., 166 So. 2d 163; Carver v. State, Fla.App., 17…
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Phillips v. State, 164 So. 2d 858 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)…nied. This court has recently held that an indigent’s failure to request counsel, absent a finding that he was aware of the right to court appointed counsel, does not constitute an affirmative waiver of the right. See Beadles v. State, Fla.App.1964, 162 So. 2d 4. We are mindful that the First District Court of Appeal has had the identical question before it on at least three occasions and in each instance has affirmed the order denying post conviction relief. Thus that court apparently has adopted a less l…
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Perkins v. State, 165 So. 2d 248 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)…ircumstances, the assistance of counsel is essential to accomplish a fair and thorough presentation of the defendant’s claim. Any doubt in this regard should be resolved in favor of affording counsel to the defendant. Beadles v. State, Fla.App.1964, 162 So. 2d 4. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith. ALLEN, Acting C. J., and WHITE and ANDREWS, JT., concur.…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- King v. State, 157 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- Caminita v. State, 159 So. 2d 921 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)