White v Klitzkie [1998] GUSC 28; 1998 Guam 31 (16 December 1998)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF GUAM

JACKERY B. WHITE, ) Supreme Court Case No. CVA97-020

) Superior Court Case No. SP0216-94

Petitioner-Appellant, )

)

vs. )

) OPINION

ROBERT KLITZKIE, et al., )

)

Respondent-Appellee. )

____________________________________)

Filed: December 16, 1998
Cite as: 1998 Guam 31
Appeal from the Superior Court of Guam
Argued and Submitted on 20 February 1998
Hagåtña, Guam

Counsel for Appellant:
D. Paul Vernier, Jr., Esq.
VERNIER LAW OFFICE
Suite 804, GCIC Building
414 West Soledad Avenue
Hagåtña, Guam 96910

Counsel for Appellee:
David M. Moore, Assistant Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Prosecution Division
Suite 2-200E, Judicial Ctr. Bldg.
120 West O=Brien Drive
Hagåtña, Guam 96910

BEFORE: PETER C. SIGUENZA, Chief Justice; JOAQUIN C. ARRIOLA, Sr. and EDUARDO A. CALVO, Associate Justices.

SIGUENZA, CJ.:

[1] Jackery B. White appeals the denial of habeas relief by the Superior Court. He asserts that his right to effective assistance of counsel was violated due to his attorneys= conflicts of interest. Although we have no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from the denial of his petition for habeas relief, we elect to treat his appeal as an original petition for relief. However, based on our review of the record and the applicable law, we deny his petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

[2] Jackery B. White was arrested and incarcerated in 1986 for the crimes of robbery and burglary. As a result, the court appointed attorney Peter F. Perez to represent him in numerous criminal cases encompassing the charges. While incarcerated, White apparently heard the admissions of another inmate and became an informant for the government in a murder case. After cooperating with the government, he was released from custody pending resolution of the cases.

[3] In March of 1993, White was again charged with robbery. Again, attorney Peter F. Perez was appointed to represent him. However, Peter F. Perez successfully moved to withdraw from the more recent cases because he was related to the owner of IT&E, a company that had recently been robbed by White. Another attorney, Vicente Perez was appointed to represent the defendant on these later charges. Peter F. Perez continued his representation of White on the previous charges originating in 1986.

[4] On April 20, 1993, White entered a plea agreement in the 1986 cases while represented by attorney Peter F. Perez. He pleaded guilty to four counts of burglary in four different cases. For each count, he received a 3 year sentence, running concurrently. Testimony indicates that in exchange for his guilty pleas, charges in two other cases were dropped. In addition, the prosecutor agreed not to charge ten pending felony matters. Another term of the agreement was that the government would not mention White=s prior conviction during the sentencing. These outside terms were not mentioned in the plea agreement but were testified to at the hearings.

[5] On August 13, 1993, while represented by attorney Vicente Perez, White pleaded guilty to robbery. He also admitted to the special allegation of committing a felony while on release. Sentencing was left to the discretion of the trial judge. Consequently, he was given a 30 year sentence, 10 years for the robbery and an additional 20 years imprisonment for the special allegation.

[6] In August 1994, White filed both a Writ of Habeas Corpus and later, an Amended Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Superior Court. Attorney Mark Beggs was subsequently appointed to represent him.

[7] At a hearing on February 2, 1995, the parties were notified that the writ would issue. The court also ordered that the return of the writ be filed within seven days of the writ=s issuance. The court subsequently issued the writ on February 6, 1995. However, the return was not filed within seven days of its issuance.

[8]