LEO 1880:    

OBLIGATIONS OF A COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY TO ADVISE HIS INDIGENT CLIENT OF THE RIGHT OF APPEAL FOLLOWING CONVICTION UPON A GUILTY PLEA; DUTY OF COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY TO FOLLOW THE INDIGENT CLIENT’S INSTRUCTION TO APPEAL FOLLOWING A GUILTY PLEA WHEN THE ATTORNEY BELIEVES THE APPEAL WOULD BE FRIVOLOUS.

QUESTIONS  PRESENTED:

1. Is it ethically permissible for a court-appointed attorney1 to file an appeal following his client’s guilty plea2 if the attorney believes such appeal to be frivolous?
2. Is a court-appointed attorney ethically obligated to advise his indigent client that the client has an opportunity to file an appeal under federal constitutional law to a conviction or sentence based on a plea of guilty when the attorney believes that no grounds for appeal exist?
3. Must a court-appointed  attorney petition for an appeal if his client so requests when the attorney believes such appeal would be frivolous?  

APPLICABLE RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:

Rules of Professional Conduct l.13, 1.2(a)4 1.3(a)5, 1.4(b)6, and 3.17 apply to the issues addressed in this opinion.

DISCUSSION: 

The Committee has determined that the answer to the three questions set forth above is “yes.”

An appeal from a conviction or sentence flowing from a guilty plea will more often than not be groundless. However, a court-appointed attorney instructed by his indigent client to petition for an appeal must do so even when the attorney deems such appeal to be frivolous.  The attorney does not violate Rule 3.1 by so doing.  Federal constitutional and Virginia law compel such action, and deprive the court-appointed attorney of the authority to decline to follow his client’s instruction.  Beyond that, as detailed hereafter, the constitutionally mandated procedures applicable to frivolous appeals provide that the indigent’s attorney assert that, in his opinion, the appeal lacks merit and move to withdraw from representation.   Thus, the attorney is at no risk of violating Rule 3.1 because he is mandated by law to file a frivolous appeal if requested by the client and the relevant pleadings will contain the attorney’s candid assessment that the appeal lacks merit.

The law is well settled that when an appeal is filed on behalf of an indigent client by a court-appointed attorney who believes that his client’s appeal is frivolous, it is for the court, and not the attorney, to determine that the client’s appeal has no merit.  In  Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), the United States Supreme Court held that

The constitutional requirement of substantial equality and fair process can only be attained where counsel acts in the role of an active advocate in behalf of his client, as opposed to that of amicus curiae. *** Counsel should, and can with honor and without conflict, be of more assistance to his client and to the court. [Footnote omitted.] His role as advocate requires that he support his client's appeal to the best of his ability. Of course, if counsel finds his case to be wholly frivolous, after a conscientious examination of it, he should so advise the court and request permission to withdraw. That request must, however, be accompanied by a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal. A copy of counsel's brief should be furnished the indigent and time allowed him to raise any points that he chooses; the court—not counsel—then proceeds, after a full examination of all the proceedings, to decide whether the case is wholly frivolous. If it so finds it may grant counsel's request to withdraw and dismiss the appeal insofar as federal requirements are concerned, or proceed to a decision on the merits, if state law so requires. On the other hand, if it finds any of the legal points arguable on their merits (and therefore not frivolous) it must, prior to decision, afford the indigent the assistance of counsel to argue the appeal. [386 U.S. at 744; emphasis supplied.]

Anders and Akbar are specifically cited and the precepts of those rulings are embedded in Rule 5A:12(h) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia for appeals to the Court of Appeals of Virginia:

Rule 5A:12. Petition for Appeal.

(h) Procedure for an Anders appeal. –If counsel for appellant finds his client’s appeal to be without merit, he must comply with the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and Akbar v. Commonwealth, 7 Va. App. 611, 376 S.E.2d 545 (1989). In compliance therewith, counsel is required to file (1) a petition for appeal which refers to anything in the record which might arguably support the appeal and which demonstrates to the Court of Appeals counsel’s conscientious examination of the merits of the appeal; (2) a motion for leave to withdraw as counsel; and (3) a motion for an extension of time to allow the appellant to file a supplemental petition for appeal. The petition for appeal and the motion for leave to withdraw as counsel should specifically cite to Anders. All three pleadings must be served on opposing counsel and upon the client and must contain a certificate providing evidence of such service. The Court of Appeals will rule upon the motion for extension of time upon its receipt, but will not rule on the motion to withdraw as counsel until this Court considers the case in its entirety, including any supplemental petition for appeal that may be filed.

Both such Rules unquestionably and clearly anticipate the inevitable frivolous appeals filed by court-appointed attorneys for indigent clients consistent with those clients’ constitutional and statutory rights.  The Rules codify the method contained in Anders and Akbar by which appeals deemed non-meritorious by court-appointed appellate counsel are to be handled by those attorneys and the court.

There is, however, opportunity for confusion, occasioned by Virginia caselaw and the suggested contents of a circuit court plea colloquy, by the use of the word “right” to appeal, when reference to a waiver of “grounds” for appeal would be more appropriate in the cases of indigent defendants.  For example, in Stokes v. Slayton, 340 F.Supp. 190 (W.D. Va., 1972) a United States District Court in Virginia held that

An appeal does not lie from a conviction entered upon a valid plea10 of guilty, unless the trial court either lacked jurisdiction or imposed a sentence which exceeds that authorized by law. [340 F.Supp. at 192; emphasis added.]

19.  Do you understand that, by pleading guilty, you may waive any right to appeal the decision of this court? [The judge may, but need not, inform the defendant that a guilty plea does not waive the right to appeal lack of jurisdiction or imposition of an impermissible sentence.]  [Emphasis supplied.]

The right to petition for appeal in criminal cases is not reserved only for those persons convicted of a crime following trial upon a plea of not guilty.  Virginia, by statute, permits any aggrieved party to present a petition for appeal to the Court of Appeals of Virginia from any final conviction of a crime entered by a circuit court. 12   The provision by its terms makes no exception for petitions for appeal from convictions which were the outgrowth of a guilty plea.  It may be that the record of a case on appeal reveals that a defendant did not knowingly and voluntarily13 waive his constitutional rights at the time his guilty plea was accepted by the court.14  It may also reveal error occurring after the plea was accepted, such as with regard to the adjudication or imposition of a sentence.  

In 2004, the Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission.  The Commission oversees and supports lawyers who serve as public defenders and court-appointed attorneys representing indigent criminal defendants in Virginia state courts.  The Commission has published Standards of Practice for Indigent Defense Counsel.  The Standards are legislatively mandated,15 and court-appointed attorneys who do not comply with them may be removed from the list of those eligible to serve in such capacity.

The Comment to Standard 1.0 (“The Lawyer-Client Relationship”) contains the following statement:  “An indigent client is entitled to take an appeal and a lawyer must, if the client so requests, protect the client’s right to an appeal even though grounds for an appeal do not exist.”  The statement, however,  conflicts with the Comment to Standard 6.4 (“Entry of the Plea Before the Court”):

Counsel should inform the client and make sure that the client understands that by entering a plea of guilty, the client will be waiving the following rights and privileges:

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(g) Right to appeal.  [Emphasis supplied.]

The cited portion of the Comment is not strictly accurate, for the same reason that thecontents of Question 19 are not strictly accurate: The distinction between a “right” to appeal and “grounds” for appeal is not taken into account.   An indigent defendant has the federal constitutional right to file an appeal, even if meritless, reversible error may occur during the proceedings in which the guilty plea is tendered and accepted; error may be committed in proceedings which  follow the tender and acceptance of the plea; and Anders and Akbar do not permit court-appointed attorneys for an indigent client to have the last word on whether an appeal before an appellate court is frivolous.  Thus, any indigent defendant, or any defendant represented by retained counsel or acting pro se,  who enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere does not waive a “right to appeal,” even if such right is rendered hollow because the appeal would be frivolous due to a waiver of grounds for appeal.

Standard 9.2 also confuses “rights” and “grounds,” in connection with a court-appointed attorney’s duty to inform a client regarding his right to appeal:

Standard 9.2 Right to Appeal

Counsel shall inform the client of his or her right to appeal the judgment of the court, unless such right has been knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived, and the action that must be taken to perfect an appeal. If the client advises counsel that he or she wishes to note an appeal, counsel shall take all necessary steps to perfect such appeal in a timely fashion pursuant to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia. If trial counsel is relieved in favor of other appellate counsel, trial counsel shall cooperate in providing information to appellate counsel concerning the proceedings in the trial court. [Emphasis supplied.]

The Committee believes that as long as Anders and Akbar remain the law which sets forth the minimum constitutional standards due indigent appellants, a court-appointed  attorney has a duty under Rule 1.4(b) to advise his client regarding the availability of a petition for appeal, even if it were frivolous and pertains to a conviction based on guilty plea.

Thus, the Committee further believes that Standard 9.2 should not be read to excuse a court-appointed attorney from the ethical obligation to advise the client of the availability of an appeal16.  The Standards incorporate by reference the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct.  Thus, consistent with Rule 1.4(b), the Standards must be read to require that a court-appointed attorney advise his indigent client of his constitutional right to independent appellate court scrutiny under Anders and Akbar17.  An indigent client’s informed decision regarding an appeal requires that he know that by filing an Anders brief the court-appointed attorney activates  an obligation of the appellate court to examine on its own the record of the client’s case, affords the client himself an opportunity to present appellate issues to the court, and calls for the court to determine if there are any grounds for appeal upon which the court-appointed attorney should be ordered to proceed.  With that said, the court-appointed attorney must go beyond merely identifying the client’s constitutional right to file an appeal.  He must advise his client competently as required by Rule 1.1. The court-appointed attorney should advise his client of the potentially adverse consequences of prevailing on appeal.  In the case of a guilty plea, followed by conviction and imposition of an anticipated sentence, a court-appointed client would rarely choose to embark on a course to unravel his conviction and sentence via an appeal only to expose himself to a more severe outcome on retrial or resentencing.  For example, an indigent federal criminal defendant who directs his court-appointed attorney to appeal a conviction following a plea wherein the “right” to appeal has been waived exposes himself to potentially grave consequences:  In the federal system, when the grounds for appeal which have been waived can be shown to fall within the “right to appeal” the government may attempt to treat the appeal as a breach of the defendant’s promise contained in the plea agreement, seek to reopen the case and to pursue the original charges, and use facts contained in the plea agreement in a subsequent trial.  See, e.g., the discussion contained inU.S. v. Poindexter, 492 F.3d 263 (4th Cir., 2007).  A defendant in state court might be exposed to similar risks.  These risks must be adequately explained to the client by the court-appointed attorney when the client is being advised of his rights under Anders.

After such an advisement, the court-appointed attorney must follow the client’s direction to appeal because it is the client’s prerogative under Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(a) to determine the objectives of representation. The attorney must take the steps required both by Standard 9.2 and Rule of Professional Conduct 1.3(a) to perfect the client’s appeal when the client requests an appeal. 

Standard 10.2.1 is consonant with the obligations imposed by Standard 9.2 and Rule 1.3(a), and addresses court-appointed attorney’s obligation to file a further appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia unless the client has expressed his desire to abandon such an appeal.

Standard 10.2.1 Scope of Appellate Representation

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(d) Where instructed by the client to do so, counsel must appeal a criminal conviction or revocation of a suspended sentence to the Court of Appeals of Virginia and to the Supreme Court of Virginia. If a client has not explicitly elected to appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia after losing an appeal in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and counsel has not learned that the client desires to abandon his appeal, counsel should continue to prosecute the client’s appeal in the Supreme Court of Virginia.***  [Emphasis supplied.]

Consistent with the law, this Standard deprives the court-appointed attorney of any authority to decline the client’s instruction to appeal, and makes no exception for those appeals which lack merit and follow a guilty plea18.  A Comment to this provision makes this crystal clear:

COMMENT: While a guilty plea waives most appellate issues, counsel is nevertheless obligated to appeal from a guilty plea if the client so instructs. Miles v. Sheriff of Va. Beach City Jail, 266 Va. 110, 581 S.E.2d 191 (2003). Limited issues that can be raised following a guilty plea include a sentence that exceeds the statutory maximum or lack of subject matter jurisdiction. If there are no appealable issues, counsel may file an Anders petition. [Emphasis supplied.]

CONCLUSION:

A court-appointed attorney must file petitions for appeal to the Court of Appeals of Virginia and to the Supreme Court of Virginia, or the applicable federal appellate court, when directed to do so by an indigent client, even when such an appeal is to a conviction entered following a guilty plea, and is deemed frivolous by the attorney.  A court-appointed attorney must advise his indigent client that he has a right to appeal, even under those circumstances, but must also identify to the client the risks which may attend asserting such a right  A court-appointed attorney who follows the procedure set forth in the Rules of Court which embody the constitutional requirements of Anders and Akbar does not violate the ethical prohibition regarding non-meritorious claims and contentions. 

This opinion is advisory only and not binding on any court or tribunal.

Committee Opinion

July 23, 2015