Gentlee Hollman v. Wyndham M. Manning, Warden of the South Carolina State Penitentiary

262 F.2d 656, 1959 U.S. App. LEXIS 4555
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit·Decided January 16, 1959·No. 7765·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Gentlee Hollman, a prisoner in the South Carolina State Penitentiary, appeals from an order of the District Court whereby his application for writ of habeas corpus was dismissed on the ground that he had failed to show that he had exhausted his state remedies before applying to the federal court for relief. He was indicted on May 27, 1957, in Calhoun County, South Carolina, on two counts: 1) for resisting an officer and 2) for assault and battery upon the officer with intent to kill. Prior to the convening of the state court the defendant requested and was furnished with a copy of the indictment and furnished a list of the witnesses whom he desired to testify, all of whom were summoned. When arraigned he pleaded not guilty. At that time he was asked if he had an attorney or any motions to make, and said in reply that he had no attorney but requested that one of the State’s officers be excluded as a witness and that the statement of another witness be suppressed. He did not request the appointment of an attorney. He said that he understood colored persons had not been permitted to sit on the jury. The case proceeded to trial, during which the defendant cross-examined the witnesses for the State and examined witnesses called on his behalf. He did not testify as a witness. At the end of the testimony he was offered an opportunity to address the jury but declined to do so. He said he thought it would be wise for the court to appoint an attorney to argue, and also *658 ■said that the jury was an illegal jury. Nothing, however, was presented to the ■court at any time during the trial in support of the latter statement, either in respect to the exclusion of colored persons on the jury or to the illegality of the jury in any other respect. No attorney was appointed for the defendant to argue the ■case. The jury rendered a verdict of guilty on both counts. Thereupon the judge inquired as to the background of the defendant and was informed as to the following criminal record.

On February 26, 1940, the defendant was sentenced in West Palm Beach, Florida, to 10 days for breaking and entering. Thereafter, under the alias of Robert Samuel, he was convicted of a criminal offense in Fayetteville, North Carolina, released on bail in the sum of $700 and disappeared. On November 11, 1948, he was convicted in Bamberg, South Carolina, on a fraudulent check charge and sentenced to three years in the State Penitentiary. He escaped from prison and was given an additional 3 months therefor. On March 5, 1954, he was convicted of violating the Dyer Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 10, 2311-2313, in Philadelphia and sentenced to imprisonment for 18 months. He escaped therefrom and was given an additional 3 months imprisonment. On January 19, 1956, he was convicted of cheating and swindling in Atlanta, Georgia, and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment or $302 fine. On February 14, 1957, he was convicted in St. Matthews, South Carolina, for driving a truck without a license and sentenced to 60 days imprisonment. In answer to questions propounded by the court as to his familiarity with legal procedure, he stated that he had been in court several times and had taken training in different schools including the penitentiary. Thereupon he was sentenced by the court for a term of 4 years or a fine of $1,000 on the first count, and a term of 3 years or a fine of $1,500 on the second count, the sentences to run consecutively.

The defendant then gave notice of an appeal to the Supreme Court of South Carolina, whereupon, by order of the trial court, a transcript of the record of the trial was printed and he was given a copy thereof. The record for the appeal was prepared by the attorneys for the State in the presence of the defendant and approved by him. Thereafter the Supreme Court of South Carolina appointed an attorney for the defendant, who prepared a brief and argued the case in the Supreme Court. The defendant also filed a lengthy brief on his own behalf. The Supreme Court entered a de-cisión, State v. Hollman, 232 S.C. 489, 102 S.E.2d 873, in which it held that there was no error in refusing the defendant’s request for counsel, made after the conclusion of the evidence, and that the defendant was not deprived of his opportunity to be fully heard in his defense or by his counsel, or both, under Article 1, Section 18 of the Constitution of South Carolina. The Court, however, struck out the judgment of sentence on the second count of the indictment on the ground that the charge in the first count relating to assault upon the officer and the charge of aggravated assault and battery in the second count constituted a single offense and could not be considered separate offenses for which separate penalties might be imposed.

This decision was rendered on April 8, 1958. The defendant did not make application to the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari to review the decision, but on June 23, 1958, filed the petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court, which is now before us on this appeal. We think that the District Judge was correct in holding that the action is not tenable, for it is well settled by statute and by decisions of the courts that ordinarily an application for habeas corpus by one detained under a state court judgment of conviction for crime will be entertained by a federal court only after all state remedies available, including all appellate remedies in the state courts and in the Supreme Court of the United States by appeal or writ of certiorari, have been exhausted. Darr v. Burford, 339 U.S. 200, 207, 70 S.Ct. 587, 94 L.Ed. 761; 28 *659 U.S.C. § 2254. Departure from this rule is allowable only where there are circumstances of peculiar urgency, such as an absence of available state corrective procedure or the existence of circumstances rendering such procedure ineffective to protect the rights of the defendant.

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Gentlee Hollman v. Wyndham M. Manning, Warden of the South Carolina State Penitentiary, 262 F.2d 656, 1959 U.S. App. LEXIS 4555 (4th Cir. 1959).

262 F.2d 656 (Gentlee Hollman v. Wyndham M. Manning, Warden of the South Carolina State Penitentiary) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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