Jordan v. Steiner

184 F. Supp. 432, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2857
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedMay 24, 1960
DocketCiv. No. 11191
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 184 F. Supp. 432 (Jordan v. Steiner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jordan v. Steiner, 184 F. Supp. 432, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2857 (D. Md. 1960).

Opinion

THOMSEN, Chief Judge.

This case is before me on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against the Warden of the Maryland House of Correction, filed by George Thomas Jordan with Honorable Simon E. Sobeloff, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and referred by Judge Sobeloff to me in accordance with 28 U.S.C.A. § 2241(b). An almost identical petition filed by petitioner with me a few days before is also pending, but petitioner has advised me that the petition filed with Judge Sobeloff is the more accurate statement of his contentions.

Petitioner was charged in a three count information filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County with (1) larceny of an automobile, (2) receiving an automobile knowing it to have been stolen, and (3) unauthorized use. He was tried before the court without a jury on April 8, 1958, was found guilty of the second count and not guilty of the first and third counts, and was sentenced to serve five years. His conviction was affirmed, February 12, 1959, Jordan v. State, 219 Md. 36, 148 A.2d 292. Many of the questions raised by the present petition were considered and disposed of by the Court of Appeals on that appeal.

In the meantime, petitioner had filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County a petition for relief under the Post Conviction Procedure Act, Anno. Code of Md., 1957 ed„ 1959 Supp., Art. 27, secs. 645A-645J, and had filed several petitions for writs of habeas corpus, one with this court, all of which had been denied. On February 13 he was notified by the Honorable John B. Gray, Jr., Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland, which includes Prince George’s County, as follows: “I have just learned that the Court of Appeals has completed its study of your appeal from the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County and today has returned to the Court the file in your case after affirming the conviction. The next step is to dispose of the several petitions and motions pending in this case including your application for review under the post conviction act.”

Shortly thereafter, petitioner prepared three copies of a petition for writ of certiorari to be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States and made several efforts to mail one copy thereof to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, one copy to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and one copy to the Attorney General of Maryland. The petitioner’s classification officer at the Maryland State Penitentiary honestly, but mistakenly believed that it was necessary for petitioner to complete the proceedings under the Maryland Post Conviction Procedure Act before he was entitled to file a petition for writ of certiorari from the decision of the Court of Appeals of Maryland affirming his conviction. The classification officer, therefore, refused to allow the letters to be mailed.

On April 23, 1959, the Clerk of this Court received a letter dated April 21, 1959, enclosing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner contended, inter alia, that he has been prevented by the Warden of the Maryland State Penitentiary (where he was then confined) from filing a petition for a writ of oertiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States. On that petition I entered a show cause order, the Attorney General of the State of Maryland filed an answer, I appointed counsel to represent petitioner, and the case was. set for hearing on June 16, 1959. Since the Maryland Post Conviction Procedure Act does not permit, in proceedings filed thereunder, reconsideration of matters which have been previously litigated or waived, it was important that petitioner be given an opportunity to have the Su[434]*434preme Court consider the matters which were decided by the Court of Appeals on his original appeal. I, therefore, delayed final action on the then pending petition for writ of habeas corpus until petitioner might have an opportunity to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States from the final decision of the Court of Appeals of Maryland affirming his conviction, and said: “If such petition is considered on the merits by the Supreme Court and is not denied for failure to file in time, this court will finally remand petitioner to the custody of the respondent. If such petition is not considered by the Supreme Court on the merits because not timely filed, this court will enter such further order as may be proper.” An opinion and order to that effect were filed on July 6, 1959.

Following that opinion and order, the Court of Appeals of Maryland vacated its original order and mandate and filed a new judgment and mandate affirming the judgment of conviction, so that petitioner might file a timely petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States. Such a timely petition was filed and certiorari was denied, October 12, 1959, Jordan v. Maryland, 361 U.S. 849, 80 S.Ct. 105, 4 L.Ed.2d 87.

Petitioner’s application under the Maryland Post Conviction Procedure Act was heard and denied by Honorable J. Dudley Digges, in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, on June 24, 1959. Appeal from that denial was heard by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and the order of Judge Digges was affirmed, December 14, 1959, Jordan v. State, 221 Md. 134, 156 A.2d 453. A number of the points raised by Jordan in his present petitions were again considered by the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Certiorari was again denied by the Supreme Court, February 23, 1960, Jordan v. Maryland, 361 U.S. 972, 80 S.Ct. 606, 4 L.Ed.2d 552.

Many previous petitions for writs of habeas corpus have been denied by various state court judges, including Chief Judge Bruñe of the Court of Appeals of Maryland.

After the second denial of certiorari, petitioner requested me to grant him a hearing on his second petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed in this court, which had resulted in the order of July 6, 1959, discussed above. Petitioner was then alleging the following facts, contending that each of them showed a violation of his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment:

(1) That he was never presented or indicted by the grand jury on the charge of receiving stolen goods and that the waiver he executed did not operate to waive his rights with respect to that charge;

(2) That he was never notified or informed of the charge of receiving stolen goods and was never arraigned on that charge;

(3) That he never waived his constitutional right to be duly informed of that charge and to be arraigned thereon; and

(4) That he was convicted without the introduction of any evidence or testimony to link him with the crime of receiving stolen goods.

The first contention had been twice considered and disposed of by the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Jordan v. State, 219 Md. 36, at page 43, 148 A.2d 292; Jordan v. State, 221 Md. 134, at page 138, 156 A.2d 453.

The second and third contentions had not been raised at the trial or on his appeal from his conviction. They were raised at his Post Conviction Procedure hearing and were considered on the appeal therefrom.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
184 F. Supp. 432, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2857, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jordan-v-steiner-mdd-1960.