Moore v. Dutton

294 F. Supp. 684, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12493
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedDecember 16, 1968
DocketCiv. A. No. 2261
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 294 F. Supp. 684 (Moore v. Dutton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moore v. Dutton, 294 F. Supp. 684, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12493 (S.D. Ga. 1968).

Opinion

ORDER

LAWRENCE, District Judge.

Petitioner Robert Felton Moore was convicted of murder and sentenced to death after a jury trial in Camden County, Georgia, Superior Court on April 14, 1966. With the assistance of counsel petitioner appealed directly to the Georgia Supreme Court which affirmed the trial court’s denial of his motion for new trial. Moore v. State, 222 Ga. 748, 152 S.E.2d 570. Petitioner then filed application for writ of habeas corpus in the City Court of Reidsville, Tattnall County, Georgia raising the same constitutional issues presented here, namely,

(1) that petitioner was intimidated, beaten, and otherwise coerced, without the assistance of counsel and without waiving his right to counsel, into making a confession which was introduced into evidence at his trial and,

(2) that the grand and petit juries which indicted and tried him were drawn from lists taken from tax digests and as such were discriminatory in that petitioner is an indigent Negro and such technique discriminated against the impartial selection of Negro jurors.

After a hearing on these issues the City Court judge on April 14, 1967, denied the-petition. Thereupon petitioner appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court which upheld Judge Carr’s denial. See Moore v. Dutton, Warden, 223 Ga. 585, 157 S.E.2d 267.

Petitioner filed his application in this Court on December 1,1967. On the same day Judge Frank M. Scarlett denied the petition stating that “ * * * under all of these facts this Court decides that this petitioner has had his day in Court * * *» Petitioner then appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which reversed Judge Scarlett and remanded the case for consideration on its merits. See Moore v. A. L. Dutton, 396 F.2d 782.

The respondent, State of Georgia, which was not required initially to make a return and answer, filed a brief in the Fifth Circuit and has subsequently submitted the transcripts of the State trial and the State habeas corpus proceeding which are to be considered by this Court in compliance with the Fifth Circuit ruling.

A Federal District Court, in a habeas corpus proceeding, may accept evidence and findings of the State court in trial or post conviction proceedings if arrived at by a full and fair hearing and if supported by substantial evidence. See Nance v. Baker, 10 Cir., 400 F.2d 864; Wilson v. Bailey, 4 Cir., 375 F.2d 663; Hall v. Page, 10 Cir., 367 F.2d 352. Since it appears that the state trial and the post-conviction proceeding were conducted with complete impartiality and [686]*686fairness to the petitioner, both records are accepted as admissible evidentiary matter in the present proceeding. They have been carefully examined in the light of petitioner’s allegations.

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Bluebook (online)
294 F. Supp. 684, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-dutton-gasd-1968.