Stewart v. Stephens

244 F. Supp. 982, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9000
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedJuly 23, 1965
DocketPB-65-C-2
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 244 F. Supp. 982 (Stewart v. Stephens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stewart v. Stephens, 244 F. Supp. 982, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9000 (E.D. Ark. 1965).

Opinion

GORDON E. YOUNG, District Judge.

This habeas corpus proceeding is brought by petitioner. Clarence Stewart, Jr., a Negro, to set aside his second conviction for murder. 1 He received a death sentence. His conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Arkansas in the case of Stewart v. State, 237 Ark. 748, 375 S.W.2d 804 2

The chronological facts, so far as here pertinent, show that on January 8, 1959, the employees of R. E. Caldwell’s Service Station in North Little Rock, Arkansas discovered the body of William N. Caldwell lying on the floor of his auto parts store. Upon investigation the North Little Rock Police discovered that Mr. Caldwell had been stabbed to death with a hunting knife which was still protruding from his chest. To learn the identity of the owner of the knife, the North Little Rock Police caused a picture of the knife to be run in the newspapers and over television with a request that anyone having any knowledge of the knife contact the North Little Rock Police Department. About 6:00 p. m. on January 9, 1959, the police were informed by a Mr. Tull at Scott, Arkansas that he thought he had some information with respect to the identity of the owner of the knife. Lt. Cecil Hammer of the North Little Rock Police Department and Officers McDonald and Tracy with the Arkansas State Police went to Tull’s Service Station at Scott, Arkansas. Upon arriving, the officers were directed to an informer, 3 who told them that he thought the knife belonged to a Pete Redman. The officers drove to Redman’s house, where Redman informed them that he did own a hunting knife but that he had lent it to Clarence Stewart about a week before and that Stewart had not returned the knife. The officers then made arrangements to take Pete Redman to Police Headquarters at North Little Rock to identify the knife. He directed the officers to the home of Clarence Stewart, but Stewart was not home when they arrived. Lt. Hammer remained at the home of Stewart and the other two officers prepared to take Redman to North Little Rock Police Headquarters for the purpose of identifying the knife. At the suggestion of Redman, who indicated that he thought he knew where Clarence Stewart was visiting, the officers went by the Ellis Thomas, Sr., residence and asked if Stewart was there. *985 After Ellis Thomas, Sr., found out why the officers were looking for Stewart, he called for his son, Ellis Thomas, Jr. As a result, two individuals — Thomas, Jr., and Stewart — approached from some heavy underbrush at the rear of the Thomas home. 4 Stewart and Thomas, Jr., then accompanied the officers in the State Police car, and, after going by the Stewart home to pick up Lt. Hammer, proceeded to the North Little Rock Police Headquarters, where Stewart allegedly made certain statements. 5

In his petition, Stewart alleges that his constitutional rights were violated in the following particulars:

1. That he was charged by an information drawn by the prosecuting attorney instead of by an indictment of a grand jury as required by the Constitution of the United States.'

2. That Negroes have been systematically excluded as jury commissioners.

3. That petitioner is now insane and was insane before the crime was committed.

4. That race was a factor in selecting the jury at his trial and that it was so drawn upon a racially proportionate basis as to discriminate against petitioner because of his race.

5. That his alleged confession was coerced.

Since it appeared that petitioner had exhausted his State remedies, this Court issued a stay of execution, and in accordance with the duties and burdens 6 imposed upon the federal district courts by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 83 S.Ct. 822, 9 L.Ed.2d 837; Town *986 send v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed.2d 770; and Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 83 S.Ct. 1068, 10 L.Ed.2d 148, the petition was set down for a plenary hearing on February 25, 1965. At this hearing, the petitioner rested after the transcript of the proceedings in the State Court was made a part of the record here. The respondent called as witnesses Leo Grant, V. H. Williams, and Paul McDonald. 7

CHARGE BY INFORMATION:

The petitioner’s contention with respect to being charged by information filed by the prosecuting attorney instead of by a grand jury indictment is without merit. See Moore v. Henslee, 276 F.2d 876, 878 (8th Cir. 1960), where the Court said:

“ * * * The Supreme Court of the United States has consistently recognized that state prosecutions initiated by the filing of an information by the Prosecuting Attorney, here authorized by Ark.Const. Amend. 21, do not violate the constitutional rights of the accused under the Fourteenth Amendment. Hurtado v. People of State of California, 110 U.S. 516, 538, 4 S.Ct. Ill, 292, 28 L.Ed. 232 * * * ”

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN SELECTION OF JURY COMMISSIONERS :

The petitioner’s contention that his constitutional rights have been violated because Negroes have been systematically excluded as jury commissioners is without merit. The identical argument here made by petitioner was considered in Moore v. Henslee, 276 F.2d 876, 879 (8th Cir. 1960), and there determined adversely to petitioner’s present contention. That decision is binding upon this Court until overruled by that court or the Supreme Court of the United States.

INSANITY ISSUE:

Petitioner offered no testimony on the issue of insanity in this Court other than the transcript of his trial in the State Court, 8 and has not argued the issue in the briefs submitted herein. However, notwithstanding this apparent abandonment of the issue, this Court has carefully reviewed the transcript of the proceedings in the State Court 9 and finds that the issue of insanity was fairly submitted to the jury.

Dr. Fletcher testified that petitioner’s I.Q. was low (63) and that she felt he was definitely mentally affected and his judgment impaired. On the other hand, she said that he was competent and not psychotic on the days that she examined him.

Dr. Crow, a specialist in psychiatry on the staff of the Arkansas State Hospital, testified about three reports made by the staff of the hospital, in all of which he participated. He said that three different tests on Stewart’s I.Q. were taken and they varied — that I.Q.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
244 F. Supp. 982, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stewart-v-stephens-ared-1965.