United States ex rel. Cox v. Bussell

283 F. Supp. 171, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7812
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 4, 1968
DocketMisc. No. 3719
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 283 F. Supp. 171 (United States ex rel. Cox v. Bussell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States ex rel. Cox v. Bussell, 283 F. Supp. 171, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7812 (E.D. Pa. 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHN MORGAN DAVIS, District Judge.

The relator has filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging that his 1964 conviction for common law and statutory rape was illegal. He received a sentence of 5 to 10 years imprisonment on the statutory rape conviction only; sentence was suspended on the conviction of the common law offense.1 The allegations of error are discussed, as follows:

I.

PROCEDURAL ISSUES.

A. Exhaustion of State Remedies.

After his conviction, the relator, with representation of counsel, filed a motion for a new trial. However, it was denied on October 28, 1964. There was no appeal. The relator then filed two petitions for writs of habeas corpus;2 the latter resulted in obtaining leave to appeal Nunc Pro Tunc. On appeal, the Superior Court affirmed.3 Although no petitions were filed under the Pennsylvania Post Conviction Hearing Act, 19 P.S.Pa. § 1180-1 et seq., the relator’s state remedies have been exhausted, since the ruling on the merits by the Superior Court has foreclosed any further consideration by a State Court, under the Act. 19 P.S.Pa. § 1180-4(a) (2). Consequently, the requirements for exhaustion of state remedies as specified in 2254(b) and (c) of the Judicial Code have clearly been fulfilled.

[173]*173B. Requirement for a Hearing.

In Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed.2d 770 (1963) the Supreme Court held that a federal court must grant a hearing to resolve factual issues, if it is apparent that the fact-finding procedure which the state court utilized, was not adequate to provide a full and fair hearing:

Even where the procedure employed [by the state court] does not violate the Constitution, if it appears to be seriously inadequate for the ascertainment of the truth, it is the federal judge’s duty to disregard the state findings and take evidence anew. Supra, at p. 316, 83 S.Ct. at p. 759.

This statement essentially synopsizes the subsequent Congressional enactment of the 1966 amendment to the Habeas Corpus Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), regarding the circumstances under which an evidentiary hearing is required. See also United States ex rel. Ackerman v. Russell, 388 F.2d 21 (3rd Cir. 1968).

Although the relator has raised allegations of error which may properly be characterized as factual, the five transcripts of record which we have carefully examined, together with the rather exhaustive findings of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania which appear in its Opinion of March 23, 1967, preclude the necessity of an additional factual hearing regarding the issues to be discussed in this Opinion. This is in keeping with the observation of the Chief Justice that if the District Judge:

* * * concludes that the habeas applicant was afforded a full and fair hearing by the state court resulting in reliable findings, he may, and ordinarily should, accept the facts as found in the hearing. Townsend v. Sain, supra, 372 U.S. at 318, 83 S.Ct. at 760.

II.

SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES.

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence.

The relator initially contends that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge of rape (statutory or otherwise). We disagree. In addition to the rather precise testimony of the 13 year old victim, wherein she clearly identified the relator as her attacker,4 there was ample corroboration by other witnesses or evidence; for example, the condition of the relator’s trousers when suddenly accosted by the police,5 a few moments after the crime had transpired. In addition, the statement by the victim that she was forced at the point of a knife to remove her underclothing and submit to the relator’s demands,6 was substantiated in part by the fact that the relator was apprehended with “a knife in his hand”.7 Since there was sufficient evidence to sustain a finding by a jury that the crimes as charged had been committed by the relator, the trial judge was clearly correct in permitting the case to go to the jury. Commonwealth v. Beati, 86 Pa.Super. 567 (1926).

B. Merger of Offenses.

The relator contends that a simultaneous conviction for common law and statutory rape arising out of the same- incident, is illegal. However, since sentence has been suspended in the common law charge (No. 69), the question has become academic; it is clear that under Pennsylvania law, the 1964 suspension may not now be vacated, and sentence imposed. Commonwealth v. Duff, 414 Pa. 471, 200 A.2d 773 (1964); Commonwealth v. Garrett, 423 Pa. 8, 222 A.2d 902 (1966); Commonwealth v. Hoffmann, 210 Pa.Super. 48, 232 A.2d 19 (1967); Commonwealth ex rel. Speaks v. Rundle, 209 Pa.Super. 227, 224 A.2d 805 (1966); Commonwealth ex rel. Lepera v. Rundle, 205 Pa.Super. 251, 208 A.2d 874 (1965); [174]*174Commonwealth ex rel. Perrotti v. Myers, 203 Pa.Super. 287, 201 A.2d 292 (1964).

Since there is no possibility that the sentence, as it presently reads, may be increased by vacating the suspended sentence and substituting therefor an additional term of imprisonment, there is no reversible error. It was certainly not error to permit the jury to determine the question of the relator’s guilt as to both common law and statutory rape; the elements of the crimes are sufficiently distinct that they could have conceivably found the relator guilty of either one while acquitting him of the other. But since he has been sentenced on only one indictment, there is no basis for establishing error. We therefore conclude that a conviction for common law and statutory rape is not per se unlawful.

C. Exclusion of Evidence.

It is contended that the exclusion of a certain medical report which would have demonstrated that the victim’s female organs were not injured, was reversible error. However, we agree with the observation of the Superior Court that had the report been produced in a timely manner, it could not have affected the outcome of the case.

The probative value of the report was brought to the attention of the jury by the relator’s counsel, who stated:8

As to the hospital report, it merely states there was no spermatazoa present, which means if there was a rape, there was no climax.

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Related

Commonwealth v. Walker
362 A.2d 227 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)
Commonwealth v. Walker
340 A.2d 858 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1975)

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283 F. Supp. 171, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-cox-v-bussell-paed-1968.