United States of Amercia Ex Rel. Emile A. Turner, H-6528 v. Alfred T. Rundle, Supt

438 F.2d 839, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 12195
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit·Decided January 26, 1971·No. 18480_1·Published·Cited by 53 cases

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

VAN DUSEN, Circuit Judge.

This appeal challenges a district court order denying a writ of habeas corpus. Relator and one Leonard Dennis were taken into custody on April 7, 1966, in connection with the assault on a woman on April 3, 1966. Relator was 16 years of age at the time.

At the police station, officers asked the suspects if they wished to make a statement. At first relator refused, saying that his mother would arrive with an attorney for him. Relator was placed in a separate room. His companion then confessed, implicating him. Told of the confession, relator whispered to one of the officers that he wanted to make a statement. Before his confession, relator was advised that he had a right to an attorney and that any statements he made could be used against him. However, he was not advised that he was entitled to free counsel. 1

Proceedings against relator commenced in Juvenile Court on April 15, 1966. The court heard testimony from one witness, a police officer, who described the scene following the crime and the subsequent investigation. Then, the Juvenile Court stated that the “serious nature” of the crime justified waiver of juvenile jurisdiction and certification to adult court. 2 Relator and Dennis were indicted on June 8, 1966. On June 24, 1966, a pre-trial hearing was held to consider their claim that the confessions were involuntary. Relief was denied on the grounds that they had been adequately advised of their constitutional rights. A jury trial was held in the Court of Quarter Sessions of Delaware County and on July 1, 1966, relator was convicted of assault with intent to kill, assault with intent to ravish, burglary, and conspiracy. After dismissal of a motion for new trial, he was sentenced to 7V2 to 15 years imprisonment on February 12, 1967. No appeal was taken. Relator filed his first Post Conviction Hearing Act petition on August 16, 1967. He contended that the introduction into evidence of the confession was improper on the ground that (1) he was not represented by counsel, (2) the confession was coerced, (3) his privilege against self-incrimination was infringed, and (4) the evidence was obtained as a result of an unlawful arrest, in that no warrant was issued. The petition was denied without a hearing. The court stated that the issue with respect to the arrest had been waived and the issues with respect to the voluntariness of the confession had been considered by the court, both at the time of the suppression hearing and at the time of the motion for new trial. 3 No appeal was taken from the denial. On February 26, 1968, relator filed a second petition under the Post Conviction Hearing Act, alleging that the waiver to adult court was improper under Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966), and that his confession was illegally introduced into evidence because obtained in the absence *841 of counsel. A hearing was held on May 17, 1968. On July 3, 1968, the juvenile judge who had certified the relator filed a memorandum opinion setting forth his reasons for having waived juvenile jurisdiction two years previously. 4 On July 24, 1968, the Post Conviction Hearing Act petition was dismissed “sur the Memorandum Opinion of Bloom, J., filed July 2, 1968.” 5 The denial was affirmed by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania on the ground that relator had waived his rights under Kent, supra, by not raising them at an earlier time. 6 Allocatur was denied by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on June 11, 1969. Subsequently, relator filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court, claiming that his constitutional rights under Kent were violated and that his confession should not have been admitted into evidence in the absence of counsel or a waiver of counsel. The district court did not hold an evi-dentiary hearing and, by order of November 12, 1969, denied the writ on the grounds that relator had waived his Kent claims and had not exhausted his state remedies with regard to his “contentions concerning his confession.” 7 Relator then appealed from such denial to this court.

I. THE CERTIFICATION PROCEEDINGS

Relator claims that he was not given due notice of the certification hearing and that he was not granted the right to present evidence, time for an adequate review of his social record, or the right to cross-examine witnesses. Moreover, he claims that certification took place without an adequate statement of reasons therefor. Relator maintains that these procedures violated constitutional guarantees set forth in Kent v. United States.

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United States of Amercia Ex Rel. Emile A. Turner, H-6528 v. Alfred T. Rundle, Supt, 438 F.2d 839, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 12195 (3d Cir. 1971).

438 F.2d 839 (United States of Amercia Ex Rel. Emile A. Turner, H-6528 v. Alfred T. Rundle, Supt) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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