Anderson v. Bannan

Decision Date03 January 1958
Docket NumberNo. 13263.,13263.
Citation250 F.2d 654
PartiesJames ANDERSON and Fad Williams, Appellants, v. William H. BANNAN, Warden, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Jacob K. Stein, Cincinnati, Ohio, for appellants.

Samuel J. Torina, Sol. Gen., Lansing, Mich., Thomas M. Kavanagh, Atty. Gen., Daniel J. O'Hara, Perry A. Maynard, Asst. Attys. Gen., on the brief, for appellee.

Before SIMONS, Chief Judge, and ALLEN and MILLER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

Appellants were tried and convicted in the Detroit Recorders Court for armed robbery. Application to the Supreme Court of Michigan for leave to appeal was denied. Petition to the Supreme Court of the United States for writ of certiorari was denied. Appellants thereupon filed in the United States District Court their application for a writ of habeas corpus attacking the validity of the state court judgment on the ground that it was in violation of the due process clause of the Constitution of the United States, Amend. 14. Sec. 2241(c) (3), Title 28 U.S.Code. The writ was denied and the action dismissed, followed by this appeal.

Appellants contend that the conduct of their counsel during the course of the trial rendered the proceedings a farce so as to constitute a denial to them of due process of law. This is coupled with the contention that the trial court improperly received in evidence a statement made by a witness, who although not a co-defendant, had made the statement prior to the trial to the effect that he and the two defendants had jointly planned and carried out the robbery. This witness had later repudiated the statement but was nevertheless called as a witness for the prosecution, and upon testifying that he did not take part in the robbery and did not see the two defendants on the day of the robbery was questioned about his prior statement to the contrary. Defense counsel did not object to this testimony nor did he request an instruction that the evidence be considered for a limited purpose only, and no such instruction was given. Complaint is also made that no objection was made by defense counsel to cross-examination of one of the defendants with respect to certain prior offenses, not constituting felonies and not resulting in conviction.

If the foregoing evidence was erroneously received and considered by the jury it constituted a part of the record subject to consideration by the Supreme Court of Michigan on the application for leave to appeal. It is well settled that habeas corpus cannot be used as a substitute for appeal for the purpose of attacking the validity of state court rulings not involving constitutional questions. Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 458, 73 S.Ct. 397, 97 L.Ed. 469; Thomas v. Eyman, 9 Cir., 235 F.2d 775, 777; Cash v. Huff, 4 Cir., 142 F.2d 60; Sec. 2241, Title 28 U.S.Code.

Appellants attempt to avoid this rule by injecting into the case an alleged constitutional issue, namely, failure to have the effective assistance of counsel constituting lack of due process. Powell v. State of Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 53 S.Ct. 55, 77 L.Ed. 158; Avery v. State of Alabama, 308 U.S. 444, 446, 60 S.Ct. 321, 84 L.Ed. 377.

In considering this question, we must keep in mind that appellant...

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17 cases
  • Hurst v. People of State of California
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
    • December 6, 1962
    ...of incompetence "as to make the trial a farce and a mockery of justice" (Palakiko v. Harper, 9 Cir., 209 F.2d 75; and Anderson v. Bannan, 6 Cir., 250 F.2d 654). Moreover, petitioner has not presented this contention to the California courts. In the absence of such a presentation, petitioner......
  • Audett v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • May 4, 1959
    ...language of Chief Judge Biggs in United States ex rel. Darcy v. Handy, 3 Cir., 1953, 203 F.2d 407, 426-427; and see, Anderson v. Bannan, 6 Cir., 1958, 250 F.2d 654, 655. 37 Craig v. United States, 9 Cir., 1936, 81 F.2d 816, 827-828; Banks v. United States, 9 Cir., 1945, 147 F.2d 628, 629; S......
  • State ex rel. Clark v. Adams, 11075
    • United States
    • West Virginia Supreme Court
    • November 17, 1959
    ...and it must appear that there has been much more than inadequacy of representation by counsel chosen by the defendant. Anderson v. Bannan, C.C.A., 6 Cir., 250 F.2d 654; Ex Parte Haumesch, C.C.A., 9 Cir., 82 F.2d 558; Maye v. Pescor, C.C.A., 8 Cir., 162 F.2d 641; Morton v. Welch, C.C.A., 4 C......
  • Beasley v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • February 1, 1974
    ...cause the jury to return a different verdict. citations omitted They do not reach this case. 100 F.2d at 906. In Anderson v. Bannan, 250 F.2d 654, 655 (6th Cir.1958), this Circuit held that "To justify a writ of habeas corpus on the ground of incompetency of counsel, an extreme case must be......
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