Bolden v. United States, 14849.
| Decision Date | 16 April 1959 |
| Docket Number | No. 14849.,14849. |
| Citation | 266 F.2d 460,105 US App. DC 259 |
| Parties | Joseph A. BOLDEN, Jr., Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Mr. Jack Marshall Stark, Asst. U. S. Atty., with whom Messrs. Oliver Gasch, U. S. Atty., and Carl W. Belcher, Asst. U. S. Atty., were on the brief, for appellee.
Before WILBUR K. MILLER, WASHINGTON and DANAHER, Circuit Judges.
Evidence for the Government showed that on the evening of December 29, 1957, a poker game was in progress at the home of Fred Mosley. At about 11:30 p. m. Joseph A. Bolden, Jr., appeared and asked for a girl named Blanche Brown. Upon being told Blanche was not there, Bolden received permission to come in and use the telephone. Witnesses said he left but returned about 1:30 a. m.; that he said he was still looking for Blanche and again asked and received permission to use the telephone. Once inside the house, and with the help of two other armed men who immediately came in, he held up the card game at gun point and robbed three of the gamesters.
On December 30 Bolden and one Robert Galloway were arrested for the robberies. At a preliminary hearing both said they were together at another place when the crimes were committed. Bolden was held to await the action of a grand jury but Galloway was dismissed, presumably because he was not identified as one of the bandits.
In March, 1958, Bolden was tried and convicted under three counts of robbery and one count of carrying a dangerous weapon. From preliminary hearing through sentencing he was represented by employed counsel of his own choice.
He appeals, saying his trial attorney, with whom he had previously expressed no dissatisfaction, did not give him effective assistance; and saying further that the conduct and attitude of the trial judge was "so biased and argumentative as to constitute an erroneous invasion of the province of the jury to decide issues of fact, and thereby further deprive appellant of a fair and impartial trial."
Trial counsel is said to have been ineffective in that he "failed or refused to subpoena, call or examine alibi witnesses." Apparently this statement is based (a) on Galloway's evidence at his own preliminary hearing that at the time of the crimes he and Bolden were together at a place remote from the scene; and (b) upon Bolden's testimony at his own trial that at 12:30 a. m. he went to a place distant from...
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O'malley v. United States
...not to subpoena or use certain witnesses is often a matter addressed to the judgment of the trial attorney. Bolden v. United States, 105 U.S.App.D.C. 259, 266 F.2d 460, 461, Flourre v. United States, 6 Cir., 217 F.2d 132. Many questions may arise in the course of a trial, which must be left......
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Tompa v. Commonwealth of Virginia
...and it has been repeatedly held that such mistakes do not deprive an accused of a constitutional right. Bolden v. United States (D.C.Circuit 1959), 105 U.S.App.D.C. 259, 266 F.2d 460, Snead v. Smyth, Supt. etc. (4th Circuit 1959), 273 F.2d 838. In the latter case, speaking for the Court, Ju......
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Bolden v. Clemmer, 16313.
...the issues. The court will then afford such hearing as may be required. Reversed and remanded. 1 We affirmed in Bolden v. United States, 105 U.S.App.D.C. 259, 266 F.2d 460 (1959). 2 See D.C.Code § 24-402 3 Cf. D.C.Code § 24-425 (1951) which provides: "The Attorney General is also authorized......
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