Davis v. Warden of Md. Penitentiary, 125

Decision Date19 June 1958
Docket NumberNo. 125,125
Citation143 A.2d 77,217 Md. 662
PartiesBenjamin DAVIS v. WARDEN OF MARYLAND PENITENTIARY. Application
CourtMaryland Court of Appeals

Before BRUNE, C. J., and HENDERSON, HAMMOND, PRESCOTT, and HORNEY, JJ.

HORNEY, Judge.

This is an application by Benjamin Davis for leave to appeal from the denial of a writ of habeas corpus by Michael Paul Smith, J., of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County.

The petitioner was tried and found guilty of murder in the first degree, without capital punishment, by a jury in the Circuit Court for Wicomico County (Taylor, J.), and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the penitentiary.

The petitioner assigned fourteen reasons why he should be granted the writ, four of which were made for the first time on this application, and cannot be considered here. Wain v. Warden, 1958, 215 Md. 650, 138 A.2d 482. Of the remaining ten, four involved arguments of fact and irrelevant points of law.

Judge Smith properly ruled: (i) that the questions as to a confession allegedly obtained by inducements and coercion could have been raised on appeal, but not on habeas corpus (Hovey v. Warden, 1957, 215 Md. 612, 137 A.2d 208); (ii) that the trial court was not obliged to summon witnesses for the petitioner unless the petitioner had made a request therefor, which was not alleged (Obenstine v. Warden, 1951, 198 Md. 648, 80 A.2d 610); (iii) that the allegation of perjured testimony, without a further allegation that the State knowingly used it, was not sufficient (Smith v. Warden, 1957, 213 Md. 643, 131 A.2d 392); and (iv) that the petitioner had not made a reasonable effort to perfect an appeal and that there was no duty on the trial judge to advise the defendant that he had a right to appeal (Finley v. Warden, 1956, 211 Md. 650, 127 A.2d 134).

The petitioner's other general contentions of denial of counsel at the time of his arrest and that certain testimony was erroneously admitted are likewise without merit. Both could have been raised on appeal, but neither constitute grounds for granting habeas corpus.

The petitioner's repeated assertions that he was denied due process of law (i) because he was not advised of his right of appeal, (ii) because he could not afford an appeal, and (iii) because he was entitled to an appeal under the holding in Griffin v. People of State of Illinois, 1956, 351 U.S. 12, 76 S.Ct. 585, 100 L.Ed. 891, are without merit. There are no specific allegations of the denial of any rights he may...

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8 cases
  • Saldiveri v. State
    • United States
    • Maryland Court of Appeals
    • 26 June 1958
  • Truesdale v. Warden of Md. Penitentiary
    • United States
    • Maryland Court of Appeals
    • 20 January 1960
    ...to demand a free transcript or file a motion for new trial or an appeal, citing Brown v. Warden, Md.1959, 155 A.2d 648. Cf. Davis v. Warden, 217 Md. 662, 143 A.2d 77. These cases sufficiently answer the contention that by reason of indigency he was deprived of a constitutional right. Moreov......
  • Brown v. Warden of Md. Penitentiary
    • United States
    • Maryland Court of Appeals
    • 23 November 1959
    ...2 L.Ed.2d 1070; Person v. Warden, 217 Md. 650, 141 A.2d 743, certiorari denied 358 U.S. 853, 78 S.Ct. 83, 3 L.Ed.2d 87; Davis v. Warden, 217 Md. 662, 143 A.2d 77. Therefore, although the learned trial judge dismised the application for a different reason, the dismissal was The allegation of......
  • Bell v. Warden of Md. Penitentiary, 10
    • United States
    • Maryland Court of Appeals
    • 20 November 1958
    ...contention is without merit. McCutheon v. Warden of Maryland Penitentiary, 215 Md. 616, 619, 138 A.2d 369; Davis v. Warden of Maryland Penitentiary, 217 Md. 662, 665, 143 A.2d 77. The seventh ground--that counsel changed the plea of not guilty to a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity w......
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