Evans v. Beto, 27886 Summary Calendar.
| Decision Date | 17 September 1969 |
| Docket Number | No. 27886 Summary Calendar.,27886 Summary Calendar. |
| Citation | 415 F.2d 1129 |
| Parties | John Thomas EVANS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Dr. George J. BETO, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
John Thomas Evans, pro se.
Crawford C. Martin, Atty. Gen. of Texas, Robert Darden, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., Nola White, First Asst. Atty. Gen., Hawthorne Phillips, Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Robert C. Flowers, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before THORNBERRY, MORGAN and CARSWELL, Circuit Judges.
Pursuant to new Rule 18 of the Rules of this court, we have concluded on the merits that this case is of such character as not to justify oral argument and have directed the clerk to place the case on the Summary Calendar and to notify the parties in writing. See Murphy v. Houma Well Service, 5th Cir. 1969, 409 F.2d 804, Part I.
John Thomas Evans has taken this appeal from the denial of his petition for habeas corpus by the district court. We affirm. The appellant was convicted on his pleas of guilty of five robberies by assault. The charges were reduced from robbery with firearms, a capital offense, upon motion of the prosecution, after the appellant had indicated his desire to plead guilty. The proceedings were held in the 56th Judicial District Court of McLennan County, Texas, on October 10, 1960, at which the appellant was represented by court-appointed counsel.
There was no direct appeal, but the appellant has exhausted his state post-conviction remedies as is required by 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The state trial court held a plenary hearing on the merits of the appellant's habeas corpus petition at which he was present and represented by court-appointed counsel. The court rendered comprehensive findings of fact and conclusions of law upon denying the writ. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently denied relief without written opinion. The United States District Court denied habeas relief on the basis of the state record, as is authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).
The appellant contends that (1) he was denied effective assistance of counsel, who was appointed on the same day the pleas of guilty were entered; and (2) his confession was coerced by denial of medical treatment for wounds suffered when he was shot during the last robbery. The district court accepted the trial court's decision that there is no merit to either contention.
The appellant's testimony in support of his allegations was refuted by that of his former court-appointed counsel and the assistant district attorney who took the confession, as well as by the transcript of the proceedings at which he pleaded guilty after having been fully advised of his rights and questioned concerning the voluntariness of the plea.
The court below held that the short delay between appointment of counsel and entry of the pleas did not render counsel's representation ineffective or inadequate. Upon a full review of the entire record, we agree.
As we said in Doughty v. Beto, 5th Cir. 1968, 396 F.2d 128, 130, the amount of time which defense counsel spends with a defendant prior to entry of a...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Herring v. Estelle
...128, 130. Accord, Woodard v. Beto, 5th Cir. 1971, 447 F.2d 103, cert. denied, 404 U.S. 957, 92 S.Ct. 325, 30 L. Ed.2d 275; Evans v. Beto, 5th Cir. 1969, 415 F.2d 1129. Therefore appellant must show more than counsel's brief preparation period. Appellant attempts to meet this requirement by ......
-
Miller v. Quatsoe
...could show that such late appointment operated to his prejudice. Callahan v. Russell, 423 F.2d 450 (6th Cir. 1970); Evans v. Beto, 415 F.2d 1129 (5th Cir. 1969); Cofield v. United States, 263 F.2d 686 (9th Cir. 1959), rev'd on other grounds 360 U.S. 472, 79 S.Ct. 1430, 3 L.Ed.2d 1531 (1969)......
-
Walker v. Caldwell
...Circuit. See Woodard v. Beto, 5 Cir. 1971, 447 F.2d 103; Lamb v. Beto, supra; O'Neal v. Smith, 5 Cir. 1970, 431 F.2d 646; Evans v. Beto, 5 Cir. 1969, 415 F.2d 1129. In the only recent habeas corpus case in which the petitioner did not present merely a bare conclusionary assertion or rely so......
-
Callahan v. Russell
...that the time of appointment of counsel, in and of itself, does not establish ineffective assistance of counsel. In Evans v. Beto, 415 F.2d 1129 (5th Cir. 1969), the attorney was appointed on the day that the defendant pleaded guilty. The Court held that this was sufficient under the circum......