United States v. Myers

Decision Date22 August 1966
Docket NumberMisc. No. 3178.
PartiesUNITED STATES of America ex rel. William McMULLIN v. D. N. MYERS, Superintendent, A. T. Rundle (Substituted Respondent).
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Howard Gittis, Philadelphia, Pa., for relator.

Michael J. Rotko, Asst. Dist. Atty., for respondent.

OPINION

LUONGO, District Judge.

In this petition for writ of habeas corpus,1 relator, William McMullin, contends that his present confinement as a parole violator is unlawful in that the conviction which constituted the parole violation was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights.

Relator had been sentenced by the Court of Bucks County in 1953 to a term of imprisonment of 4 to 8 years on Bill No. 92, September Sessions 1951, with a maximum date of June 30, 1964.2 On March 22, 1961, he was paroled. During 1964, he was tried and convicted in the Court of Quarter Sessions in Philadelphia County, No. 312, May Sessions 1964, on a charge of Conspiracy to Violate the Firearms Act, for which, on July 27, 1964, he received a suspended sentence and was placed on probation. By reason of that conviction, however, he was returned as a parole violator to serve back time of 3 years, 3 months and 8 days, effective February 14, 1964, with a new maximum date of May 22, 1967. It is that back time, triggered by the Philadelphia County conviction, which relator is presently serving.

Relator attacks the Philadelphia County conviction because of the use at trial of evidence obtained by an unlawful search and seizure.

The facts leading up to the search were these: There had been several burglaries in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. Police received information that if they kept an eye on premises 1235 Germantown Avenue and on a black and white station wagon there, they might be able to solve some of the burglaries. The police obtained a warrant to search premises 1235 Germantown Avenue for stolen goods and went there for the purpose of executing it. When they arrived, there was a black and white station wagon parked outside. The police located the landlady, had her ring the door bell and were admitted to the premises by relator, William McMullin. The police identified themselves and announced that they had a search warrant. They then proceeded to make a search of the premises3 in the course of which they found a number of articles, including face masks, wigs, items of clothing and several firearms. The police then arrested relator and two other occupants of the premises.

At the trial, an application was made to suppress the articles seized during that search. A hearing was held by a judge sitting in the Miscellaneous division of the Court of Quarter Sessions. After hearing, the Court ruled that the search warrant was valid and denied the application to suppress the evidence obtained in the execution thereof. At the subsequent trial, objection was made to the use of the seized articles in evidence but the trial judge, deeming himself bound by the earlier ruling, admitted the disputed evidence and McMullin was found guilty on the charge of Conspiracy to Violate the Firearms Act.

At some time after conviction and sentence, the district attorney conceded that the search warrant here used was invalid under Fourth Amendment standards. In the Answer to this Petition and at the hearing the district attorney reiterated that concession, but nevertheless resists the grant of the writ on the ground that this matter should have been raised on appeal, and further, that the evidence was obtained by a search incident to a lawful arrest.

I will not dwell at length on the failure to pursue the unlawful search question by way of appeal from the conviction. McMullin was represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia. He was sentenced on July 27, 1964 and had 45 days from that date in which to file an appeal. By letter dated September 2, 1964, McMullin was advised by the Defender Association that it would not file an appeal on his behalf. McMullin thereafter attempted to take an appeal on his own within the remainder of the 45 day appeal period, but his efforts failed because of his unfamiliarity with the proper procedures. Thereafter McMullin made several efforts to file an appeal nunc pro tunc, but all of his efforts were unavailing. Under such circumstances I have no difficulty in concluding that McMullin is not precluded from a collateral attack on the legality of the search by his failure to raise the question on appeal.

As for the contention that the evidence here was obtained by a search incident to a lawful arrest, it simply has no support in this record...

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2 cases
  • United States v. Myers
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • July 10, 1967
    ...S.Ct. 1253, 2 L.Ed.2d 1514 (1958); Commonwealth ex rel. Ensor v. Cummings, 420 Pa. 23, 215 A.2d 651 (1966); United States ex rel. McMullin v. Myers, 257 F. Supp. 812 (E.D.Pa.1966). The right of entry here was predicated upon the search warrant. The extensiveness of the search and its timing......
  • Moore v. Fulcomer
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • May 10, 1985
    ...340 F.Supp. 1368 (E.D.Pa.1972); United States ex rel. Brown v. Russell, 318 F.Supp. 76 (E.D.Pa. 1970); United States ex rel. McMullin v. Myers, 257 F.Supp. 812 (E.D.Pa.1966). See also Almeida v. Jeffes, 566 F.Supp. 852 (E.D.Pa.1983) (if time for appeal has run, no need to file untimely appe......

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