Wiggins v. Smith
| Decision Date | 30 November 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. 29918 Summary Calendar.,29918 Summary Calendar. |
| Citation | 434 F.2d 245 |
| Parties | Charles WIGGINS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. S. Lamont SMITH, Warden, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Charles Wiggins, in pro. per., appellant.
Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Dorothy T. Beasley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harold N. Hill, Jr., Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Marion O. Gordon, Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, Ga., for appellee.
Before BELL, AINSWORTH and GODBOLD, Circuit Judges.
Charles Wiggins, a Georgia prisoner, appeals from the district court's denial of his habeas corpus petition on the basis of the record in his state habeas corpus proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 2254. We affirm.
Petitioner, represented by court-appointed counsel, pled guilty to three charges of armed robbery and one charge of burglary. He was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences and one sentence of twenty years. His petition for habeas corpus was denied by the state court after an evidentiary hearing, findings of fact and conclusions of law by that court. An appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia was dismissed for want of prosecution.
In his habeas corpus filed in the federal district court, petitioner alleged that: (1) he was arrested without a warrant and detained for interrogation for ten days before being brought before a magistrate; (2) his court-appointed counsel did not render him effective assistance; (3) his guilty plea was the product of unlawful coercion and was not knowingly and understandingly entered; and (4) he was not afforded a full and fair hearing in the state court on his habeas corpus. The district court found that the state hearing was fair, and adopted the findings of the state court.
We concur in the district court's finding that appellant received a full and fair hearing in his state habeas corpus proceeding. Appellant was present at the state hearing and testified at some length, as did his mother and his sister. Answers to interrogatories propounded to the attorney who represented appellant at the arraignment proceedings were read into evidence. Where the state relies on written interrogatories in a habeas corpus proceeding to establish effective representation and waiver of constitutional rights by the accused, such interrogatories must be worded with sufficient specificity that a reviewing court can ascertain whether or not constitutional standards have been met. McGarrah v. Dutton, 5 Cir., 1967, 381 F.2d 161; Molignaro v. Dutton, 5...
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State v. Jones
...25 L.Ed.2d 785 (1970); State v. Caldwell, 269 N.C. 521, 153 S.E.2d 34; State v. Coleman, 266 N.C. 355, 146 S.E.2d 30; Wiggins v. Smith, 434 F.2d 245 (5th Cir., 1970); 2 Strong's N.C.Index 2d, Criminal Law § 23, p. On the plea of guilty to the charge of burglary in the first degree, the tria......
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Hunt v. State of Georgia
...423 F.2d 934; Woodbury v. Beto, 5 Cir., 1968, 395 F.2d 189; Beto v. Conley, 5 Cir., 1968, 393 F.2d 497. 5 For example, Wiggins v. Smith, 5 Cir., 1970, 434 F.2d 245. 6 While Mr. Warchak might have been subpoenaed by the petitioner, Hunt was unable to pay the necessary witness fee and mileage......
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Faulks v. Beto, Civ. A. No. 5-933.
...through cross interrogatories the witness who contradicted his claim. Washington v. Smith (5th Cir. 1969), 417 F.2d 301; Wiggins v. Smith (5th Cir. 1970), 434 F.2d 245. This Court adopts the findings of fact made by the judge of the state court on January 16, 1970. Applying those facts so f......