Wilson v. Downie, 26956

• Decision Date: 11 February 1972
• Docket Number: No. 26956,26956
• Citation: 187 S.E.2d 293,228 Ga. 656
• Parties: Thomas Milton WILSON v. J. L. DOWNIE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 293

187 S.E.2d 293

228 Ga. 656

Thomas Milton WILSON v. J. L. DOWNIE.

No. 26956.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Feb. 11, 1972.

Thomas Milton Wilson, pro se.

Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Harold N. Hill, J., Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Courtney Wilder Stanton, David L. G. King, Jr., Asst. Attys. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

ALMAND, Chief Justice.

This appeal is from an order of Judge James B. O'Connor of the Superior Court of Montgomery County denying the petition of Thomas M. Wilson for the writ of habeas corpus.

The order of the trial judge so clearly and correctly states the facts and issues and arrives at the correct result that we adopt his order as the opinion of this court.

'Petitioner is an inmate of the State Department of Corrections serving a life sentence imposed as the result of his conviction of murder in Troup Superior Court on May 14, 1969. He filed this habeas corpus petition while he was incarcerated at the Montgomery Prison Branch, but during the pendency of the matter petitioner was transferred to Reidsville State Prison.

'Petitioner has filed a motion for summary judgment complaining of the transfer to Reidsville and maintaining he should be released for this reason alone. The Department of Corrections has continued to recognize that the venue of this action is in Montgomery County and has made petitioner available as required to pursue his writ. No sinister purpose having been shown by the petitioner for the transfer and no prejudice having been caused thereby, the motion for summary judgment is denied.

'Petitioner's complaint on the merits is two-fold. One, he contends that he was denied the right of appeal of his conviction by his court appointed counsel although requested to do so. Two, he contends that his request as an indigent for certified copies of his court records was illegally denied by the trial judge of the sentencing court.

'Petitioner requested this court to appoint counsel to assist him, but under authority of current Georgia Supreme Court decisions, this request was denied.

'This court makes the following findings of fact from the testimony and exhibits presented. Petitioner admitted that the sentencing judge advised him at the time of sentencing of his right to appeal the case by court appointed counsel. But he asserts that his appointed counsel refused to appeal although requested so to do. This assertion is not borne out by the evidence. Mr. Seale Hipp, one of the appointed counsel, testified that following the trial he fully advised the petitioner of his right to appeal through appointed counsel, that petitioner understood such right, that both lawyers and the petitioner were satisfied with the outcome of the trial and that petitioner freely signed an affidavit to this effect which is among the exhibits in evidence. Following this, petitioner did not indicate any change of view until several months later when he was in the State Prison System. This court finds that petitioner was fully advised by the trial court and competent appointed counsel of his right as an indigent to appeal and that petitioner fully understood and knowingly waived such right to appeal. This court rejects the assertion as incorrect that appointed counsel were to appeal any conviction, regardless of what sentence was...