Wilson v. Lanagan

• Citation: 19 F. Supp. 870
• Decision Date: 23 June 1937
• Docket Number: No. 5424.,5424.
• Parties: WILSON v. LANAGAN, Warden.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

19 F. Supp. 870

WILSON v. LANAGAN, Warden.

No. 5424.

District Court, D. Massachusetts.

June 23, 1937.

Wm. H. Lewis, of Boston, Mass., for petitioner.

BREWSTER, District Judge.

This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. While the petitioner was serving sentence in the Hampden County Jail and House of Correction, he was indicted and found guilty in the state court of the offense of conveying into the jail two revolvers, adapted and useful to aid a person in making his escape, and with aiding and assisting a prisoner in endeavoring to escape from the jail by use of said weapons. He was sentenced to the State Prison at Charlestown for a term of not more than ten years. The petitioner seeks to be released from the custody of the warden, alleging that his commitment was unlawful inasmuch as his conviction and imprisonment were without due process of law.

A former petition for a writ of habeas corpus was denied by Judge McLellan after hearing the petitioner and a witness, or witnesses, for the respondent. In that petition apparently Wilson was relying upon the provisions of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, securing the right to be represented by counsel. No appeal was taken from this decision of Judge McLellan.

At the hearing before me, the petitioner not only testified himself, but produced witnesses on his behalf, including several members of the jury which returned the verdict of guilty. The respondent offered in evidence the testimony of the district attorney, the sheriff and deputy sheriff of Hampden county, police officers, and others, including an informal statement by the presiding judge which, by stipulation, was received in evidence. The evidence falls far short of proving the allegations of the petition, but it does establish the following facts:

While it is not incumbent on me to inquire into the guilt or innocence of the petitioner, the parties have deemed it of some materiality to show what transpired at the Hampden County Jail before the trial took place.

Wilson was in jail, serving a sentence of eighteen months for forgery. He was acting as a tier-runner among whose duties was that of carrying packages to and from prisoners in cells. On April 2, 1934, he received from a trusty, named White, a package containing two revolvers. They had been brought to the jail by one Bertha Kaplan and were intended for Bozak, a prisoner who evidently was planning to use them in an attempt to escape. Bozak was not on Wilson's tier, and Wilson dropped the package to the tier-runner below. About six days later the guns were discovered in Bozak's cell. Wilson claims he was unaware of the contents of the package. When they were discovered, Wilson and Bozak were each put in solitary confinement for a period of a little over nine days. When they were taken out of solitary confinement, Wilson was brought to the office of the sheriff, who was acting as master of the jail, and from the conversation which took place at that time it is quite apparent that, at least as early as April 18, 1934, Wilson knew that the part he had played in connection with the introduction of the revolvers into the jail was the cause of his solitary confinement.

On the 11th day of May, 1934, Wilson with other defendants was brought into the superior court to plead to indictments which the grand jury had returned against them. Wilson pleaded "not guilty," and all those who pleaded "not guilty" at that time were advised by the district attorney that they must be prepared for trial on the following Monday (May 14, 1934) and in the meantime to get in touch with their respective attorneys.

On Saturday, the 12th of May, Wilson met his wife in the office of the sheriff. The attorney, who had previously represented both Wilson and his wife in criminal proceedings, was in the building at the time but did not join in the conversation. Wilson at that time intimated that he might plead guilty and apparently did nothing then about securing an attorney or preparing his defense.

On the 14th of May he, in company with other prisoners, was brought into the superior court and placed in the cage provided for prisoners awaiting trial. Wilson was then handcuffed to his fellow prisoners, as were all the other prisoners (some 25 in number) who had been brought up to the court from jail. Some time was spent in disposing of the defendants who had pleaded guilty. Wilson had some talk with the district attorney about pleading guilty, but, receiving no assurance respecting his sentence, he decided to stand on his plea of not guilty. Wilson then requested the court to assign counsel for him. The justice replied that since it was not a capital case he had no authority to do so, but he offered to instruct the sheriff to communicate with any available attorney whom Wilson might name. Wilson then asked for a continuance in order that he might communicate with his mother, who was in California. After inquiries, made of the defendant and the sheriff, the trial justice concluded that Wilson had not been deprived of an opportunity to get counsel, if he had wanted to do so, and refused his request for further continuance.

Wilson thereupon asked if he might have time to get his witnesses. He was told that if he wanted to give the court the names of his witnesses they would be produced, if available. He gave the name of a fellow prisoner, who was then in court, and the name of Wilson's wife.

A recess was taken in order that Wilson's wife might be located and brought into court, and shortly thereafter she appeared with an attorney in the justice's chambers. After a conference with the wife and officers present, during which the wife positively refused to testify, the justice returned to the courtroom and advised Wilson that his wife had refused to testify and that, if she did, her testimony would not be found to be very helpful to Wilson's defense. All the other parties who could have had any knowledge of the affair were present in the court or readily available, but Wilson made no attempt to avail himself of their testimony.

Before the trial began, Wilson's handcuffs had been removed. He was placed at one end of the cage nearest the jury and beside a deputy sheriff. He conducted his own defense, taking notes and cross-questioning witnesses. He testified himself before the jury and presented his side of the case. There is no evidence before me which would indicate that the trial was not conducted in an orderly and proper manner. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and the justice imposed the sentence above referred to.

On October 10, 1934, a motion for a new trial was filed in Wilson's behalf by an attorney whom he had secured for that purpose. Among the grounds assigned in the motion for a new trial was the fact that Wilson had been denied an opportunity to adequately prepare his defense. This motion was supported by an affidavit of Bozak, in which he stated that if a new trial were granted he would testify for Wilson, and gave a summary of what he would testify to. The motion was heard by the trial justice and was denied.

On April 8, 1935, Wilson filed in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, upon which an order of notice was issued, and to which an answer was filed by the respondent. In those proceedings Wilson was represented by his attorney who subsequently withdrew his appearance, and the petition was thereupon dismissed, apparently without hearing.

Subsequently Wilson filed in the Supreme Judicial Court a petition for writ of error, which was denied on June 21, 1935, by a single justice of that court.

On June 25, 1935, the Supreme Judicial Court refused to receive a claim of appeal on the ground that an appeal did not lie in the matter.

On these facts, is the petitioner entitled to a writ of habeas corpus?

The jurisdiction of this court to enlarge a prisoner in jail by the writ is limited by R.S. § 753 (28 U.S.C.A. § 453), which, so far as material, provides that the writ of habeas corpus shall in no case extend to prisoners "in jail unless where he * * * is in custody in violation of the Constitution or of a law * * * of the United States."

The petitioner's contention is that his conviction, sentence, and imprisonment are in violation of the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, which forbids any state from depriving one of his liberty without due process of law. The grounds upon which this contention is based do not cover a wide field. The court had jurisdiction over the offense and...