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375 F.2d 441

Docket No. 23761.

Howard v. Beto

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Decided March 7, 1967.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1967-03-07

2 counsel of record

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““It is the latter that opens a judgment to challenge by habeas corpus. Here the attorneys’ alleged incompetence cannot be imputed to the state (citing authorities).””

quoted by 3 later decisions, including Johnson v. Smith, 276 F. Supp. 635 - Breedlove v. Beto

Applies 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)

Relies on Johnson v. Zerbst · Gideon v. Wainwright · Mapp v. Ohio

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1967-03-07

How this case has been cited

Cited by 34 later decisions — most recently October 1980 · most notably Ex Parte Duffy (1980), Fitzgerald v. Estelle (1974)

13 federal appellate · 13 state decisions

210196719701980decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1Wyatt H. Heard, Houston, Tex., for appellant.

¶2Alio B. Crow, Asst. Atty. Gen., Wag-goner Carr, Atty. Gen. of Texas, Hawthorne Phillips, First Asst. Atty. Gen., T. B. Wright, Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Howard M. Fender, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for appellee.

¶3Before GEWIN, THORNBERRY and DYER, Circuit Judges.

¶4PER CURIAM.

¶5Appellant Howard was convicted of robbery by assault in the Criminal District Court of Harris County, Texas, in 1947. In 1960 Howard was convicted of robbery, and robbery, second offense; in the Criminal District Court of Dallas County, Texas. Under Article 62 and 1408, Texas Penal Code, upon the second conviction of robbery, sentence is not imposed by the jury but is automatically fixed at life imprisonment.

¶6Howard exhausted his state remedies pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254, filed his *442petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the district court, which was denied, and this appeal ensued.

¶7Three errors are asserted. It is contended that Howard was not represented by counsel at his first trial; that evidence illegally obtained was admitted in his second trial; and that his first invalid conviction was used with the second conviction, which required him to be sentenced as a recidivist.

¶8Relying principally on Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799; Powell v. State of Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 53 S.Ct. 55, 77 L.Ed. 158, and Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 82 L.Ed. 1461, and their progeny, Howard claims that in his first trial he had a right to consult with an attorney (although this right was unknown to him at the time); that he never waived his right to counsel and that, if indeed he had counsel, it was ineffectual representation.

¶9The district court found, however, based upon the admission of Howard and the state trial judge’s docket entries which were admitted in evidence, that Howard’s mother had retained counsel to represent Howard and that such counsel did, in fact, represent him when he entered guilty pleas at his first trial. There is, of course, a distinction to be made between the lack of effective assistance of competent counsel and being denied the right to have the effective assistance of competent counsel. It is the latter that opens a judgment to challenge by habeas corpus. Here the attorney’s alleged incompetence cannot be imputed to the state. Hudspeth v. McDonald, 10 Cir. 1941, 120 F.2d 962, cert. den. 314 U.S. 617, 62 S.Ct. 110, 86 L.Ed. 496; Davis v. Bomar, 6 Cir. 1965, 344 F.2d 84, cert. den. 382 U.S. 883, 86 S.Ct. 177, 15 L.Ed.2d 124.

¶10On Howard’s second trial a .38 caliber pistol and eye glasses were introduced in evidence over his objection that they were obtained in his residence by the illegal entry of officers without a search warrant. On the habeas hearing the district court found that the search of Howard’s premises was made pursuant to his invitation.

¶11We have carefully considered the findings of fact made by the district court. They are supported by the record and are not clearly erroneous. Rushing v. Wilkinson, 5 Cir. 1959, 272 F.2d 633, cert. den. 364 U.S. 914, 81 S.Ct. 280, 5 L.Ed.2d 229; Roberts v. Dutton, 5 Cir. 1966, 368 F.2d 465. We also note that the events relied upon in the second trial occurred prior to Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081, which has no retroactive application. Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 85 S.Ct. 1731, 14 L.Ed.2d 601.

¶12Affirmed.

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