Mayes v. State Board of Corrections
Mayes v. State Board of Corrections
Opinion of the Court
The appeal is from a judgment denying the application for writ of habeas corpus filed by the appellant, who is serving a six-year sentence for robbery by snatching. Enumerated as error is that: (1) he was denied the privilege and benefit of counsel of his choice; (2) that he was induced by hope or fear and ignited by hope of lesser punishment to enter a plea of guilty; and (3) that the court erred in denying his application for writ of habeas corpus. Held:
1. (a) The basis of the appellant’s contention that he was denied benefit of counsel of his choice, in violation of his rights under the Federal and State Constitutions, is that he was booked by police, when arrested and placed in jail, under the
(b) The record supports the findings of the court that the appellant accepted the counsel appointed by the court, made no protest thereto, and that he was represented by proper and competent counsel.
2. There is no merit in the second enumeration of error, that the appellant was induced by hope or fear, and ignited by hope of lesser punishment, to enter a plea of guilty. The record discloses that at the time of the commission of this crime the appellant was serving a probated sentence for robbery by snatching; and, except for his statement that he found the wallet he had in his hand when arrested, the evidence shows without contradiction that he snatched the wallet from a truck driver, who was running after him when the police stopped him. The attorney who represented him testified that he talked to the assistant solicitor general, who agreed to recommend a sentence of six years. He then talked to the appellant for quite some time, told him “what could be done and what couldn’t be done, what his chances were on trial, what a jury would do, what they may do and what they may not do and what the judge could do or couldn’t do, if he wanted to try it without a jury . . and that he “left the decision up to him.” The appellant responded by asking whether his sentence could run concurrently with the sentence he was then serving on probation. His attorney said he would find out, and he went back to the assistant solicitor,
3. The court did not err in denying the writ of habeas corpus.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.