Donnie Lynn Swanson v. W. J. Estelle, Director, Texas Department of Corrections

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Donnie Lynn Swanson v. W. J. Estelle, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, 523 F.2d 1250 (5th Cir. 1975)
1975 U.S. App. LEXIS 11798
Wisdom, Clark, Ro-Ney

Donnie Lynn Swanson v. W. J. Estelle, Director, Texas Department of Corrections

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The district court’s grant of petitioner’s application for writ of habeas corpus occurred prior to this Court’s decision in Thomas v. Savage, 513 F.2d 536 (5th Cir. 1975), where we held that the introduction of prior counselless misdemeanor convictions at a subsequent trial could, under appropriate circumstances, constitute harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). Thomas controls the disposition of this case. We have reviewed the record in this case and have concluded that the use of the misdemeanor convictions was harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt.

*1251 Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is reversed and the cause remanded with directions to discharge the writ.

Reversed and Remanded.

Reference

Full Case Name
Donnie Lynn SWANSON, Petitioner-Appellee, v. W. J. ESTELLE, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellant
Cited By
4 cases
Status
Published