Criminal Law — Practice — Habeas corpus — Improper incarceration prior to trial — Allegations of petitioner — Denial of counsel of own choice — Suspended sentence given to alleged accomplice — Plea of guilty entered as result of fraud, coercion, and promises of leniency — Coerced confession.
In a habeas corpus proceeding, in which it appeared that petitioner who, with the advice of counsel, had pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery, alleged that he was improperly incarcerated prior to his trial, that he was denied counsel of his own choice and that counsel who represented him had no knowledge of the seriousness of the charge against him until the date of trial, that his imprisonment was illegal because his alleged accomplice was given a suspended sentence on the same indictment, that his guilty plea was given under the impression that he was pleading guilty to the lesser crime of receiving stolen goods, and that he was forced to sign a confession and plead guilty as the result of fraud and coercion; and that the court below, concluding that petitioner's contentions were without merit or were not properly presented in a proceeding for a writ of habeas corpus, dismissed the petition without hearing; it was Held that the order of the court below should be affirmed.
Submitted March 23, 1961.
OPINION PER CURIAM, March 30, 1961:
The Order of the Court of Common Pleas No. 4 of Philadelphia County is affirmed on the opinion of Judge CHARLES L. GUERIN for the court below, reported at 23 Pa. D. C. 2d 562.