HABEAS CORPUS — Due Process — No Denial of, Shown — Appointment of Counsel at Preliminary Hearing Not Required. There was no showing of a denial of due process, where petitioner claimed in applying for a writ of habeas corpus, after he had been convicted of a criminal offense, that he was first held as a witness, and asked the police for a lawyer, before being taken before a magistrate, but the request was denied. He was represented at the time of his trial by a competent member of the Bar, and he was not entitled to the appointment of counsel at the preliminary hearing. p. 660
J.E.B.
Decided March 3, 1958.
HENDERSON, J., delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner was denied a writ of habeas corpus by Judge Byrnes, in the Baltimore City Court, and applies for leave to appeal. He was convicted of manslaughter in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County and sentenced to five years. He complains that he was denied "due process" in that he was first held as a witness, and asked the police for a lawyer, before being taken before a magistrate, but the request was denied. In denying the writ, Judge Byrnes stated: "The court records show that at the time of petitioner's trial he was represented by David N. Bates, a competent member of the Baltimore City and Baltimore County Bar". There is no showing of a denial of due process. The petitioner was not entitled to the appointment of counsel at the preliminary hearing.
Application denied, with costs.