Source: http://il.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19700107_0040344.C07.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-03-24 08:16:01
Document Index: 704035205

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2254', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 2254', '§ 2254']

| Evans v. Lane
Evans v. Lane
ROY JACEY EVANS, PETITIONER-APPELLANTv.WARD LANE, INDIANA STATE PRISON, SUCCEEDED BY RUSSELL LASH SINCE THIS CAUSE WAS INITIATED, RESPONDENT-APPELLEE
Knoch, Senior Circuit Judge, Kerner, Circuit Judge, and Gordon, District Judge.*fn1
Petitioner appeals from the denial, without a hearing, of his Habeas Corpus Petition, brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. On appeal petitioner asserts two independent grounds for relief. First, it is urged that the case be remanded for a hearing to determine whether the petitioner knowingly and intelligently waived his constitutional right to a full direct appeal. Second, it is urged that the Indiana post-conviction procedures contained in Indiana Supreme Court Rules 2-40 and 2-40A*fn2 are violative of the equal protection and due process clauses of the fourteenth amendment, and that petitioner, an indigent, should be provided with a full transcript of all proceedings in his case and an attorney to pursue his rights in an attempt to obtain a belated appeal.
Consequently, Indiana Post-Conviction Rules 2-40 and 2-40A have been held to "create[s] an additional obstacle for an indigent in the event the public defender refuses to assist him. * * *" Newland v. Lane, 418 F.2d 143 (7th Cir., Nov. 10, 1969), and violative of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. See Frazier v. Lane, 282 F. Supp. 240 (N.D.Ind.1968):
Subsequent to petitioner's appeal to this court, however, the Indiana Supreme Court passed new rules to provide for post-conviction relief. The new Indiana post-conviction rules entitled PC-1 and PC-2,*fn3 effective August 1, 1969, provide in pertinent part that, "Upon receiving a copy of the petition including an affidavit of indigency * * * the Public Defender shall serve as counsel for petitioner." PC-1 § 9.
Petitioner asserts, however, that PC-1 and PC-2 do not afford him adequate review and suffer from the same constitutional infirmities as the old post-conviction rules 2-40 and 2-40A. Petitioner contends that PC-1 and PC-2 are unconstitutional because the new rules do not afford him access to a transcript of his trial as a matter of right, and that the only method by which he could receive such transcript would be if the public defender chose to exercise his discretion and requested one. In addition, although the petitioner admits the literal language of PC-1 § 9 requires the public defender to represent all indigents, he questions whether PC-1 § 9 will be interpreted in accordance with its literal language.*fn4
No principle has found more consistent or clear expression than that the federal courts should not adjudicate the constitutionality of state enactments fairly open to interpretation until the state courts have been afforded a reasonable opportunity to pass upon them [citations omitted].
Consequently, pursuant to the new Indiana Post-Conviction Rules, petitioner may be able to secure his desired relief. Because the new rules may provide such relief, we find that petitioner has not exhausted all of his available state remedies as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See Case v. State of Nebraska, 381 U.S. 336, 85 S. Ct. 1486, 14 L. Ed. 2d 422 (1965); Petition of Barry, 388 F.2d 592 (3d Cir.1965); Worley v. Swenson, 386 F.2d 186 (8th Cir.1967).
Petitioner should attempt to obtain relief under PC-1 and PC-2, at which time such rules would be interpreted. If petitioner is denied relief he would have exhausted his remedies and may then file a § 2254 petition and raise, in light of an Indiana court interpretation, ...