Case Name: Donnie Lynn SWANSON, Petitioner-Appellee, v. W. J. ESTELLE, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1975-11-24
Citations: 523 F.2d 1250
Docket Number: No. 74-4075
Parties: Donnie Lynn SWANSON, Petitioner-Appellee, v. W. J. ESTELLE, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellant.
Judges: Before WISDOM, CLARK and RO-NEY, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: Federal Reporter 2d Series
Volume: 523
Pages: 1250–1251

Head Matter:
Donnie Lynn SWANSON, Petitioner-Appellee, v. W. J. ESTELLE, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellant.
No. 74-4075.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Nov. 24, 1975.
John L. Hill, Atty. Gen., Joe B. Dibrell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., W. Barton Boling, Gilbert Pena, Asst. Attys. Gen., El Paso, Tex., for respondent-appellant.
Larry Miller, Dallas, Tex., for petitioner-appellee.
Before WISDOM, CLARK and RO-NEY, Circuit Judges.

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