Case Name: Anthony WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1965-03-18
Citations: 345 F.2d 733
Docket Number: No. 18928
Parties: Anthony WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
Judges: 
Reporter: Federal Reporter 2d Series
Volume: 345
Pages: 733–737

Head Matter:
Anthony WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
No. 18928.
United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit.
Argued Feb. 5, 1965.
Decided March 18, 1965.
Petition for Rehearing En Banc and Petition for Rehearing before the Division Denied May 17,1965.
Mr. Bruce E. Clubb (appointed by this court), Washington, D. C., with whom Mr. Sheldon I. Cohen, Washington, D. C., was on the brief, for appellant.
Mr. John R. Kramer, Asst. U. S. Atty., with whom Messrs. David C. Acheson, U. S. Atty., Frank Q. Nebeker and John A. Terry, Asst. U. S. Attys., were on the brief, for appellee.
Before Fahy, Danaher and Burger, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
The appeal is from the conviction of appellant of robbery, defined in 22 D.C. Code § 2901 and of assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of 22 D.C. Code § 502. At the trial defendant was identified by three witnesses as the person who committed the robbery and assault. His counsel appointed by this court, however, strongly contends on the appeal that the trial court was without jurisdiction to enter judgments of conviction because the defendant was denied his constitutional right to the assistance of counsel granted by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. The evidence admitted at the trial and associated with his contention was to the effect that the identifying witnesses had previously identified defendant in a police lineup held shortly after the commission of the crimes and when appellant, the accused, was without counsel.
The case does not resemble factually any recent decision of the Supreme Court in which a conviction has been held invalid due to denial of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, although the lack of such assistance prior to trial has been held fatal to convictions in a variety of circumstances. Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977 (1964); Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964); White v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 59, 83 S.Ct. 1050, 10 L.Ed.2d 193 (1963). It is our understanding from these decisions that such result depends upon the circumstances of the particular case. In the present case, especially in view of the fact that the evidence referred to consisted only of identification in a police lineup prior to indictment, the deprivation claimed cannot be held to have occurred.
Affirmed.