Court Opinion

ID: 9456343
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 19:49:58.136155+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:56.615403
License: Public Domain

McLAUGHLIN, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
On September 27, 1962, in the Pennsylvania criminal court appellant was convicted of larceny, receiving stolen goods and operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was given an indeterminate sentence of not less than five years. He was defended by court assigned trial counsel.
On November 10, 1964, he was released on parole. He was recommitted on May 10, 1965 as a parole violator. He was indicted on new charges for other offenses while on parole. He was tried and convicted, receiving a sentence of from five to fifteen years in prison. In 1966, four years after his 1962 conviction, he filed a post conviction hearing petition referring to it as an effort to gain relief “from serving a parole term in prison.” The petition was denied by the trial judge. That decision was affirmed by the Superior Court and allocatur refused.
On January 23, 1967 Lyons filed a second post conviction hearing petition. Robert H. Straub, Esq. was assigned as his attorney. That petition was dismissed. Appellant, on May 23, 1968, filed a third petition and in it he plainly indicated that throughout his court matters mentioned he possessed full knowledge of the direct appealability of the convictions against him. He states in his brief regarding his first conviction that “Counsel of record abandoned petitioner, leaving him without means to prepare or take or perfect an appeal in either the sentencing or to the Superior Court.” (Emphasis supplied.) The trial court appointed the Public Defender as Lyons’ attorney. The court dismissed the petition, holding that its claims “are patently frivolous and without a trace of support.” It was in that petition, that, for the first time, Lyons claimed that he had not been informed by his “court appointed counsel” or the trial judge of his right to appeal and to have assigned counsel. This assertion is appellant’s sole alleged semblance of excuse for reversing the judgment of the district court and of all the Pennsylvania courts involved. There is not a word even suggesting that Lyons was wrongly punished on either set of charges. Clearly, he was not directly or indirectly denied appeal and assigned counsel. There is no Douglas problem before us in this appeal. DiRienz;o, confined to its facts, as it must be to prevent palpable injustice, does not control our issue. There is merely the cold fact remaining that Lyons, violating his probation, received an additional prison term of five to fifteen years and was recommitted to serve out the balance of his first conviction. Following that as Lyons said to avoid serving “a parole te rm in prison” he made shrewd use of the frightening contention that he had been deprived of his right to appeal and to be given counsel. I think the attempt has failed. There is no substantial trial error in this record. Appellant’s claims are patently frivolous and without a trace of support as the Pennsylvania courts have held. On that basis I would affirm the judgment of the district court.