Court Opinion

ID: 9445189
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 21:22:09.035795+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:30:09.511059
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing
PER CURIAM.
In its petition for rehearing the State of New York asserts a conflict between our decision in this case and our recent decision in United States ex rel. Farns-worth v. Murphy, 2 Cir., 1953, 207 F.2d 885. New York points out that the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, in denying Oliver Smith relief, said:
“* * * this court has no jurisdiction to consider his petition and motions for relief and in addition thereto the court finds no merit to the petitions and motions filed herein * *- » (Emphasis added.)
The argument is now made that because the Virginia court expressed this opinion on the merits of Smith’s claims, he is now barred from proceeding in the *750federal district court. The Farnsworth case gives no support to this contention.
In the Farnsworth case we were concerned with a prisoner confined in New York as a multiple offender. Two of his three prior offenses were convictions in the federal district court for the District of Columbia. He had sought to attack these convictions by coram nobis in the District of Columbia. That court denied relief for three reasons: (1) because there was no showing that a retrial would result differently; (2) because of the delay; and (3) because Farnsworth “ ‘had had full opportunity at the time of his sentencing in New York to contest the validity of his prior conviction.’ ” [207 F.2d 887.] The Court of Appeals affirmed for the same reasons.
Farnsworth then sought habeas corpus in the Northern District of New York and it was denied. He sought to appeal in forma pauperis from that decision. We dismissed the appeal on the basis of the prior proceedings in the District of Columbia. We were of the view that the District of Columbia court was mistaken in suggesting that Farnsworth had not exhausted his state remedies. We concluded that in any event the opinion of that court was inconsistent with any belief by that court that it lacked power to decide the case on the merits. Since a federal district court and a federal appellate court with power to do so had already examined the merits of the petitioner’s claims, we declined to reconsider them.
The situation here is quite different. The Virginia court held that it had no jurisdiction to consider Smith’s claim. Our consideration of the Virginia authorities supports this conclusion. Thus the Virginia court’s expression of opinion on the merits was entirely gratuitous.
In any event it would make no difference even if Virginia had asserted jurisdiction and rejected Smith’s constitutional claims on the merits. Smith sought certiorari from the decision and it was denied. Thus he has pursued and exhausted his state remedies and resort to the federal district court is now appropriate. If Virginia had asserted jurisdiction and held a hearing on the merits of the petitioner’s claims this might affect the nature and scope of the review in the federal district court. Brown v. Allen, 1953, 344 U.S. 443, 460, 465, 73 S.Ct. 397, 97 L.Ed. 469. It is clear, however, that jurisdiction was not asserted, no hearing was held, Smith was not represented, and the matter was disposed of in summary fashion.
The petition for rehearing is therefore denied.