Barnes v. Warden of Maryland House of Correction

Brune, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an application for leave to appeal from an order of Judge J. Dudley Digges, sitting in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, denying a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner entered a plea of guilty to one count of an indictment for larceny returned against him in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, and was sentenced on August 3, 1954, to two years’ imprisonment in the Maryland House of Correction. He complains of being without the aid of counsel.

His petition refers to his having been convicted on charges of larceny “a number of times” prior to this conviction, and states that on previous occasions he was not provided with counsel, though he had several times requested that counsel be appointed for him and that his requests had been refused. When and where these other convictions occurred is not shown. He describes himself as “an itinerant farm and construction worker and illiterate.” His petition states: “The petitioner did not request the court to appoint him counsel for his trial on August 3, ⁶⁵³ 1954 because the State prosecutor had advised the said petitioner that if he would enter a plea of guilty to the 3rd count of larceny in the indictment that the several remaining counts would not be prosecuted against him, and so the said petitioner, being illiterate and with insufficient knowledge and experience in criminal law and procedure, did reluctantly accept the