Brown v. Warden of the Maryland Penitentiary

Per Curiam. Johnnie Brown seeks leave to appeal from the denial of his petition for post conviction relief by Judge Rasin, following a hearing in the Circuit Court for Talbot County, on May 17, 1966. The applicant was indicted by the Grand Jury of Wicomico County on September 9, 1958, for the murder of a Salisbury policeman. The case was removed to Dorchester County where; on November 19, 1958, the jury returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree.

That conviction was reversed, and the case remanded for a new trial, by this Court in Brown v. State, 220 Md. 29 , 150 A. 2d 895 (1959), because of the refusal of the trial judge to ask on the voir dire examination of prospective jurors questions concerning possible bias against a ⁶⁸⁰ Negro defendant. The applicant was re-tried and convicted but again this Court reversed and remanded for a new trial in Brown v. State, 222 Md. 290 , 159 A. 2d 844 (1960), holding that the trial court had committed prejudicial error in permitting the prosecuting attorney to read a portion of this Court’s opinion in the former appeal of the case, in which it was said, in effect, that there was sufficient evidence to support an inference of premeditation and deliberation. The third trial of the case was removed to Talbot County and again the applicant was found guilty of first degree murder by the jury and a sentence of death was imposed. This Court affirmed the conviction and sentence in Brown v. State, 225 Md. 349 , 170 A. 2d 300 , decided on May 12, 1961, holding that the defendant had no constitutional right to be present in chambers during consideration of instructions by the judge and counsel.

Subsequently, the applicant filed a petition for post conviction relief in the Circuit Court for Talbot County. The petition was dismissed but this Court granted leave to appeal, vacated the judgment below and remanded the case for a new hearing. Brown v. Warden, 228 Md. 654 , 179 A. 2d 419 (1962). On remand, post conviction relief was denied after hearing in the Circuit Court for Talbot County on August 7, 1962, and this Court refused to grant leave to appeal from that determination.

Brown v. Warden, 230 Md. 629 , 186 A. 2d 595 (1962). A writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States was denied. Brown v. Maryland, 372 U. S. 960 (1963). On January 25, 1963, the applicant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Federal District Court for Maryland.

Relief was denied in Brown v. Pepersack, 217 F. Supp. 547 (D. Md. 1963), and that determination affirmed in Brown v. Pepersack, 334 F. 2d 9 (4th Cir. 1964). The Supreme Court denied certiorari, 379 U. S. 917 (1964). On March 8 and 15, 1965, the applicant again petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the Federal