Campbell v. Warden

PER Curiam. In this application for leave to appeal under the Post Conviction Procedure Act, the petitioner seeks relief from his June 14, 1956 convictions of storehouse breaking and attempting to escape jail rendered by the Circuit Court for Charles County. He was convicted on guilty pleas, and the court sentenced him to a total of eighteen years. 1 The petitioner raises three contentions : (1) his convictions resulted from illegal search and 1 seizure, (2) he was not advised of his right to appeal and (3) he did not have counsel when he entered his guilty pleas. In an earlier application for relief from his Charles County convictions, petitioner alleged, inter alia, that he was not represented by counsel at the time of trial.

Judge Dorsey, after an evidentiary hearing held on June 9, 1961 in the Circuit Court for Charles County, found that petitioner refused counsel, apparently in the hope of leniency, that no inducement for the guilty pleas was made by the State’s Attorney and that petitioner’s guilty pleas were a free and voluntary act. Petitioner was represented by counsel at this hearing; no appeal was taken from the denial of this first application. We have reviewed the transcript of this hearing because the contentions the petitioner ⁷³¹ now raises are without merit if he freely and knowingly entered his pleas of guilty. At the hearing, the petitioner admitted that he was offered counsel by the court.

The State’s Attorney testified that he informed the petitioner that the sentence was totally within the discretion of the court and’ that he made no promises. Petitioner testified that he was instructed to plead guilty and to deny counsel. The court found otherwise. In Palacorolle v. State, 239 Md. 416 , 211 A. 2d 828 (1965), the eighteen year old