Opinion
[H.C. No. 8, October Term, 1951.]
Decided November 1, 1951.
HABEAS CORPUS — Counsel — Deprivation of. Appointment of counsel for an accused is within the discretion of the trial judge unless the circumstances are such as to require the appointment of counsel under the provisions of the State or Federal Constitution and where the petition for a writ of habeas corpus does not indicate that the petitioner was deprived of any of his fundamental rights because of failure to appoint counsel, the petition will be denied. p. 684
Decided November 1, 1951.
Habeas corpus proceeding by Donald Jess Langrehr against Warden of Maryland State Reformatory for Males. From a refusal of the writ, petitioner applied for leave to appeal.
Application denied.
Before MARBURY, C.J., and DELAPLAINE, COLLINS, GRASON, HENDERSON and MARKELL, JJ.
This is an application for leave to appeal from a refusal of a writ of habeas corpus. The applicant was tried in the Criminal Court of Baltimore on a charge of larceny and receiving stolen goods, elected a jury trial, and was acquitted on the first count, convicted on the second count and sentenced to two years. He now complains that the trial court refused to appoint counsel for him, and stated that he should provide his own counsel. It is not shown that the request was renewed at the time of trial, or that his case was not fully presented. Judge Johnson, who heard the application for habeas corpus, found his rights were not violated "due to the age and prior experience, as well as taking into consideration the degree of the crime". As we said in Loane v. Warden, 196 Md. 651, 75 A(2) 772, "the matter was in the discretion of the trial judge, unless the circumstances were such as to require the appointment of counsel under provisions of the State or Federal Constitution. The petition does not indicate that the petitioner was deprived of any of his fundamental rights." Cf. Raymond v. State, ex rel. Szydlouski, 192 Md. 602, 65 A(2) 285.
Application denied, with costs.