Opinion
No. 168, September Term, 1967.
Decided July 26, 1968.
POST CONVICTION PROCEDURE — Adequacy Of Counsel — Counsel Held Not Incompetent. Applying the rule that counsel is incompetent when, under all the circumstances, a petitioner has not been afforded "a genuine and effective representation," the Court of Special Appeals held that applicant's trial counsel was not incompetent. pp. 633-634
Decided July 26, 1968.
Application for leave to appeal from the Criminal Court of Baltimore (JONES, J.).
Warner Walter Hill instituted a proceeding under the Uniform Post Conviction Procedure Act, and, from a denial of relief, he applied for leave to appeal.
Application denied.
Before MURPHY, C.J., and ANDERSON, MORTON, ORTH, and THOMPSON, JJ.
The application of Warner Walter Hill for leave to appeal from an order of Judge Shirley B. Jones, sitting in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, denying relief prayed in the applicant's first petition under the Uniform Post Conviction Procedure Act is denied for the reasons stated in the memorandum opinion of Judge Jones.
We note, however, that Judge Jones stated: "In order to obtain relief under the complaint of incompetency of counsel, it must be established that counsel's representation was so inadequate as to amount to a farce and no representation at all," citing Waller v. Director, 244 Md. 229. This Court said, in Green v. Warden, 3 Md. App. 266, 269:
"Although this was the former rule in Maryland, the Court of Appeals has expanded this rule in Slater v. Warden, 241 Md. 668, so as to give a more comprehensive definition to that rule. The more preferable rule now is that counsel is incompetent when under all the circumstances of the particular case the petitioner has not been afforded `a genuine and effective representation'. Turner v. State, 303 F.2d 507 (4th Cir. 1962); Turner v. State, 318 F.2d 852 (4th Cir. 1963); Slater v. Warden, supra; Jones v. Warden, 244 Md. 720; Nash v. Warden, 243 Md. 700. This is the rule that is now being followed by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Groh v. Warden, 1 Md. App. 674; Charles v. State, 1 Md. App. 222; Norris v. Warden, 1 Md. App. 69; Cherrix v. Warden, 1 Md. App. 65".
Even under this more comprehensive rule, we do not find, on the record before us, that the trial counsel for the applicant was incompetent.
Application denied.