Opinion
No. 40499
Decided April 5, 1967.
Criminal procedure — Preliminary hearing without counsel — Plea of guilty — Admission of such plea in evidence at trial — Due process — Constitutional right violated.
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Lake County.
This cause is before the court on a motion for leave to appeal. Appellant, Harvey E. Stetson, while represented by retained counsel, was convicted by a jury of armed robbery in February 1965. The judgment of conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.
Mr. Fred V. Skok, prosecuting attorney, for appellee.
Mr. Harvey E. Stetson, in propria persona.
Appellant, without the advice or assistance of counsel, entered a plea of guilty at his preliminary hearing before the Municipal Court. This plea of guilty was introduced into evidence by the state at appellant's trial over the objection of the defendant. The admission of the plea into evidence constituted a violation of appellant's rights under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. White v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 59.
The motion for leave to appeal is granted, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the cause is remanded to the Court of Common Pleas for further proceedings according law.
Judgment reversed.
TAFT, C.J., ZIMMERMAN, MATTHIAS, O'NEILL, HERBERT, SCHNEIDER and BROWN, JJ., concur.