Hawk v. Olson, 326 U.S. 271 (1945)

Please note: this case begins in mid-page. It therefore shares a citation with the last page of the previous case. If you are attempting to follow a link to the last page of 326 U.S. 265, click here.

Hawk v. Olson

No. 17

Argued October 8, 1945
Decided November 13, 1945
326 U.S. 271

CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF NEBRASKA

Syllabus

1. Upon review of a state court judgment dismissing a petition for habeas corpus for failure to state a cause of action, this Court determines for itself whether the allegations of the petition entitle the petitioner to a hearing on his claim that, in his conviction of murder, he was denied due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. P. 273.

2. The petition to a state court of Nebraska for habeas corpus, by one under sentence of a court of that State upon a conviction of murder in the first degree, sufficiently alleged that, at his trial, the petitioner was denied opportunity to consult with counsel in the critical period between his arraignment and the impaneling of the jury -- a denial of due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment -- and he was entitled to a hearing upon the petition. Pp. 276-278.

Denial of opportunity to consult with counsel on any material step after indictment or similar charge and arraignment violates the Fourteenth Amendment. P. 278.

3. Petitioner will have an opportunity on the new hearing to furnish such further specification as the state practice may require in support of his claim that his conviction was procured by the use of testimony known by the prosecutor and the trial court to have been perjured. P. 273.

4. On the issues of the sufficiency of the evidence and the interference with the right of appeal, this Court accepts the decision of the state court that the first cannot be raised by habeas corpus and that the second is not supported by the facts stated by the petitioner. P. 273.

145 Neb. 306, 16 N.W.2d 181, reversed.

Certiorari, 324 U.S. 839, to review the affirmance of a judgment which dismissed a petition for habeas corpus.