Opinion · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Donnie Lynn Swanson v. W. J. Estelle, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, Respondent

Donnie Lynn Swanson v. W. J. Estelle, Dir., Tex. Dep’t of Corr., Respondent, 523 F.2d 1250 (5th Cir. 1975)

Type
Opinion
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1975-11-24
Topic
bankruptcy

PER CURIAM: The district court’s grant of petitioner’s application for writ of habeas corpus occurred prior to this Court’s decision in Thomas v. Savage, 513 F.2d 536 (5th Cir. 1975), where we held that the introduction of prior counselless misdemeanor convictions at a subsequent trial could, under appropriate circumstances, constitute harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). Thomas controls the disposition of this case.

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Cited by
4 opinions
SWANSON, v. ESTELLE,523 F.2d 1250(5th Cir. 1975)
DONNIE LYNN SWANSON, PETITIONER-APPELLEE, v. W. J. ESTELLE, DIRECTOR, TEXAS
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, RESPONDENT-APPELLANT.
No. 74-4075.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
November 24, 1975.
John L. Hill, Atty. Gen., Joe B. Dibrell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., W. Barton Boling, Gilbert Pena, Asst. Attys. Gen., El Paso, Tex., for respondent-appellant.

Larry Miller, Dallas, Tex., for petitioner-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Before WISDOM, CLARK and RONEY, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
[1] The district court's grant of petitioner's application for writ of habeas corpus occurred prior to this Court's decision inThomas v. Savage,513 F.2d 536(5th Cir. 1975), where we held that the introduction of prior counselless misdemeanor convictions at a subsequent trial could, under appropriate circumstances, constitute harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt.See Chapman v. California,386 U.S. 18,87 S.Ct. 824,17 L.Ed.2d 705(1967).Thomascontrols the disposition of this case. We have reviewed the record in this case and have concluded that the use of the misdemeanor convictions was harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt.Page 1251

[2] Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is reversed and the cause remanded with directions to discharge the writ.

[3] Reversed and Remanded.