Earl C. Smith v. B. J. Rhay, Superintendent of the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, Washington

This is an appeal from the denial of a writ of habeas corpus by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, Southern Division.

Appellant is presently imprisoned at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington for a term of not more than twenty years pursuant to a judgment of the Superior Court of the State of Washington, in and for the County of Spokane, upon a plea of guilty by appellant to an information filed against him in that court, charging him with manslaughter.

Appellant’s principal contention is that the Washington state courts denied him due process of law as required by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution in that state law requires that he be informed by the court before pleading to a charge against him that he has a right to counsel provided by the state if he cannot afford to hire counsel of his own choosing. It is appellant’s contention that this information must come only from the court itself, and that anything less than a literal compliance with this lav/ of the State of "Washington is a denial of due process within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment.

We cannot agree with this contention. The…