Robert Anderson v. Robert A. Heinze, Warden, Folsom State Prison

Robert Anderson, presently incarcerated at Folsom State Prison, has appealed from a district court order denying him the right to proceed in that court on a habeas corpus application in forma pauperis. He has applied to the judges of this court for a certificate of probable cause, the issuance of which is required before an appeal may be entertained in a case of this kind. 28 U.S.C.A. § 2253 . He also seeks leave to proceed in this court in forma pauperis, and has requested that an attorney be appointed to assist him in obtaining leave to appeal, and in prosecuting the appeal.

We will first consider the request that an attorney be appointed to assist Anderson in obtaining leave to appeal in forma pauperis.

If this were an appeal from a conviction in federal court, there is no question but that Anderson would be entitled to such assistance as a matter of right. Johnson v. United States, 352 U.S. 565 , 77 S.Ct. 550 , 1 L.Ed.2d 593 . The rationale of that decision is premised upon the fact that an appeal from a judgment of conviction is one step in the criminal proceedings. Since the Sixth Amendment entitles defendants in federal criminal proceedings to the aid of counsel (Johnson…