Richard A. Schildan v. Clarence T. Gladden, Warden

Appellant was convicted of sodomy in the Oregon State courts and is now serving his sentence. He seeks relief in habeas corpus. At issue is the voluntariness of confessions on which his conviction rested.

Following his conviction appellant sought post-conviction relief in the state courts. He was granted an evidentiary hearing on the basis of which the state court found that his confessions had been voluntarily given. On appeal, the Oregon Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the controversy as to voluntariness. It concluded that appellant, through his trial counsel, had for strategic purposes waived his right to assert his claim. Schildan V. Gladden, 246 Or. 326 , 424 P.2d 240 (1967).

These proceedings were then commenced. An evidentiary hearing upon the issue of voluntariness was had in the District Court. The court arrived at the same result as had the Oregon Supreme Court. It did not reach the merits of the dispute, finding that deliberate by-pass and waiver precluded appellant from challenging the confessions.

Appellant at the time of his arrest was 27 years old. A childhood illness had resulted in brain damage and he had the mental capacity of a 7 to 12-year-old. He…