Swope

Petitioner, James William Stidham, seeks his release from Alcatraz Penitentiary. Initially, his petition was filed before Chief Judge Denman of the Court of Appeals ( 83 F.Supp. 371 ), who directed that the matter be transferred to the District Court, after observing that petitioner had met the requirements contained in 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 .

Petitioner is serving a five-year sentence for transportation of a stolen motor vehicle in interstate commerce. He has challenged the five-year sentence on two grounds: (a) Denial of Due Process of Law; (b) Lack of representation of counsel. As more particularly set forth in the transcript of proceedings of September 26, 1949, petitioner entered his plea of guilty after hearing the reading of the indictment. Sentence was imposed by the Court at the conclusion of statements by the Assistant United States Attorney and petitioner.

The Court originally sentenced petitioner to four years. Thereafter, petitioner sought leave to withdraw his plea of guilty. This was denied. He also requested the Court to appoint counsel for purposes of preparing a Writ of Habeas Corpus. *774 This too was denied. While making a third motion, petitioner was…