(Download) "Nichols v. Estelle" by United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Nichols v. Estelle
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Release Date : January 05, 1977
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 49 KB
Description
GEE, Circuit Judge: Petitioner was convicted in 1973 in Texas state court of robbery by assault1 and was sentenced to life imprisonment under the Texas habitual offender statute.2 He here alleges that the state improperly relied on a 1965 Oklahoma conviction to enhance his sentence for three reasons: (1) he was denied counsel on appeal from that conviction; (2) Texas law prohibits the use of a capital felony such as the Oklahoma conviction to enhance a noncapital felony such as the Texas conviction; and (3) the state failed to prove that petitioner was afforded an examining trial prior to the 1965 conviction. Because federal courts do not review a state's failure to adhere to its own sentencing procedures,3 and because the Constitution does not require a state preliminary hearing,4 only the first contention presents a possible basis for habeas corpus relief.