John Harry Hooker v. Otto C. Boles, Warden of the West Virginia State Penitentiary

Petitioner, John Harry Hooker, appeals from a judgment of the District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia dismissing, after a hearing, his habeas corpus petition. For reasons hereinafter stated, we think the judgment must be reversed.

On June 29, 1955, petitioner was found guilty of breaking and entering, the maximum penalty for which offense was confinement in the penitentiary for a period of ten years. When the jury verdict was returned, petitioner’s employed counsel made a motion to set it aside and grant a new trial. The court set the motion down for argument on July 5.…