Norman Silverstein v. Robert Henderson

LUMBARD, Circuit Judge:

Norman Silverstein appeals from a January 6, 1982, order of Judge Stewart in the Southern District of New York dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Silverstein is imprisoned in the New York State correction facility 'at Auburn, serving a nine-to-eighteen year sentence for armed robbery. The heart of his claim is that he was incompetent to stand trial and that his guilty plea was thus constitutionally void. The district court held, however, that relief on this claim was barred because Silverstein had neglected to raise the issue on his direct appeal. We…