Parrish v. Hopper

The most important issue in this appeal is one which the per curiam opinion does not address; namely, was the objection to the burden-shifting charge waived by counsel’s failure to assert it at trial? This issue cannot be decided apart from the more general considerations of what it takes to waive certain constitutional rights, and what issues are reviewable on habeas corpus. In my opinion the court’s refusal to articulate a coherent position on this subject leaves our past decisions a welter of contradictions. I will attempt here to state my own position on constitutional waiver.

A. Waiver —…