Murch v. Mottram

Respondent Mottram sought habeas corpus from the United States District Court in Maine, challenging on various constitutional grounds the validity of a criminal conviction obtained in the Maine state courts. After a full evidentiary hearing, the District Court denied relief, both on the ground that respondent had deliberately bypassed state procedures established for the post-conviction adjudication of such claims, and on the ground that the *42constitutional claims were without merit. 330 F. Supp. 51 (1971). The Court of Appeals for the First-Circuit reversed, holding that respondent had not…