Scatterwood Kearney v. C. C. Peyton, Superintendent of the Virginia State Penitentiary

J. SPENCER BELL, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from a denial of habeas corpus after a plenary hearing. Seatterwood Kearney was convicted of unlawfully wounding a police officer and sentenced to five years in the state penitentiary. At his trial he was represented by counsel of his own choosing. Upon petition for habeas corpus he raises two contentions. First, that the failure of the court to charge the jury on self-defense denied him a fair trial. And second, that the incompetence of his counsel in failing to request such a charge denied him his right to the assistance of effective counsel.

A…