United States ex rel. Caban v. Rowe

Memorandum

LEIGHTON, District Judge.*

This petition for a writ of habeas corpus, and respondents’ motion to dismiss, require the court to determine whether United States ex rel. Baker v. Finkbeiner, 551 F.2d 180, a 1977 ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, is a decision that has retroactive application. The issue presented is whether Baker declared a new rule of law or merely followed legal principles which were well known and established.

I

The facts in Baker v. Finkbeiner disclose that on January 24, 1974 Theodore Baker, in accordance with a plea agreement, pled guilty in the circuit…