Stanley C. Olsen v. E. C. Ellsworth

Petitioner sought habeas relief in federal district court after the Montana Supreme Court affirmed his conviction of burglary. The basic facts are summarized in State v. Olsen, 152 Mont. 1, 445 P.2d 926 (1968). The district court denied relief after an evidentiary hearing, and petitioner appealed. We affirm.

Petitioner did not have counsel at his preliminary hearing held in 1966. If the rule announced in Coleman v. Alabama, 899 U.S. 1, 90 S.Ct. 1999, 26 L.Ed.2d 387 (1970), is to be applied retroactively, petitioner is entitled to relief on this ground, absent a showing that the deprivation of…