Kitchens v. Smith

Petitioner pleaded guilty to robbery in a Georgia state court in 1944. He was not represented by counsel at any time. While serving his sentence, petitioner escaped and did not return to Georgia until 1969, when he was returned to finish the remainder of his sentence. He then brought this habeas corpus action in county court, alleging that his conviction was void under Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335 (1963). The county court denied relief because Gideon was “recent law and under the law at the time of his sentence, the sentence met the requirements of the law at that time.” This was error…