James Otis Cunningham v. W. J. Estelle, Jr., Director, Texas Department of Corrections

James Otis Cunningham, who was denied habeas relief below from his murder conviction in Texas state courts, claims on appeal that he was denied due process by incompetent counsel, by prejudicial pretrial publicity, and by the racial composition and means of selection of the grand jury that indicted him, the petit jury array, and perhaps the petit jury that tried him. Finding against appellant on all issues, we affirm.

The question of the competency in various respects of Cunningham’s appointed trial counsel was raised and rejected in an earlier habeas proceeding, Cunningham v. Estelle,…