James E. Edwards, Warden of the State Prison v. Charles Rhea

This is an appeal by the Warden of the Tennessee State Prison from a judgment of the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee which granted the appellee a writ of habeas corpus and ordered his release from custody.

The court held that the appellee had exhausted the remedies available to him in the courts of Tennessee, and that under the circumstances disclosed by the record, his failure to seek a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court did not preclude his right to apply to the federal district court for habeas corpus relief. The court further held that the statute…