Collins v. Swenson

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

REGAN, District Judge.

Petitioner, charged with the unlawful sale of a narcotic drug on January 7, 1963, was convicted of that offense in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, and thereafter on June 14, 1963, sentenced under the Missouri Habitual Criminal Statute to a term of 15 years imprisonment. Under that statute, when applicable, punishment is assessed by the Court rather than by the jury which has determined the defendant’s guilt.

The petition for a writ of habeas corpus, transferred to this Court from the *1111Western District of Missouri, alleges…