Boyd v. Dutton

The petitioner, Jack Boyd, pleaded guilty in a Georgia trial court to three counts of forging checks and to one count of possession of a forged check. He was not represented by a lawyer. The court sentenced him to serve 28 years in prison — four consecutive terms of seven years each. No transcript of that plea or sentencing proceeding exists.

He sought habeas corpus relief in the state trial court, alleging, among other things, that he had been denied the assistance of counsel. An evidentiary hearing was *2held, and relief was denied. An appeal was dismissed by the Georgia Supreme Court. The…