Cecil Stephen v. S. Lamont Smith, Warden, Georgia State Prison

Cecil Stephen, a Georgia state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus. We affirm. 1

The grounds upon which the appellant bases his federal habeas attack are: (1) his arrest was illegal; (2) he was held incommunicado by the police, without benefit of counsel or access to his family, and subjected to coercion and interrogation; (3) his pleas of guilty to one count of murder and four counts of assault with intent to murder were involuntary, and entered without the assistance or waiver of counsel.

The appellant’s state trial court conducted an…