United States of America Ex Rel. William Heirens v. Frank J. Pate, Warden, Illinois State Penitentiary

This case arises on appeal from the District Court’s denial of a petition filed under the Habeas Corpus Act (28 U.S.C. § 2241 et seq.). Subsequent to the denial of habeas corpus relief, Milani v. State of Illinois, 386 U.S. 12, 87 S.Ct. 874, 17 L.Ed.2d 702, was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. Under that decision, petitioner was entitled to counsel in his writ of error proceedings in the Supreme Court of Illinois (People v. Heirens, No. 3552, decided May 21, 1964), but he was not afforded counsel there. Therefore, those proceedings were invalid. We agree with the Illinois…