John Henry Hewett v. State of North Carolina, R. L. Turner, Warden, Central Prison, Jerry Ray Cassada v. State of North Carolina

WINTER, Circuit Judge:

We consolidated these habeas corpus appeals because each raises a question of mootness and a question of whether the petitioner was unconstitutionally denied the right to counsel when his probation was revoked. Petitioner Hewett’s case also raises a question of exhaustion of available state remedies. We conclude that (a) Hewett exhausted state remedies as to his right to counsel at the revocation of his probation, and the district judge should have dealt with the issue of right to counsel on the merits, (b) the case of neither petitioner is moot, and (c) each petitioner…