Byrd v. Warden of Maryland Penitentiary

This is an application for leave to appeal from the denial of a writ of habeas corpus by Judge Smith of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Judge Woodward, sitting without a jury, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, had found the petitioner guilty of assault with intent to rape and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Petitioner contends that his trial was illegal because he was tried for an offense punishable by capital punishment by a judge instead of a jury and that his counsel showed a lack of diligence or a lack of competency in permitting this to happen.

There is no merit in…