Richard Lee Worthan v. Donald Wyrick

LAY, Chief Judge.

This is a habeas corpus case brought by Richard Worthan, a Missouri state prisoner. Worthan claimed that illegally seized evidence and improper “bystander jurors” were used in his trial, that his counsel was ineffective, and that he was subjected to double jeopardy. Initially, the magistrate recommended that the writ be denied in all but one respect; he required an evidentiary hearing on the jury issue to determine whether “cause” existed to excuse the lack of a contemporaneous objection to the jury by his then-appointed counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing on this…