Cowans and Hayes v. State

Appellants, Hayes and Cowans, were convicted in the Criminal Court of Baltimore by a judge, sitting without a jury, of two offenses of assault and two offenses of robbery, and, after denial of their motions for new trials by the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City and sentences by the trial judge, have appealed.

Two questions only are presented for our consideration: (1) Were appellants’ confessions rendered inadmissible because the police did not affirmatively advise them of their right to counsel in the absence of any request therefor, and the police did not explicitly inform them that they had…