Freddie Williams v. Ross Maggio, Jr., Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary

Appellant Freddie Williams is serving concurrent fifty-year state sentences for aggravated burglary and attempted second-degree murder. He was billed as an habitual felon in each count. In his habeas corpus petition, Williams alleged that his convictions on the two counts resulted in double jeopardy under the test enunciated in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932).

In its answer to the habeas petition, the State of Louisiana asserted that Williams had “not suffered any prejudice.” The magistrate construed this cryptic statement as an invocation of the…