McCormick v. Hollowell

— On March 17, 1930, a county attorney’s information was filed against these plaintiffs, charging them with the murder, on March 15, of one Hanfeldt, a city marshal in the town of Dyers-ville. To this information they pleaded guilty in the district court of Dubuque County and asked for immediate sentence. Sentence was accordingly pronounced imposing a life term in the penitentiary upon each of them. They challenge here the validity of the judgment of the court on the ground that the court disobeyed the mandate of Section 12913, and failed to examine witnesses as to the degree of the offense…