Commonwealth Ex Rel. Clawson v. Baldi

Opinion by

Weight, J.,

George Clawson, an inmate of tlie Western State Penitentiary, presented to the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The District Attorney filed an answer, to which the petitioner filed a “rebuttal”. Thereafter the court entered a decree dismissing the petition. This appeal followed.

The record discloses that, on September 1, 1953, appellant was tried before a jury on a charge of forcible rape. He was represented by counsel at the trial. Following a verdict of guilty, a motion for new trial was filed. On February 8,1954, after…