United States of America Ex Rel. Albert B. Crosby v. Joseph R. Brierley, Superintendent, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

OPINION OF THE COURT

ALDISERT, Circuit Judge.

This is a habeas corpus proceeding in which relator attacks his plea of guilty to two murder indictments in a state court. He was represented by private counsel when the pleas were entered to two bills of indictment for murder. In response to the court crier’s inquiry, “How plead you, guilty or not guilty?”, relator answered, “Guilty generally”. The question of the validity of that plea is now before us. A three-judge court conducted a hearing on the plea under Pennsylvania law and procedure to determine the degree of guilt; after a seventy-minute…