Henry Brown v. Dr. Donald B. Peterson, Superintendent, State Hospital No. 1, Fulton, Missouri

The petitioner, Henry Brown, appeals from a decision of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that the petitioner had failed to exhaust his state remedies.

The appeal raised important questions concerning (1) the right of the state to confine an accused to a state mental hospital for an indefinite period of time on the sole grounds that he was incompetent to stand trial, and (2) the right of the state to refuse to set bail after the accused had been found competent. See, United States v. Curry, 410…