Henry Willis, Jr. v. Samuel Garrison, Warden And, Rufus Edmisten, Attorney General of North Carolina

FIELD, Senior Circuit Judge:

Henry Willis, Jr., together with Tyrone Williams, was twice tried for armed robbery in the Superior Court of Mecklenberg County, North Carolina. The first trial which was held in 1973 resulted in a hung jury. In the second trial in 1974 Willis was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in prison. In each trial the question was raised in regard to the pre-trial identification of Willis by the victim of the robbery, Wilbert Brown. On each occasion, after an extensive voir dire, the state court permitted the identification testimony to go to the jury over the…