Gary L. Smith v. State Idaho

On August 3, 1970, Gary L. Smith (appellant) filed a petition for post-conviction relief from a forgery conviction in the
Bannock County District (then the Fifth Judicial District) Court on July 28, 1959. Smith has fully served the sentence imposed
as a result of the conviction challenged here. The verified petition, prepared by Smith pro se, recites that he is currently
serving an eight-year sentence for burglary in the Nevada State Penitentiary; that because of the 1959 Idaho felony conviction,
he is ineligible for parole under a Nevada statute;[Footnote 1] and that the 1959 Idaho conviction should be set aside on
constitutional grounds. The petition filed in this case alleges that the 1959 Idaho conviction violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution for several reasons: denial of a motion for a twenty-four hour postponement to
allow an essential out-of-state witness to arrive at the trial; a wrongful waiver of a preliminary hearing; a resultant denial
of counsel at a "critical stage" of the proceedings; improper admission of evidence of a juvenile crime; refusal to instruct
the jury on Smith's principle defense theory; and failure to advise him of his appellate rights.