Gibbs v. Blackwell

Estis L. Gibbs, formerly a private in the United States Army but now an inmate of the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, filed a petition for habeas corpus challenging (1) the right of the United States to further confine him after 20 years in prison or on parole, and (2) the validity of his conviction by court-martial at Munich, Germany, in July 1945. Gibbs contends that he is now serving a 15-year sentence but has spent 20 years either in prison or on parole, and, therefore, that the United States has no right to further detain him. Gibbs further contends that he was denied effective assistance of counsel in the preparation and trial of his case, and, therefore, that his rights guaranteed by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments were violated.