Height v. State

Just a few days prior to June 1, 1954, the petitioner was sentenced to six months confinement in the Maryland House of Correction by a Trial Magistrate of Calvert County; and, as a result thereof, he was incarcerated in said institution as of June 1, 1954. After serving some five months, he was duly released, but, failing to display any peculiar or outstanding qualifications for high rank in the "Blue Ribbon Army," he was arrested for, and convicted of, being drunk and disorderly on five occasions during a twelve-month period. His last conviction was in the Circuit Court after the State had requested a jury trial, and he received a six months sentence as an habitual offender. At the same time, he was referred to the Patuxent Institution for examination. The staff of that Institution recommended that he be committed thereto. After hearing pursuant to the Code (1957), Article 31B (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the Act), he was found to be a defective delinquent, his aforementioned sentence was suspended, and he was returned to the Institution under indeterminate sentence, where he has since abided. The Circuit Court denied the appellants petition for relief under the Post Conviction Procedure Act, and we granted leave to appeal.