Whether the appointment by a convicting court of a lawyer, who was not competent to represent the indigent, death-sentenced prisoner at any stage of the initial state collateral proceeding, contrary to the state statute's guarantee of a right to competent counsel, results in a denial of a federal 14th Amendment right of access to courts, and is in conflict with Johnson v. Avery and Wolff v. McDonnell

QUESTION PRESENTED Whether the appointment by a convicting court of a lawyer, who was not competent to represent the indigent, death-sentenced prisoner at any stage of the initial state collateral proceeding, contrary to the state statute's guarantee of a right to competent counsel, results in a denial of a federal 14th Amendment right of access to courts, and is in conflict with Johnson v. Avery and Wolff v. McDonnell. U.S. Const. Amend. XIV.