Louis Fleish v. E. B. Swope, Warden, U. S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz, California

This is an appeal from an order denying and finally dismissing on the merits the appellant’s petition for a writ of ha-beas corpus. The petition alleged that appellant was held in unlawful restraint by the respondent Warden; that on April 7, 1939 he was found guilty on six counts of a twenty-seven count indictment, and that the court imposed terms of five years upon each of these six counts. He alleges that he has now served more than five years, and that under the terms of the judgment as imposed upon him that is the maximum period of time for which he could be held; that the portion of the judgment upon which he was sentenced reads as follows: “Count 1, Five (5) years; Count 3, Five (5) years; Count 12, Five (5) years; Count 15 Five (5) years; Count 18, Five (5) years; and under count 21, Five (5) years, said terms of imprisonment to run consecutively;” that such judgment was ineffective to require an imprisonment of more than a total of five years because it fails definitely to specify the order of sequence as to the execution of the several sentences; and that it fails to state with necessary definiteness the time when the several sentences shall commence.

Apparently…