Floyd J. Osborn v. Edwin B. Swope, Warden of the United States Penitentiary at Alcatraz, California

On November 17, 1954,'appellant, an inmate of the United States penitentiary at Alcatraz, California, petitioned the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for a writ of habeas corpus directed to the warden of the penitentiary. The District Court did not issue any writ or any order to show cause or conduct any hearing, but, on reading and considering the petition, filed an opinion and entered an order denying the petition. This appeal is from that order.

It appeared from the petition that appellant was charged with having committed a murder (a violation of Article 92 of the former Articles of War, 10 U.S.C.A. § 1564 , 41 Stat. 805 ) on May 2, 1947, and while subject to military law; that he was tried by a general court-martial, which found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to be imprisoned for life; that he was accordingly imprisoned at Leavenworth, Kansas, and, later, at Alcatraz, California; and that two previous petitions of his for writs of habeas corpus had been denied.

As stated above, it appeared from the petition in this case that the offense of which appellant was found guilty was committed on May 2, 1947. It thus ap peared that the…