In Re Roberts

In Los Angeles County, nearly 30 years ago, petitioner Orlando Roberts was convicted of first degree murder and other offenses and was sentenced, under the sentencing scheme then in effect, to an indeterminate term of life in prison. As is typical of the majority of persons convicted in that county and other counties containing major metropolitan areas, since his commitment to state prison petitioner has been incarcerated at several locations in less populous counties within the state.

Petitioner has been the subject of periodic evaluations by the Board of Prison Terms (Board) to determine his suitability to be placed on parole, and repeatedly has been found unsuitable for parole. As a consequence, petitioner has filed numerous petitions seeking a writ of habeas corpus to overturn the Board’s findings of parole unsuitability and to obtain a parole date. Generally, petitioner has filed his habeas corpus petitions in a court within the county in which he then was incarcerated. Recently, the courts that have received his petitions have directed that petitioner file them in a court within another county.

We granted review to resolve an issue involving the procedural…