William J. Ozenna v. R. W. May, Warden, Etc.

Appeal from denial of a writ of habeas corpus. In May, 1951, petitioner was convicted in the Alaska District Court, at Nome, and sentenced to a 15 year term of imprisonment, upon his plea of guilty to a charge of assault with intent to commit rape. He did not appeal, and is now a prisoner in the United States penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington. On March 31, 1961, he was given a “mandatory conditional release”. ( 18 U.S.C. § 4163 ) He was returned to custody on December 1, 1962, for parole violation. On July 3, 1962, he was convicted of another offense (forgery) in an Alaska state court, and sentenced to 1 year’s imprisonment. He was granted parole by the Alaska authorities on December 6, 1962, as of December 1, and “ordered on parole to the Federal Detainer.”

Petitioner’s sole contention is that, because he was convicted by an Alaska territorial court, the United States Board of Parole no longer has any authority over him. His reliance is upon the Alaska Statehood Act, 72 Stat. 339 , July 7, 1958, 48 U.S.C. 1964 pocket part, and particularly those provisions relating to the transfer of jurisdiction to the new Alaska state courts, which became effective February 20, 1960…