Lawrence E. Wilson, Warden California State Prison, San Quentin v. Donald Lee Blabon

The Warden of the California State Prison at San Quentin appeals from a judgment of the District Court granting appellee’s petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus and ordering him discharged from custody, subject to the condition that custody be retained until termination of any appeal, or until expiration of appellant’s time to appeal.

In language of single plain meaning, the Congress has declared that:

The District Court granted appellee’s petition for the Writ, upon the ground that appellee’s criminal conviction in the Justice Court of the State was in violation of his Federal Constitutional right to the assistance of counsel, although appellee’s present confinement is solely by virtue of a 1961 commitment from the State Superior Court made pursuant to proceedings under § 5501(a) of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which then provided in pertinent part that:

The admitted facts of the case are these. On November 7, 1960, a criminal complaint was filed in the Justice Court of the Corning Judicial District of California, charging appellee with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, in violation of § 311, subd. 1 of California’s Penal Code. Appellee was arraigned on the…

(dissenting):

I respectfully dissent. In its brief, the appellant concedes that “but for petitioner’s [appellee’s] misdemeanor conviction for indecent exposure, the superior court *1002 would have lacked jurisdiction to proceed with his commitment as a mentally disordered sex offender.” The District Court has determined that the misdemeanor “conviction” was corrupted by the state’s denial to the accused of a right secured to him by the federal constitution. A valid conviction for the alleged misdemeanor could have resulted in a maximum period of confinement of only six months. Cal.Pen.Code § 19. It strikes me as unjust that the invalid “conviction” may nevertheless support, as an indispensable jurisdictional foundation, the confinement of appellee for a period which has already exceeded six years and which is of indefinite future duration. Adding to my concern is the fact that he is confined in a penal institution under state proceedings apparently conceived for the welfare of the mentally ill.

My Brothers emphasize Thurmond v. Superior Court, 49 Cal.2d 17 , 314 P.2d 6 (1957), and In re Morehead, 107 Cal.App.2d 346 , 237 P.2d 335 (1951). In neither of these cases, as the…

370 F.2d 997 Lawrence E. WILSON, Warden California State Prison, San Quentin, Appellant, v. Donald Lee BLABON, Appellee. No. 20976. United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit. January 6, 1967. Rehearing Denied February 20, 1967. Thomas C. Lynch, Atty. Gen., of Cal., Albert W. Harris, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Derald E. Granberg, Deputy Atty. Gen., San Francisco, Cal., for appellant. Ralph C. Walker, San Francisco, Cal., for appellee. Before HAMLEY and ELY, Circuit Judges, and MATHES, District Judge. MATHES, District Judge: The Warden of the California State Prison at San Quentin appeals from a judgment of the District Court granting appellee's petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus and ordering him discharged from custody, subject to the condition that custody be retained until termination of any appeal, or until expiration of appellant's time to appeal. In language of single plain meaning, the Congress has declared that: "The [Federal] writ of habeas corpus shall not extend to a prisoner unless — * * * He is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States * *." [ 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (c) (3).] The District Court granted appellee's petition…