Alberto Gonzales Barquera, Jr. v. People of the State of California

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied Barquera’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in which petition he sought release from his detention by the State of California in one of its penal institutions. The detention was pursuant to two convictions in a California state court. One of the convictions, on July 10, 1961, was on two counts charging the sale of heroin, and one count charging conspiracy to sell heroin. On that conviction he was sentenced to imprisonment for from five years to life. The other conviction, on July 11, 1961, was on a charge of possession of narcotics, on which conviction he was sentenced to imprisonment for from two to twenty years, the sentence to run concurrently with his sentence on the July 10 conviction:

Both of Barquera’s California convictions were in trials before the judge, without a jury. In each case he was represented by counsel at his preliminary hearing, trial, and sentencing. In each case he appealed, and was represented by counsel in his appeal. His conviction for the sale of heroin was affirmed by the California District Court of Appeal in People v. Barquera, (1962) 208 Cal. App.2d 104 , 25…