R. D. Pendleton v. Louis S. Nelson, Warden, San Quentin Prison

R. D. Pendleton, a California state prisoner in custody under two judgments of conviction for violation of state criminal statutes, applied to the district court for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court, without hearing, denied the application sua sponte. Pendleton appeals.

One judgment of conviction, entered on June 29, 1964, was for the state offenses of statutory rape and possession of marijuana, committed about January 1, 1964. The conviction for statutory rape was thereafter reversed, and the conviction for possession of narcotics was affirmed. People v. Pendleton, Crim. Nos. 10215, 10473, California District Court of Appeal, unreported.

Pendleton advances two reasons why he should be granted habeas relief with regard to his state conviction for the possession of narcotics. He argues first that confessions and admissions were obtained from him illegally because he was not given the warnings required by People v. Dorado, 62 Cal.2d 338 , 42 Cal.Rptr. 169 , 398 P.2d 361 .

This state decision, however, has no application in federal habeas corpus proceedings. United States v. Williams, 9 Cir., 401 F.2d 901 . The requirements of Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 , 84…