Nathaniel Ballard, Jr. v. Louis S. Nelson, Warden

Nathaniel Ballard, the appellant, was convicted on five counts of rape and one count of second degree robbery. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 17 years to life. In this habeas corpus proceeding against Louis S. Nelson, the warden of the California State Prison at San Quentin, Ballard sought to set aside his conviction and sentence. The district judge, without a hearing, dismissed his petition with leave to amend one contention. Ballard refused to amend. Instead, he appealed the dismissal.

We affirm.

On December 12, 1961, four Negro men attacked a man and woman in a restaurant parking lot. They robbed the man, forced the woman into their automobile, and drove away. They stopped the automobile in a deserted area, and there each of the four men raped the woman. They drove to another spot, and there one of the men again raped the woman. They then robbed the woman and pushed her from the automobile. A passing motorist called the police, who took her to a hospital.

Police officers questioned the rape victim at the hospital. She told the officers that she was attacked by four Negro men. She described the automobile, and she said that she had seen two dirty black sweaters on the…