Roy G. Crosby, Jr. v. E. C. Ellsworth, Warden

Roy G. Crosby, Jr. appeals from a district court order denying his application for a writ of habeas corpus. Crosby was convicted in a Montana state court, on two counts of bigamy. His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Montana. State v. Crosby, 148 Mont. 307 , 420 P.2d 431 (1966). Although Crosby has completed service of his sentence pending the appeal herein, this does not moot the federal habeas proceeding. Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234, 238, 240 , 88 S.Ct. 1556 , 20 L.Ed.2d 554 (1968).

Most of the issues raised in Crosby’s habeas application and in his briefs on appeal present only questions of state law as to which federal habeas relief is not available. See Miller v. Gladden, 341 F.2d 972, 976 (9th Cir. 1965). He does, however, argue that the Montana statutes relating to bigamy and marriage are so confusing and inconsistent that they are void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. While Crosby did not raise this question in his state trial or in the appeal from his conviction, he did present it in a subsequent petition for a writ of habeas corpus, filed with the Montana Supreme Court. That court denied his petition. Petition of…