Michael C. Ciraolo v. Frank I. Madigan, Sheriff of Alameda County

Michael C. Ciraolo, an assistant public defender of Alameda County, California, was adjudged guilty of contempt, fined, and sentenced to jail by Judge Kroninger of the Alameda County Superior Court. The conviction followed the filing of an affidavit of prejudice in support of a challenge of Judge Kroninger for cause by Mr. Ciraolo while representing a defendant in a murder prosecution. The Supreme Court of California denied a petition for writ of habeas corpus. In re Ciraola, 70 C.2d 389, 74 Cal.Rptr. 865 , 450 P.2d 241 (1969). Mr. Ciraolo then filed an application for habeas corpus in federal district court. He asserted that Judge Kroninger had convicted and sentenced him without adequate notice, hearing, or counsel, in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court denied the petition. Mr. Ciraolo appealed.

I

A summary of the general principles governing this appeal will provide a helpful background to the statement of facts. All that is required for this purpose may be found in a single paragraph of Justice Black’s opinion in In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 275-276 , 68 S.Ct. 499, 508 , 92 L.Ed. 682 (1948):

II

The events leading to Mr.…