Maurice H. Hardeman v. The People of the State of California

Hardeman appeals the District Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of ha-beas corpus. We affirm.

In October of 1964, the Grand Jury of Santa Clara County, California, returned a three-count indictment charging the appellant, then a California Municipal Court Judge, and one Wickholm with conspiracy to pervert and obstruct justice and charging the appellant, Wickholm, and one Sherman with arson and conspiracy to commit arson. The jury found Sherman and Wickholm guilty on all the counts on which they were charged and found the appellant guilty of Count I, conspiracy to pervert and obstruct justice, and Count III, conspiracy to commit arson. The jury was unable to reach a verdict as to the appellant on Count II, arson, and the court declared a mistrial on that Count. Hardeman appealed, and the California District Court of Appeal affirmed his conviction on Count I, but reversed the Count III conviction. People v. Hardeman, 244 Cal. App.2d 1 , 53 Cal.Rptr. 168 (1966), cert. denied, 387 U.S. 912 , 87 S.Ct. 1700 , 18 L.Ed.2d 634 (1967). On the retrial of Count II, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

The appellant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the District…