Clement Johnson v. State of Arizona and Frank A. Eyman, Warden, Arizona State Prison

This appeal is from the district court’s denial of appellant’s petition for writ of habeas corpus, without a hearing. The district court’s habeas jurisdiction was predicated upon 28 U.S.C. § 2241 ; this court has jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , a certificate of probable cause having issued.

On January 22, 1952, appellant was charged with assault with intent to commit rape, and on February 15, 1952, he pleaded guilty to that charge. He was initially sentenced to prison for nine-to-fourteen years, but upon application of the State’s attorney, the sentencing court enhanced his sentence to life imprisonment on the basis of prior convictions.

On May 18, 1967, the Arizona Supreme Court decided the case of Ard v. State ex rel. Superior Court, 102 Ariz. 221 , 427 P.2d 913 , holding that determinate sentences, including life sentences, violate the “indeterminate sentence policy” of Ariz. Penal Code § 13-1643.

Appellant thereupon sought to have his life sentence set aside and a new sentence imposed. The Arizona Supreme Court denied his petition for writ of habeas corpus, so appellant filed his petition for the writ in federal district court, arguing that he…