Juan Jorge Garcia Cardenas v. Peter Pitchess, Sheriff of Los Angeles County, and California Department of Corrections, Chino, California

This is an appeal from the dismissal of petitioner-appellant Juan Jorge Garcia Cardenas’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He contends that the California District Court of Appeal was correct in holding that certain evidence introduced against him at his state court trial was illegaly obtained, but that the court was incorrect in holding that the admission into evidence was harmless error. The State (California) contends that the evidence was not illegally seized under federal standards, but even if illegally obtained, its admission was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We affirm.

Petitioner was found guilty on June 25, 1969, after trial by jury, of five counts of possession of destructive devices and five counts of unlawful discharge of explosives at five offices in the Los Angeles area, in violation of §§ 1230 and 375(4) of the California Penal Code. The California District Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of conviction on July 28, 1971. Petitions for hearing in the California Supreme Court and for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court were denied. The District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the petition for writ of…