In Re Daniels

The petition of F. V. Daniels for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus by this court sets forth the following:

The petitioner’s application herein is based upon and proceeds upon the theory that the credits which may be allowed on a prisoner’s term for good behavior, attach, are operative and limit the term of imprisonment theretofore imposed upon a prisoner, irrespective of any action of the board of prison directors in allowing such credits. No allegation is. contained in the petition before us setting forth that any action has ever been taken by the board of prison directors relative to the allowance of credits, and, therefore, we cannot assume that any such action has ever been taken. As we read the decisions, the Indeterminate Sentence Law and the act of the legislature relative to credits, such credits are not now operative unless some affirmative action has been taken by the board of prison directors. It is, in our opinion, insufficient to allege simply that credits have been earned.

Beginning with the case of In re Lee, 177 Cal. 690 [ 171 Pac. 958 ], a sentence under the indeterminate law is held to be, in legal effect, a sentence for the maximum term authorized by…