John Julius Sesser v. J. B. Gunn

Appellant, a state prisoner, appeals from an order of the district court denying his petition for habeas corpus. We reverse.

On February 1, 1973, appellant was charged with two counts of robbery in an information filed in the Superior Court of Alameda County, California. The information also alleged that appellant had been convicted of three prior felonies. The purpose of the latter allegation was to bring into play California Penal Code § 644, which provides that a person convicted of a felony who has been convicted of three prior felonies shall be adjudged a habitual criminal and imprisoned for life.

Initially, appellant pleaded not guilty to the robbery charges and stood mute as to the charge of prior felony convictions. He was rearraigned on April 2, 1973, and admitted the prior convictions. Subsequently, he was sentenced to state prison as a habitual criminal on the basis of a jury verdict of guilty on the robbery charges and his admission of the prior convictions.

After exhausting state remedies, appellant filed his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the district court, claiming that his adjudication and sentence as a habitual criminal were constitutionally…