Daryl Standlee v. B. J. Rhay

The district court granted appellee’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and Warden B. J. Rhay appeals. Appellee had his parole suspended based on criminal charges for which he was later acquitted. The district court held that collateral estoppel prevented a finding of guilt on these charges in the parole revocation hearings. We disagree with this conclusion and therefore reverse.

Facts

Appellee was paroled on September 28, 1970, from his 1959 conviction for rape. In January 1971, he was arrested and charged with two counts of second degree criminal assault. Subsequently, he was charged with six parole violations based on the same acts for which he was criminally charged: two counts of abduction, two counts of second degree assault, one count of attempted rape, and one count of sexual molestation.

Prior to his trial on the two criminal charges, a parole revocation hearing was held on March 11, 1971, at which appellee was represented by counsel. At that time, appellee testified that he was in another state and had an alibi but refused to name the people who could testify to this fact. He was found guilty of all six violations, but the hearing was continued until after the…