Robert R. Cody v. P. J. Morris, Warden

Cody appeals from the denial by the District Court of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He claims that his trial took place outside the 120-day period prescribed under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (“IADA”) and that because a failure to try a defendant within this period is a violation of a law of the United States cognizable under § 2254, the District Court was required to make an independent factual determination of whether 120 days elapsed between Cody’s transfer to California and the start of his trial. We agree and therefore remand to the District Court.

Statement of Facts

While Cody was in federal custody, California authorities filed a detainer seeking his custody, under the name of Lee J. Evans, to try him for a murder committed in Oakland in 1971. Cody was transported to California in April 1975. Upon his arrival in California, Cody was informed that he had been indicted for the offenses previously charged by the complaint which formed the ground for the detainer. Cody’s trial commenced on August 12, 1975, 132 days after his arrival in California. The first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The following day Cody…