Richard Hogan v. Ron Koenig, Chairman of Prison Terms

Ron Koenig, Chairman of the California Board of Prison Terms, appeals the district court’s grant of habeas corpus to Richard Hogan, a California state prisoner. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse.

In 1981, a California superior court sentenced Hogan, a citizen of Canada, to twenty-six years to life imprisonment for first degree murder. Under the Treaty Between the United States and Canada on the Execution of Penal Sentences, July 19, 1978, 30 U.S.T. 6263-6272, T.I.A.S. No. 9552, Hogan claims entitlement to transfer to Canada to serve the remainder of this sentence.

To be eligible for transfer under the Treaty, a prisoner must be a citizen of the country to which he wishes to transfer. Art. II, § (b), 30 U.S.T. at 6267. He must also be serving a life sentence, Art. III, § 7(a), 30 U.S.T. at 6268, a sentence which states a definite termination date, Art. III § 7(b), 30 U.S.T. at 6268, a sentence which does not state a definite termination date but for which the authorities authorized to fix such a date have so acted, id., an indeterminate sentence as a dangerous or habitual offender, Art. III, § 7(c), 30 U.S.T. at 6268, or any sentence as a juvenile, Art.…