In Re Dixon

264 P.2d 513, 41 Cal. 2d 756, 1953 Cal. LEXIS 327
California Supreme Court·Decided December 15, 1953·No. Crim. 5171·Published·Cited by 360 cases

Opinions

GIBSON, C. J.

After a trial before a jury in the superior court petitioner was convicted of a violation of section 480 of the Penal Code, which prohibits the making or possessing [759] of dies, plates or other apparatus used in counterfeiting.* He was sentenced to San Quentin, where he is now imprisoned. No appeal was taken from the judgment of conviction.

Petitioner seeks a writ of habeas corpus and contends, in part, that real evidence used to convict him was obtained by unlawful search and seizure and that his confession, which was received in evidence, was obtained by coercion. In support of his contentions petitioner makes allegations to the effect that police officers and federal secret service agents illegally searched his home and seized evidence used against him, that he was beaten and threatened, and that his confession was not made voluntarily. These allegations are controverted by the return, which alleges that all the matters complained of by petitioner were urged and considered at his trial in the superior court.

In view of the fact that petitioner did not appeal we must determine whether any of the matters urged by him may nevertheless be appropriately considered in this proceeding. The general rule is that habeas corpus cannot serve as a substitute for an appeal, and, in the absence of special circumstances constituting an excuse for failure to employ that remedy, the writ will not lie where the claimed errors could have been, but were not, raised upon a timely appeal from a judgment of• conviction. (In re McInturff, 37 Cal.2d 876, 880 [236 P.2d 574] ; In re Connor, 16 Cal.2d 701, 705 [108 P.2d 10] ; see In re James, 38 Cal.2d 302, 309 [240 P.2d 596] ; In re Manchester, 33 Cal.2d 740, 742 [204 P.2d 881] ; In re Byrnes, 26 Cal.2d 824, 827 [161 P.2d 376] ; cf. Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443 [73 S.Ct. 397, 420-422, 97 L.Ed. 469].) The only explanation given by petitioner for his failure to appeal is that he lost the right because of his ignorance of the law and because of a lack of funds necessary to order a transcript of the record.

Petitioner’s failure to appeal cannot be excused upon the basis of his explanation. He was represented by counsel during all stages of his trial from arraignment through pro[760] nouncement of judgment and sentence, and there is no showing that he did not have, or could not obtain, the aid of counsel during the time within which he could have taken an appeal. Although the application for habeas corpus was apparently prepared by petitioner without the aid of an attorney, he is now represented by counsel, who argued on his behalf at the hearing before this court. No claim has been made, however, that his failure to appeal was due to lack of opportunity to consult an attorney or that he was in any manner deprived of the right to the assistance of an attorney during the time within which he could have appealed from the conviction. Petitioner has the burden in this proceeding of alleging and proving all facts upon which he relies to overturn the judgment and of giving a satisfactory reason for not resorting to his remedy of appeal. (See In re Swain, 34 Cal.2d 300, 304 [209 P.2d 793] ; In re Manchester, 33 Cal.2d 740, 742 [204 P.2d 881] ; In re Connor, 16 Cal.2d 701, 711 [108 P.2d 10].) For all that appears petitioner may have refused the services of counsel, and, in the absence of allegations to the contrary, he is in no position to assert that he was ignorant of the law. His allegation as to lack of funds for a transcript raises a false issue and is entirely immaterial, since he would have been entitled to a transcript of the evidence at the expense of the state. (People v. Smith, 34 Cal.2d 449 [211 P.2d 561] ; see 4 Cal.Jur.2d 262.)

We must consider whether, regardless of the lack of a satisfactory excuse for the failure to appeal, we may properly pass upon petitioner’s claims relating to forced confession and unlawful search and seizure. Petitioner argues that a failure to appeal will not prevent a resort to habeas corpus when, as here, fundamental constitutional rights are involved. His contentions, however, depend entirely on his version of what occurred, and, as we shall see, there was ample evidence from which the trial court could have found that there was no violation of his rights. It is, of course, an established rule that habeas corpus may not be used instead of an appeal to review determinations of fact made upon conflicting evidence after a fair trial. (In re Horowitz, 33 Cal.2d 534, 546 [203 P.2d 513] ; In re Lindley, 29 Cal.2d 709, 723 [177 P.2d 918].) Likewise, the writ is not available to correct errors or irregularities relating to ascertainment of the facts when such errors could and should have been raised by appeal. (Cf. In re Lindley, 29 Cal.2d 709, 722 [177 P.2d 918] ; In re Porterfield, 28 Cal.2d 91, 99 [168 P.2d 706, 167 A.L.R. 675].) [761] The same principles should apply even though the alleged errors involving factual issues relate to an asserted denial of constitutional rights. (Cf. Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443 [73 S.Ct. 397, 421-422, 97 L.Ed. 469].) It would obviously be improper to permit a collateral attack because of claimed errors in the determination of the facts after expiration of the time for appeal when evidence may have disappeared and witnesses may have become unavailable.

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In Re Dixon, 264 P.2d 513, 41 Cal. 2d 756, 1953 Cal. LEXIS 327 (Cal. 1953).

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