Simpson v. Teets

153 F. Supp. 893, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3318
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJuly 22, 1957
DocketNo. 34458
StatusPublished

This text of 153 F. Supp. 893 (Simpson v. Teets) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Simpson v. Teets, 153 F. Supp. 893, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3318 (N.D. Cal. 1957).

Opinion

ROCHE, Chief Judge.

Petitioner, Henry Simpson, was convicted of counseling, advising, and encouraging his 13 year old son to kill Simpson’s wife. After trial by jury a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree was returned, without recommendation, and a sentence of death imposed.

The California Supreme Court, on the mandatory appeal unanimously affirmed the judgment. People v. Simpson, 43 Cal.2d 553, 275 P.2d 31. Thereafter petitioner was scheduled to die in the gas chamber on February 25, 1955.

Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and stay of execution with the California Supreme Court. An order from that court denied the petition without opinion. Thereafter, on February 24th, the day before the scheduled execution, petitioner filed a second petition for a writ of habeas corpus and stay of execution with the California Supreme Court. Petitioner’s counsel filed a duplicate copy of this petition in the United States District Court. The record discloses that hearings were held in this court February 24th the day before petitioner was to be executed.

[894]*894Counsel for petitioner took the position at these hearings that with the California Supreme Court’s denial of petitioner’s petition for a stay of execution and writ of habeas corpus on February 23rd that petitioner had exhausted his state remedies in the state court. Counsel for petitioner contended, therefore, that the petition then before this court should be granted.

Since petitioner’s counsel had filed a petition with the California Supreme Court on that day, February 24th, this court would not grant petitioner the relief prayed for until the petition before the state court had been acted upon. Therefore, at the court’s direction, petitioner’s counsel secured a copy of the order of the state court’s denial of petitioner’s second petition for a writ of habeas corpus and stay of execution. Whereupon this court issued an order granting petitioner a stay of execution for a period of ten days, thus enabling counsel to petition the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.

Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, and that Court denied his petition. 349 U.S. 960, 75 S.Ct. 890, 99 L.Ed. 1283. Whereupon the United States District Court denied petitioner’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and vacated its previous order staying his execution. An appeal was taken and the denial of the petition was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in an opinion reported as Simpson v. Teets, 239 F.2d 890, one judge dissenting. Thereafter a petition for writ of certiorari was filed in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court granted petitioner a writ of certiorari, vacated the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case to this court. 353 U.S. 926, 77 S.Ct. 720, 1 L.Ed. 722. The mandate reads as follows:

“On writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
“This cause came on to be heard on the transcript of the record from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and was duly submitted.
“On consideration whereof, It is ordered and adjudged by this Court that the judgment of the said United States Court of Appeals, in this cause, be, and the same is hereby, vacated; and that this cause be, and the same is hereby, remanded to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California with directions to grant a hearing on the allegations of the petition for writ of habeas corpus unless the court finds that petitioner’s state remedies have not been exhausted.”

The court then issued an order to show cause directing Harley O. Teets, Warden, California State Prison at San Quentin to have petitioner, Henry Simpson, returnable before this court, and that a hearing be had on the allegations of said petition for writ of habeas corpus on July 2, 1957.

1. Exhaustion of State Remedies

Respondent contended that petitions of petitioner heretofore presented to the California Supreme Court did not comply with that court’s procedural requirements, and that until petitioner had presented to that court a petition conforming to state procedural requirements he could not exhaust his state remedies. In support of these contentions respondent cites the cases of In re Swain, 34 Cal.2d 300, 209 P.2d 793; In re Razutis, 35 Cal.2d 532, 219 P.2d 15; People v. Bronaugh, 100 Cal.App.2d 220, 223 P.2d 256; Buchanan v. O’Brien, 1 Cir., 1950, 181 F.2d 601; Willis v. Utecht, 8 Cir., 1950, 185 F.2d 210; and United States ex rel. Calvin v. Claudy, D.C., 95 F.Supp. 732.

The petition now before this court, however, was before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Simpson v. Teets, supra, and at page 892 of 239 F.2d Judge Pope stated: “The petition was inartificially drawn in Simpson’s own handwriting, but the essential alie[895]*895gations are there when it is construed in accordance with the rule of Thomas v. Teets, 9 Cir., 205 F.2d 236, 238, and the cases there cited.”

Also, the language of Mr. Justice Reed in Darr v. Burford, 339 U.S. 200, at page 203, 70 S.Ct. 587, at page 590, 94 L.Ed. 761 should be borne in mind, when a federal court considers a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

“The writ of habeas corpus commands general recognition as the essential remedy to safeguard a citizen against imprisonment by State or Nation in violation of his constitutional rights. To make this protection effective for unlettered prisoners without friends or funds federal courts have long disregarded legalistic requirements in examining applications for the writ and judged the papers by the simple statutory test of whether facts are alleged that entitle the applicant to relief.”

Counsel for petitioner contends that petitioner’s state remedies have been exhausted; that petitioner’s two applications to the California Supreme Court for writs of habeas corpus, which were denied, and his first application to the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, which was also denied, effectively exhausted his state remedies, and he cites the case of Thomas v. Teets, supra, and the cases cited therein, as authority for support of this contention.

In the Thomas case the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that petitioner had exhausted his state remedies even though he did not petition for certiorari until after he filed his application in the District Court. At page 240 of 205 F.2d, the court said:

“Thomas did not seek certiorari on this denial of the writ before he filed his application in the district court below.

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Related

Ex Parte Hawk
321 U.S. 114 (Supreme Court, 1944)
Darr v. Burford
339 U.S. 200 (Supreme Court, 1950)
Brown v. Allen
344 U.S. 443 (Supreme Court, 1953)
Buchanan v. O'Brien
181 F.2d 601 (First Circuit, 1950)
Willis v. Utecht
185 F.2d 210 (Eighth Circuit, 1951)
Thomas v. Teets
205 F.2d 236 (Ninth Circuit, 1953)
People v. Bronaugh
223 P.2d 256 (California Court of Appeal, 1950)
In Re Razutis
219 P.2d 15 (California Supreme Court, 1950)
People v. Simpson
275 P.2d 31 (California Supreme Court, 1954)
In Re Swain
209 P.2d 793 (California Supreme Court, 1949)
United States ex rel. Calvin v. Claudy
95 F. Supp. 732 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1951)

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Bluebook (online)
153 F. Supp. 893, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simpson-v-teets-cand-1957.