United States ex rel. Wissenfeld v. Fay
United States ex rel. Wissenfeld v. Fay
Opinion of the Court
Relator is currently serving a sentence of thirteen and one-half years to twenty years at Green Haven Prison, New York State, as a third felony offender upon his plea of guilty to a charge of burglary in the third degree. He seeks a writ of habeas corpus,
No issue is raised here that relator has not exhausted all available State remedies.
The basic claim of petitioner is that upon his conviction for assault with intent to commit robbery the Court sentenced him to imprisonment to the State prison at San Quentin, California, “for the term prescribed by law,” but then suspended sentence on condition that he be confined to the county jail for one year. This, he contends, was contrary to the requirement of California law that he be imprisoned in the State prison and that the Court had no authority to suspend the sentence on condition that he be confined to a county jail. This sentence, under California law, had the effect of a grant of probation.
The final judgment of conviction is controlling; its validity is not impaired by the circumstance that under the California sentence the defendant undeservedly may well have received probation contrary to law and that the California courts then refused to vacate the sentence. The District Court of Appeal of California, when petitioner applied for a writ of error coram nobis, noted that it did not appear that in fact the relator’s sentence was illegal, but expressly held that “[i]f the order of suspension were void for the reason assigned [by relator], it would not infect the sentence itself with invalidity. In such a case ‘the judgment remains valid and must be served.’ ”
Even if, contrary to the holding of the California court, the 1948 sentence were in fact improper, the petitioner has in no way been injured thereby. Had the sentence which he now alleges was required been imposed, and had he served his term in State prison instead of a county jail, he would now have no basis for complaint. For a State to refuse to vacate and set aside an improper sentence already served, which is no greater than the sentence required, is not a prac
Accordingly, the petition for writ of habeas corpus is denied.
. Relator has heretofore filed various petitions for writs of habeas corpus seeking his release on different grounds. See United States ex rel. Wissenfeld v. Wilkins, 281 F.2d 707 (2d Cir. 1960).
. In 1957 petitioner sought a writ of ha-beas corpus in this Court attacking the California judgment on the same ground as now advanced. This petition was denied because petitioner had failed to ap
. See Oster v. Municipal Court, 287 P.2d 755 (Sup.Ct., Cal. 1955).
. People v. Wissenfeld, 336 P.2d 959 (Dist.Ct. of App., Cal. 1959). See also, In re Phillips, 109 P.2d 344, 132 A.L.R. 644 (Cal. 1941).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America ex rel. Jacob WISSENFELD, Relator v. Edward M. FAY, Warden of Green Haven Prison, Stormville, New York
- Status
- Published