People v. Huff

Opinion

ROTH, P. J. The People of the State of California appeal from an order granting respondent, Wade Hamilton Huff, partial relief in his petition for habeas corpus arising from the following factual background.

On March 25, 1960, following a conviction by way of a plea of guilty to a violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code,1 respondent was sentenced to state prison. At the same time the trial court also found three priors which had been charged to be true. Two of the prior convictions had been for violations of the same section of the Health and Safety Code. As a consequence respondent’s sentence was indeterminate but with a minimum of two years and a maximum of twenty years.2

Thirteen years later in 1973 respondent alleging by way of a petition for habeas corpus irregularities in the process by which his prior convictions had been found true sought to set aside that result. A hearing was held on September 7, 1973. The record of respondent’s original trial showed that a jury trial had been waived in respect of the priors but indicated nothing to show that there had been a waiver of a nonjury trial. The trial court on the petition for habeas corpus found that there had never been a trial or a hearing on the respective truth or validity of any of the priors and entered an order striking the prior convictions.

The effect of the court’s striking the prior convictions was to decrease respondent’s sentence from 20 years to 10 years,3 and since over 13 years had already elapsed, respondent was discharged by the prison authorities on the ground that he had completed his term. On November 5, 1973, the People filed their notice of appeal from the order striking the [364]priors but made no application for a stay of the order. (Pen. Code, § 1506.) Respondent has not been seen since, and is unaware of this appeal.

Respondent is represented on this appeal by the public defender who represented him on the writ discussed above. The public defender filed a motion to dismiss this appeal on the ground that Penal Code section 1506 applies to this appeal and that the People had not complied with said section because of the People’s failure to request a stay of the court’s order. The People argued in effect that they had the right to take an appeal by way of either Penal Code section 1506 or section 1238 as an order made after judgment, and that application for a stay is not necessary under either code section. We denied the motion to dismiss without prejudice so that it could be decided at the same time as the appeal on the merits.