Nolen v. Wilson

Decision Date01 February 1967
Docket NumberNo. 20984.,20984.
PartiesW. D. NOLEN, Appellant, v. Lawrence E. WILSON, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

W. D. Nolen, in pro. per.

Thomas C. Lynch, Atty. Gen., of Cal., John T. Murphy, Frank C. Damrell, Jr., Albert W. Harris, Jr., Robert R. Grannucci, Jennifer F. Bain, Deputy Attys. Gen., San Francisco, Cal., for appellee.

Before HAMLIN, JERTBERG and MERRILL, Circuit Judges.

HAMLIN, Circuit Judge.

In 1963, W. D. Nolen, appellant herein, was convicted by a jury in the Superior Court of Alameda County, California, of first degree robbery, a violation of California Penal Code § 211. He is now serving his sentence in the California State Prison at San Quentin. His conviction was affirmed on appeal by the California District Court of Appeal in an unpublished opinion, People v. Nolen, 1 Crim. 4385, June 16, 1964. During his arraignment, plea, trial and appeal, he was represented by counsel.

On March 25, 1966, appellant filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Southern Division, raising substantially the same legal issues presented to the California court on direct appeal. The application was denied by the district court and thereafter a certificate of probable cause and permission to appeal in forma pauperis was granted.

Appellant raises seven issues on appeal. He contends that during his trial (1) there was deliberate misconduct by the district attorney; (2) the court erred in denying his motion to exclude certain evidence; (3) the court erred in failing to grant a mistrial and to admonish the jury concerning the handling of an exhibit; (4) he was improperly cross-examined; (5) certain comments of the trial judge concerning the effect of an admission by a co-defendant was error; (6) the testimony of an accomplice was not sufficiently corroborated; and (7) the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. All of these contentions were determined adversely to appellant in a carefully written opinion of the District Court of Appeal, supra.

Appellant contends that each of the claimed errors at the trial was a violation of his constitutional right to due process of law. We do not agree.

Denial of due process within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States in the trial of a criminal case in a state court sufficient to justify federal court interference is "the failure to observe that fundamental fairness essential to the very concept of justice." Lisenba v. People of State of California, 314 U.S. 219, 236, 62 S.Ct. 280, 290, 86 L.Ed. 166. Hendrix v. Hand, 312 F.2d 147 (10th Cir. 1962); Chavez v. Dickson, 280 F.2d 727 (9th Cir. 1960). "In the ordinary case of this kind a United States Court will refuse to grant habeas corpus if it is satisfied from the record as a whole that the state courts gave fair consideration to the issues, reached a satisfactory result, and protected the rights of the petitioner under the Constitution of the United States." Hendrix v. Hand, supra, 312 F.2d at 149.

Respecting appellant's first contention, the record shows that the prosecutor asked appellant on cross-examination about a gun in the glove compartment of a car driven by appellant after the robbery in question. The gun was not the one used in the robbery. No adequate objection was made concerning this examination and the motion of appellant's counsel to strike certain of the testimony was granted. Thereafter, appellant without objection volunteered that he had placed a gun in a purse in the automobile. The District Court of Appeal stated that the prosecutor's cross-examination was improper. However, "the fact that a trial court error is prejudicial to defendant does not necessarily transform an otherwise fair trial into one which offends Fifth Amendment due process. It does not do so unless it has the effect of converting what was otherwise a fair trial into one which is repugnant to an enlightened system of justice." Vandergrift v. United States, 313 F.2d 93 (9th Cir. 1963). In view of the circumstances concerning this testimony we hold that there was neither prejudicial error nor fundamental unfairness to appellant.

The other contentions of appellant have been carefully examined and are without merit. The evidence...

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6 cases
  • United States ex rel. Means v. Solem
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Dakota
    • 29 Septiembre 1978
    ...gave fair consideration to the issues and reached a result which protected the petitioner's federal constitutional rights. Nolen v. Wilson, 372 F.2d 15 (9th Cir. 1967), cert. denied 387 U.S. 948, 87 S.Ct. 2085, 18 L.Ed.2d 1337 (1967). At the outset, it is important to recognize that a trial......
  • Malone v. Williams
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Nevada
    • 30 Septiembre 2022
    ...No. 11), p. 73. Federal constitutional law generally does not require corroboration of an accomplice's testimony. See Nolen v. Wilson, 372 F.2d 15, 17-18 (9th Cir.), cert. denied 387 U.S. 948 (1967). In the Laboa case, cited by Malone in the quoted part of his claim, above, the Court of App......
  • Haley v. Troy
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts
    • 2 Febrero 1972
    ...and laws of the United States, intervention by the federal district court to grant appropriate relief is justified. See Nolen v. Wilson, 372 F.2d 15 (9th Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 387 U.S. 948, 87 S.Ct. 2085, 18 L.Ed.2d 1337 II Plaintiffs have alleged that defendant's conduct in singling ou......
  • Roberts v. Gladden
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Oregon
    • 13 Noviembre 1968
    ...to defendant does not necessarily transform an otherwise fair trial into one which offends Fifth Amendment due process." Nolen v. Wilson, 372 F.2d 15, 17 (9th Cir. 1967). The trial judge's oversight did not convert Petitioner's trial "into one which is repugnant to an enlightened system of ......
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