Patrick J. Stearns v. Jacob J. Parker

Patrick J. Stearns was convicted in Alaska state court on two counts of forgery. Two seven-year concurrent sentences were imposed. Stearns was incarcerated in the federal penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington in 1968 pursuant to a contract between Alaska and the federal government. In August 1971, his petition for habeas corpus was granted by the district court upon a determination that Alaska law required his release. The custodian and the State of Alaska appeal contending that Stearns failed to exhaust available state remedies and that the district court improperly interpreted an Alaska…