“ In Tornello the petitioner had been pardoned, and was no longer in the custody of anyone. In Zimmerman petitioner had been unconditionally released and was also no longer in the custody of anyone. These cases demonstrate that it is a condition upon this Court's jurisdiction to adjudicate an application for habeas corpus that the petitioner be in custody when that jurisdiction can become effective. It is precisely because a denial of a petition for certiorari without more has no significance as a ruling that an explicit statement of the reason for a denial means what it says. ”

“ The district judge ordered that petitioner's application be heard upon affidavits, depositions, and the record of the trial, [9] and the latter alone conclusively substantiates petitioner's allegations. Thus all that remains is to determine what form of relief should be given. Under the circumstances of this case, 'law and justice require' that the patent invalidity of Parker's conviction be proclaimed.
Granting Parker relief would not only comport with the statutory mandate, but would also be in keeping with the spirit of the writ. ”

“ In any event, even conceding the accuracy of the assumption with respect to Parker's prior convictions and the Harwell issue, it is entirely possible that the conviction in this case would operate to augment the punishment should Parker ever again be adjudged guilty of a crime in Texas or in any other State.
Aside from these considerations, however, there is something fundamentally wrong with the theory that mootness should turn upon whether or not a convicted person can run for office or cast a ballot. ”

“ Whatever may be said of the Weber theory of mootness, [22] it is irrelevant to the instant case, where it would be unnecessary to issue an order of discharge.
The second case discussed by the Court is Tornello v. Hudspeth, supra, where a petition for certiorari was denied because 'petitioner has been pardoned by the President and * * * is no longer in respondent's custody.' Since the Court used the verbal formula of Weber and Innes, and since the only case cited was Weber, it is evident that the Court relied entirely upon the Weber theory so far as the custody question was concerned. ”

“ The Court recognizes the difficulty posed by Pollard, and solves it by stating that this aspect of Pollard was predicated upon an 'unconsidered assumption' which was overruled by Heflin v. United States, 358 U.S. 415, 79 S.Ct. 451, 3 L.Ed.2d 407, 'after full deliberation.' But Heflin did the purport to discard Pollard, and there is no inherent inconsistency between these two decisions. In Heflin, the Court decided that a prisoner could not secure § 2255 relief from a sentence which he had not yet begun to serve because he was not yet 'in custody' pursuant to that sentence. ”

“ The case comes to us after the actions complained of have occurred, and we have the entire trial record before us. Moreover, George Parker's interest in this litigation is quite substantial enough to insure that his case has been fully presented. [29] Conviction of a felony imposes a status upon a person which not only makes him vulnerable to future sanctions through new civil disability statutes, but which also seriously affects his reputation and economic opportunities. ”

“ Then, on June 6, 1959, Parker was released from the penitentiary-almost five years after his conviction, three years after he had applied to the Federal District Court for relief, more than seven months after he had petitioned this Court for certiorari, and more than three months after certiorari had been granted. Now that petitioner has dutifully fulfilled the requirement that he exhaust-an apt word-all other remedies, [7] he is told that it is too late for the Court to act. ”

“ Just go ahead and tell the jury about what you know? A. Well, his physical condition, according to everything, is bad or, at least, the doctors say so, you know. I couldn't-as far as the checks, I don't know; but, I do know that he needs medical care. ”

“ Under Texas law any one of those convictions would carry the same consequences with respect to petitioner's exercise of civil rights in Texas (Election Code Art. 5.01) V.A.T.S., as his conviction in this case. See Harwell v. Morris, Tex.Civ.App., 143 S.W.2d 809, 812-813. This Court is as much bound by constitutional restrictions on its jurisdiction as it is by other constitutional requirements. The 'moral stigma of a judgment which no longer affects legal rights does not present a case or controversy for appellate review.' St. ”