First Petition

Attorney Paul Magnarella, utilizing the writ of coram nobis, filed his first petition with the Federal District Court in Kansas outlining the judicial errors in Pete O’Neal’s 1970 trial and requesting a new trial. Magnarella argued that California Youth Authority law had expunged O’Neal’s early convictions, thereby making O’Neal ineligible for indictment under the Federal Gun Control Act. He also argued that Judge Arthur J. Stanley’s acceptance of the FBI’s warrantless wiretaps of O’Neal’s telephone and the judge’s refusal to hand over the data from the wiretaps to O’Neal were contrary to the U.S. Constitution. To justify O’Neal’s flight and fugitive status, Magnarella explained that O’Neal fled abroad to avoid threats on his life. Magnarella described how the FBI through its COINTEL program conspired with local police to commit illegal acts designed to eliminate the Black Panther Party.