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The following is not meant to be legal advice.

In order to have a petition for writ of habeas corpus to the Court of Appeal, California, there should be arguable issues for a petition. 

For instance, in the guilty plea, a defendant who pled guilty is not able to raise questions regarding the evidence admitted to prove the charged crime.  He/she would not be able to argue lack of presence during the jury trial.

According to People v. Alfaro, 42 Cal. 3d 627, there is no need for a trial on the merits, and the presumption of innocence does not apply when a defendant pleads guilty.  A plea of guilty waives any right to raise questions regarding the sufficiency of evidence. 

Also, because of a guilty plea, the defendant would not survive a claim on ineffective assistance of counsel.  The defense attorney may go along with the guilty plea if the defendant is adamant in his decision to plead guilty.