opinion: Per Curiam.
  The motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and the petition for writ of certiorari are granted.
  Petitioner, confined under sentence of an Illinois court following his conviction of armed robbery, sought a writ of habeas corpus from the Federal District Court. His petition contained allegations, primarily concerning the introduction into evidence at his trial of a confession coerced by physical mistreatment by police officers, which if true would entitle him to relief. Appended to the petition were various documents, including an opinion of the Supreme Court of Illinois affirming his conviction and simultaneously affirming the denial to him of post-conviction remedies which he had sought in the trial court while his appeal from the conviction was pending. See People v. Jennings, 11 Ill. 2d 610, 144 N. E. 2d 612. In that opinion, the state court held that the evidence before it warranted the trial court’s finding that petitioner’s confession had been voluntary.
  The State responded to petitioner’s application and urged dismissal. The District Court, on a record limited to the aforementioned documents augmented by a “report” prepared by an amicus curiae appointed by it, dismissed the application without a hearing. The Court of Appeals,, in turn, denied petitioner’s motion for a certificate of probable cause, 28 U. S. C. § 2253, and dismissed his appeal.
  It appears from the record before us that the District Court dismissed petitioner’s application without making any examination of the record of proceedings in the state courts, and instead simply relied on the facts and conclusions stated in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Illinois. We think that the District Court erred in dismissing this petition without first satisfying itself, by an appropriate examination of the state court record, that this was a proper case for the dismissal of petitioner’s application without a hearing, in accordance with the principles set forth in Brown v. Allen, 344 U. S. 443, 463-465, 506. See also Rogers v. Richmond, 357 U. S. 220. It follows that the judgment of the Court of Appeals must be vacated and the case remanded to the District Court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
  It is so ordered.
  Mr. Justice Frankfurter took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
instruction: What follows is an opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States. Your task is to identify whether administrative action occurred in the context of the case prior to the onset of litigation. The activity may involve an administrative official as well as that of an agency. To determine whether administration action occurred in the context of the case, consider the material which appears in the summary of the case preceding the Court's opinion and, if necessary, those portions of the prevailing opinion headed by a I or II. Action by an agency official is considered to be administrative action except when such an official acts to enforce criminal law. If an agency or agency official "denies" a "request" that action be taken, such denials are considered agency action. Exclude: a "challenge" to an unapplied agency rule, regulation, etc.; a request for an injunction or a declaratory judgment against agency action which, though anticipated, has not yet occurred; a mere request for an agency to take action when there is no evidence that the agency did so; agency or official action to enforce criminal law; the hiring and firing of political appointees or the procedures whereby public officials are appointed to office; attorney general preclearance actions pertaining to voting; filing fees or nominating petitions required for access to the ballot; actions of courts martial; land condemnation suits and quiet title actions instituted in a court; and federally funded private nonprofit organizations.