Baldwin v. Westenhaver
Baldwin v. Westenhaver
Opinion of the Court
— I. The undisputed facts of the case are these: Plaintiff was duly indicted, and convicted of murder in the second degree. He perfected his appeal to this court, and thereupon asked the district court to order and fix bail, as he desired to be kept in jail pending his appeal. This was refused. Upon a proper transcript of the judgment of the district court the sheriff delivered the plaintiff to the warden of the penitentiary, in whose custody he remained. The plaintiff claims that under the statutes of the state he is entitled to be admitted to bail pending his appeal in this court. This claim is denied by defendants. No other question is presented by the case than the one involved in the issue there presented by the. parties.
II. The case may be more clearly presented by reciting all the provisions of the statute applicable to the question before us. They are in the following language (Code, sec. 4107): “ All defendants are bailable, both before and after conviction, by sufficient surety, except for offenses heretofore punishable with death under the laws of the state, when the proof is evident and the presumption great.” Section 4511: “In all cases, except murder in the first degree, the court rendering judgment must make an order fixing the amount in which bail must be taken, and there shall be no execution of the judgment until such order is made.” Section 4528: “An appeal taken by the defendant does not stay the execution of the judgment, unless bail be put in, except as provided by the next section.” Section 4529 : “ When the judgment is imprisonment in the penitentiary, and an appeal is taken during the term at which the judgment is rendered, and the defendant is unable to give bail, and that fact is satisfactorily shown to the court, it may, in its discretion, order the sheriff or officer having the defendant in custody to detain him in custody, without taking him to the penitentiary,, to abide
Under the provisions of the Code prior to the statute last quoted, persons convicted of murder not punishable with death could have been admitted to bail (Code, sec. 4107); and except in cases of murder in the first degree, the accused could be admitted to bail after conviction. Sec. 4511. But chapter 103, Acts Seventeenth General Assembly, forbids bail to a defendant convicted of murder. It is obvious that this provision is in conflict with the other statutes under which, prior thereto, bail could have been allowed to one convicted of murder in the second degree. The language of the statute, being prohibitory in form, was of course intended to repeal all sections of the Code permitting bail which this statute prohibits. Under prior statutes bail was. permitted in certain cases. Under this statute it is prohibited in these very cases. It is to be regarded as the repeal of the prior inconsistent legislation. It is plain that the prohibition extends to murder in the second degree, of which plaintiff in this case was convicted. It prohibits
Dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.