State ex rel. Thomas v. Bruslé
State ex rel. Thomas v. Bruslé
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
This is an application for a habeas eoipus.
The Relator substantially avers that, after a preliminary exani
The offense charged not being a. capital one, the right of the Relator to he admitted to hail was undisputable and is acknowledged. Const. Art. 9.
The complaint is not that the bond required is excessive, hut that it was demanded without warrant oflaw, exparte, and without a charge based on new facts, without a hearing, and without evidence on the charge.
The bond furnished by the accused after the preliminary examination, was required to secure his appearance at the next District Court. R. S. 1010, § 3. Any insertion in the bond for any further or different appearance, was unauthorized and may be considered as unwritten. On the appearance of the accused at the first term of the District Court, after he was permitted to give bond, the obligation was cancelled, and the sureties became discharged.
It is the common practice, when the indictment is returned, a true bill having been found, for the Judge to issue a bench warrant or an order of commitment in the nature of such warrant, and to fix immediately the amount of hail, precisely because the previous bond had gone out of existence. The condition of the bond given after the finding of the true bill may well be, and for good reason, conditioned for the appearance of the accused from day to day and from time to time, and until discharged finally by the court.
The first order admitting the accused to hail, to answer on a charge by affidavit of manslaughter, cannot he invoked as res judicata, so as
Had the'Judge fixed atoo large amount for the bond to be furnished, the. accused would not have been without a remedy. The Judge, at the request of the accused, or on his own motion, could have reduced the amount without hearing evidence. What he could have done, to decrease, there can be objection for him to doto increase.
The significant fact of the finding of a true bill against the accused for manslaughter, and the application of the representative of the State, coupled with the knowledge previously and officially acquired by the Judge of the apparent guilt or innocence of the acc.used, made it certainly his duty to issue an order for the arrest, a bench warrant for the commitment of the accused, and as the offense was bailable, to provide for Ms release therefrom, on his giving bond in the sum of $250, which appears quite- reasonable and is not charged as excessiv e.
It was not necessary for the Judge, as a condition precedent to issuing the warrant and requiring the bond, to have initiated or caused to be initiated, any proceeding against the accused, or heard any evidence. , -
The action of the District Judge is warranted by reason and by authorities.
The Relator is in custody in the Parish of Iberville. On the face of a petition for habeas corpus, which shows that he is not entitled to the relief sought, and after hearing his counsel, who lias failed to satisfy us to the contrary, we are justified in not ordering, the defendant sheriff to produce his body and the cause of his capture and detention, which abundantly appears from the complaint itself.
Tt- would be requiring a useless ceremony, entailing trouble and expense, and of no benefit whatever to the accused.
The application is refused.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.