Commonwealth v. Hare
Commonwealth v. Hare
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Much of the discussion to which our attention is directed in the paper-books of the appellant and appellee is beyond the limits of our legitimate inquiry. The appeal is in effect a certiorari, in which our jurisdiction is 1 estríe ted to an exami
It is not necessary that the person accused should have fled from the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed or have left it in apprehension of a prosecution to constitute him a fugitive from justice within the meaning of the federal statute. If, having been within a state, he is accused of having committed while there that which by its laws constitutes a crime and, when he is sought to be subjected to criminal proceeding therefor, he has left its jurisdiction and is found within another state he is a fugitive from justice. It is not important whether the accused leaves the-state to
Since the foregoing opinion was written an opinion was handed down by the Supreme Court in the case of Com. ex rel. Richard C. Flower v. the Superintendent of Philadelphia County Prison, 220 Pa. 401, which sustains the conclusions-here reached.
The order directing the relator’s discharge is reversed and it is now ordered That the said Buell N. Burlingame be remanded to the custody of the sheriff of Blair county.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Commonwealth ex rel. v. Hare
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Habeas corpus — Appeals—Evidence—Extradition. An appeal in habeas corpus proceedings is in effect a certiorari, in which the jurisdiction of the appellate court is restricted to an examination of the record. The evidence introduced and the rulings of the judge thereon are not properly for the upper court. Extradition — Warrant of arrest — Fugitive from justice — Duty of governor — Criminal law. The constitutional provision on the subject of interstate extradition and the act of congress relating thereto are part of the supreme law of the land and of every state. Requisitions and warrants of arrest for alleged fugitives are issued under the laws of the United States. The statute of this state on the subject is in aid, merely, of the proceedings and in no sense inconsistent with the federal statute. Whether the warrant of arrest shall be issued or not is an executive consideration and the duty of the governor is absolute whenever the requisition from the demanding state is presented in due form, with the necessary accompanying papers as required by law, to the governor of the state where the accused has taken refuge. The latter is under obligation to issue a warrant for the surrender of the person accused if he is a fugitive from justice. If the requisition is in proper form he has no authority to determine whether the charge is true. The constitutional provision for extradition is in the nature of a treaty between the states to which the executive of each is bound to give effect. Jurisdiction of the court on a writ of habeas corpus in an extradition proceeding does not involve any executive function. It is limited to (a) the identification of the person demanded; (b) an inquiry whether the record shows that a crime was substantially charged against him and (c) whether he is a fugitive from justice. Each state has the power unless forbidden by the constitution of the United States to. declare what shall be offenses against her laws, and persons residing in such state are subject to her laws. The words “treason, felony and other crimes,” in sec. 2, article IV of the federal constitution, ■include every offense against the laws of the demanding state without exception as to the nature of the crime. A state may make the desertion of a wife a crime, and a husband guilty of such an act and becoming a fugitive from justice may be arrested in the state to which he has fled, by proper extradition proceedings. It is not necessary that the person accused should have fled from the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed or have left it in apprehension of a prosecution to constitute him a fugitive from justice within the meaning of the federal statute. If, having been within a state, he is accused of having committed while there that which by its laws constitutes a crime and when he is sought to be subjected to criminal . proceeding therefor, he has left its jurisdiction and is found within another state, he is a fugitive from justice. It is not important whether the' accused leaves the state to avoid prosecution or not. His motive does not affect his relation to the law. ■ One who leaves a state after the date of the commission of an alleged crime becomes from the time of such leaving, yithin the meaning of the words of the constitution of the United States, a fugitive from justice, and if found in another state must be delivered by the governor of such state to the state whose laws are alleged to have been violated on the production of the the requisite evidence of the indictment or-affldavit certified by the governor of the state from which the accused departed..