Ex parte Fagot
Ex parte Fagot
Opinion of the Court
delivered tbe opinion of tbe court'.
The document referred to reads as follows:
“Government House. — Porto Rico. — 1, Horace M. Towner, Governor of Porto Rico, to tbe Chief of the Insular Police of Porto Rico, or to any member of said force: — Whereas, a requisition has been made upon me as the Governor of the Island of Porto Rico, by His. Excellency, Channing II. Cox, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the arrest and delivery of Emilio Fagot, the younger of that name, who stands charged with the crimes of unreasonably neglecting to provide for the support of his wife, of deserting her without just caúse and without making reasonable provision for her support and abandoning her and leaving her in*563 danger of becoming a burden on tbe public, wbicb is a crime under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and Whereas, it has been represented to me by His Excellency, Channing H. Cox, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that the said Emilio Fagot, the younger of that name, has fled from justice in that state and has taken refuge in this Island; and the said Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts having in pursuance of the Constitution and Laws of the United States, demanded of me that I shall cause the said Emilio Fagot, the younger of that name, to be apprehended and delivered to John F. Dyer, who has been authorized'' to receive him into his custody and convey him to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and Whereas, said requisition and demand is accompanied by an indictment of the Grand Jury of the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts, and an affidavit signed by Helen Y. Fagot, whereby the said Emilio Fagot, the younger of that name, is charged with the said crimes and with having fled from the said state and taken refuge in this Island, living at present in Atocha Street, city of Ponce, Porto Rico. — Therefore, you are required to apprehend the said Emilio Fagot, the younger of that name, and deliver him into the custody of the Warden of the District Jail of Ponce, Porto Rico, there to be temporarily kept until his delivery to John F. Dyer, to be taken to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, from which he fled. — Given under my hand and the Seal of the Island of Porto Rico, at this city of San Juan, this seventh day of November, in the year of Our Lord,one thousand nine hundred and twenty-three.- — By the Governor (Signed) E. J. Saldana, Executive Secretary. — (Signed) H. M. Towner, Governor.”
After the original petition in habeas corpus had been filed and before the hearing thereon the petitioner filed a supplementary petition without asking the court’s leave, and on the day when the parties were to be heard he moved for such leave; but the court overruled the motion and dismissed the original petition.
The first error assigned by the petitioner in support of his appeal from that ruling is that the court below erred in ordering that his supplementary petition be stricken out.
Although in the said supplementary petition the same facts are alleged as in the original petition, the former differs from the latter in that the allegations are set forth
To constitute one a fugitive from justice from a given state it is essential that the person having been there shall have left it and be within the state or territory from which his return is demanded, and that the person shall have incurred guilt before he left the former state and while bodily present there. 25 C.J. 257. The words “fugitive from justice” do not include a person who never was in the country from which he is said to have fled, as he must have been there, committed the crime, and fled. Jones v. Leonard, 54 Iowa, 106, 108, 32 Am. Rep. 116; Taft v. Lord, L. R. A.
It is true that the order of arrest signed by the Governor of this Island declares that the petitioner is a fugitive from justice, but his decision is prima facie correct only and may be reviewed by the courts in habeas corpus proceedings. McNichols v. Pease, 207 U. S. 100; Ex Parte Shoemaker, supra.
The other allegation that the wife must follow her husband wherever he elects to reside is an interesting question, but we need not consider it now because the petitioner alleges that he has never been within the territorial limits of the State of Massachusetts.
In view of the foregoing we are of the opinion that the court below abused its discretion in no.t granting the petitioner leave to file his supplementary petition and erred in striking it out, and that the order appealed from should be reversed on this ground and tbe case remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.