Briggs v. Wilcox

404 P.2d 752, 1965 Wyo. LEXIS 147
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 22, 1965
DocketNo. 3447
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 404 P.2d 752 (Briggs v. Wilcox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Briggs v. Wilcox, 404 P.2d 752, 1965 Wyo. LEXIS 147 (Wyo. 1965).

Opinion

Mr. Chief Justice PARKER

delivered the opinion of the court.

Norman Briggs, also known as Clayton Hollister, filed petition for writ of habeas corpus in this court wherein he alleged that he was restrained by the Weston County sheriff on an extradition warrant, which was illegal in that he had never been a fugitive from justice from New York, the demanding State; that the extradition warrant was based on two indictments, one concerning false and fraudulent claims presented to an insurance company and the other the abandonment of children in destitute circumstances; that as to the first any claims presented were without his participation when he was not present in the State of New York; and that as to the second his children were not in destitute circumstances but were adequately provided for with all the necessities of life when he left New York on July 17, 1960. Pie alleged further that the insurance companies concerned had made public and private representations that there was no evidence of fraud against him and that they had no intention of prosecuting charges; that with respect to the abandonment his former wife had remarried, caused the children to assume the name of her present husband, and she had made no claim or demand upon him for support. He concluded by asserting that in a prior proceeding the Honorable Rodney Guthrie, district judge, after hearing had dismissed his application for writ of habeas corpus.

Answer to the petition filed by the Sheriff of Weston County stated petitioner’s arrest and custody by virtue of the Wyoming Governor’s warrant of extradition, reciting the mentioned charges in New York and petitioner’s being a fugitive from justice and having taken refuge in this State. The answer also told of the previous habeas corpus hearing before Judge Guthrie and attached the order which dismissed the writ in that proceeding.

At the time of oral argument before this court, neither party offered to adduce any evidence; and although petitioner had, prior to that time, filed here a transcript of the testimony before Judge Guthrie, the contents were not before us by stipulation or otherwise. The decision in a habeas corpus matter is not appealable. Brugneaux v. Dankowski, 51 Wyo. 103, 63 P.2d 800; Miskimins v. Shaver, 8 Wyo. 392, 58 P. 411, 49 L.R.A. 831; and the proceedings here invoke the original jurisdiction of this court under the provisions of § 1-810, W.S.1957. While it may be observed that the petitioner did not file herein “a copy of all the papers connected [with the former proceeding]” and the failure to comply with the statute is specifically disapproved and might have constituted g'rounds for our refusing the writ, we did allow it so that the omission is not now fatal. Moreover, there was perhaps a substantial compliance with the requirement for filing papers, especially in the light of the presentation of the transcript. In any event, the pleadings are sufficient to place the matter before us for decision.

Concerning the alleged crime of false and fraudulent claims, the statute mentioned in the indictment and warrant, Penal Law, § 1202, McKinney’s Consol.Laws N.Y. c. 40, provides: “A person who knowing it to be such: 1. Presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim, or [754]*754any proof in support of such a claim, for the payment of a loss upon a contract of insurance; * * * Is punishable by imprisonment * * Petitioner says that two major questions arc raised, (1) Was he in New York at the time of the commission of the alleged crime, and (2) Did he thereafter flee from the State so as to become a fugitive from justice? He argues that according to the evidence no crime had been committed in the State of New York on July 17, 1960, the day when he left, relying on Zulch v. Roach, 23 Wyo. 335, 151 P. 1101, for the principle that the presence of the accused in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the crime is necessary to warrant extradition and that this fact may be inquired into in habeas corpus proceedings. The principle is unimportant here because petitioner admits that he was in the demanding State at the time charged in the indictment. The matter of whether or not the crime occurred at- that time is one of trial. As noted in Strassheim v. Daily, 221 U.S. 280, 286, 31 S.Ct. 558, 55 L.Ed. 735, which we cited with approval in Zulch v. Roach, supra, “the case is not to be tried on habeas corpus, and * * * when * * * it appears that the prisoner was in the state in the neighborhood of the time alleged, it is enough.”

Much discussion is devoted in brief and argument to the contention that petitioner is not a fugitive from justice, and various authorities are presented, all tending to define that term as one who “having commit-ted * * * an act which by the law of the state constitutes a crime * * * aft-erwards has departed from its jurisdiction.” Hogan v. O’Neill, 255 U.S. 52, 56, 41 S.Ct. 222, 223, 65 L.Ed. 497. In general, we would have no objection to such a definition; however, petitioner’s argument is based upon the premise that no crime was committed on July 17, 1960, and as we have previously pointed out, this is a matter for trial and not for determination in the pro•ceeding before us.

It is urged that the indictment ■concerning the false proof is constitutionally defective because it fails to name the person who committed the crime the petitioner is charged with causing and because it fails to name or identify the victim of such crimes. The first portion of this contention is wholly without merit since the petitioner himself is the one accused. As to the second portion, the petitioner cites the cases of United States v. Hess, 124 U.S. 483, 8 S.Ct. 571, 31 L.Ed. 516; United States v. Simmons, 96 U.S. 360, 24 L.Ed. 819; and United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542, 23 L.Ed. 588, which hold that although the language of the statute may be used in the general description of an offense, it must be accompanied with such a statement of the facts and circumstances as will inform the accused of the specific offense coming under the general description with which he is charged. It should be observed that since the case of Hagner v. United States, 285 U.S. 427, 52 S.Ct. 417, 76 L.Ed. 861, this rule has been relaxed, and it has generally been held that indictments and informations couched in the language of a statute are sufficient if they apprise the defendant of the nature of the offense. United States v. Shibley, S.D.Cal., 112 F.Supp. 734, 745. Moreover, the cited cases are all instances of trial and conviction and do not relate to habeas corpus, in which field it is well settled that the sufficiency of the indictment will not be inquired into on habeas corpus and if the indictment substantially charges an offense under the laws of the demanding state although defective it is sufficient for the proceeding. Person v. Morrow, 10 Cir., 108 F.2d 838; 39 C.J.S. Habeas Corpus § 39, p. 554. The indictment charging the petitioner herein is substantially in the words of the statute prohibiting the offense charged.

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404 P.2d 752, 1965 Wyo. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/briggs-v-wilcox-wyo-1965.