Glancy v. Parole Board

293 F. Supp. 74, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8066
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedNovember 22, 1968
DocketCiv. A. No. 31607
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 293 F. Supp. 74 (Glancy v. Parole Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Glancy v. Parole Board, 293 F. Supp. 74, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8066 (E.D. Mich. 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

FOX, District Judge.

This is a habeas corpus proceeding brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2243. Petitioner is contesting his 1965 plea of guilty to larceny in a building and subsequent imprisonment. He has exhausted his state appellate and habeas corpus remedies as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

Petitioner’s first contention is that, contrary to Michigan statute, the prosecuting attorney for the County of Wayne failed to sign his arrest warrant, and, therefore, under the recent case of People v. Carter, 379 Mich. 24, 148 N. W.2d 860 (1967), the Highland Park Municipal Court did not have jurisdiction to issue the arrest warrant. This contention is based on the argument that only the elected prosecuting attorney has authority to sign such an order and the signature of an assistant is invalid.

With several exceptions not applicable to the case at bar, Mich.Comp.L.Ann. § 764.1 permits various public officials to issue warrants for arrest. However, it is not lawful “to issue warrants in any criminal cases * * * until an order in writing allowing the same is filed with such public officials and signed by the prosecuting attorney for the county * * See also to the same effect Mich.Comp.L.Ann. § 774.4.

In People v. Holbrook, 373 Mich. 94, 128 N.W.2d 484 (1964), the Michigan Supreme Court held that a justice of the peace had no jurisdiction to issue a warrant when the prosecuting attorney failed to sign a written order for such warrant. The verdict and sentence were reversed and vacated and the defendant discharged. In taking its jurisdictional stance, the majority (5-3) overruled People v. Griswold, 64 Mich. 722, 31 N. W. 809 (1887), which held to the contrary.

Although the court decided that the signature of the prosecuting attorney on an order for a warrant was a sine qua non to confer jurisdiction on a public official to issue a warrant, the Michigan courts have broadly construed the terms “signature” and “order.” In People v. Carter, supra, although no order in writing for the issuance of a warrant was filed by the prosecuting attorney, he did participate in the preparation of the complaint which was filed with the justice who subsequently issued the warrant. The court held that the justice had jurisdiction because, unlike either Holbrook or Griswold, supra, the prosecuting attorney in Carter participated in the proceedings before the decision to issue the warrant was made. Therefore, reasoned the majority, the signed complaint was a sufficient “order” within [76]*76the meaning of the statute. The crucial question under the Carter court’s rationale, then, is whether or not the prosecuting attorney has participated in the proceedings before the warrant is issued.

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently held that the statutory mandate of a “signed” order was satisfied by a prosecuting attorney who, prior to issuance of the warrant, instructed the township magistrate to prepare a complaint and warrant, dictated the language, reviewed their form and instructed the sheriff to appear before the magistrate and sign the complaint. The court decided that the prosecutor’s participation “clearly signified in writing his approval of the issuance of the warrant” within the Carter rationale. People v. Pelky, 8 Mich.App. 85, 153 N.W.2d 672, 674 (1967).

The precise issue in the case at bar is whether the Highland Park Municipal Court had jurisdiction to issue a warrant for the arrest of petitioner based upon a recommendation signed by an assistant prosecuting attorney in charge of Wayne County’s Out-County Division.

Mich.Comp.L.Ann. § 49.41 provides for the appointment of assistant prosecuting attorneys by the prosecuting attorney. These assistants are empowered to:

“•* * * perform any and all duties pertaining to the office of prosecuting attorney at such time or times as he may be required so to do by the prosecuting attorney and during the absence or disability from any cause of the prosecuting attorney, * *

The statute permits an assistant to perform the duties of the prosecuting attorney only when two conditions are met: (1) the assistant must be required to perform the duty, and (2) the prosecuting attorney must be absent or disabled from any cause.

Therefore, the issue of whether the recommendation signed by an assistant is a properly signed order is dependent upon the question of whether the assistant was authorized to act for the prosecuting attorney in the instant case.

There is no positive proof that the signer, John A. Mowatt, was without authority to sign the recommendation to issue a warrant for the petitioner. Further, the prevalent practice in populous counties to permit assistant prosecuting attorneys to sign recommendations, and even informations, is widely known. There is also a presumption that an administrative officer acts regularly and within the scope of his required duties. There has been no showing that Assistant Mowatt lacked the authority to sign the recommendation. The Michigan Supreme Court long ago established that an assistant prosecuting attorney could institute process:

“The assistant prosecuting attorney, before he enters upon the duties of his office, takes the constitutional oath, and there is no good reason why he should not be empowered to draw, sign, verify, and file informations in the absence, sickness, or disability of his superior. If he can assist in the prosecution of an offender against the laws of the state to such an extent as in reality to manage and control the case, which power has never been doubted, there can be no reasonable or tenable objection to his instituting the process, in the first place, by which the accused is brought into and before the court.” People v. Trombley, 62 Mich. 278, 279, 28 N.W. 837, 838 (1886).

Granting, then, that an assistant can be required to sign an order under the statutory authority providing for such assistants, and assuming a duty to do so in the instant case, a question remains as to whether the prosecuting attorney was absent or disabled from the proceeding.

The sheer volume of actions which flow through a metropolitan county’s prosecutor’s office makes it physically impossible for the elected prosecuting attorney to personally sign every recommendation or information. The President’s Commission on Law Enforcement [77]*77and Administration of Justice clearly illustrates this fact in its Task Force Report: THE COURTS in its analysis of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office:

“Cases sent by the police department to the prosecutor’s office are initially reviewed by one of several young assistants assigned to perform that function. * * * The assistant’s decision whether or not to recommend a warrant is reviewed by a senior assistant.” Id. at 132.

In 1965 alone, over 46,000 arrests were made for local nontraffic offenses, of which almost 28,000 were prosecuted. Id. at 130.

Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
293 F. Supp. 74, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glancy-v-parole-board-mied-1968.