Peters v. Koepke

59 N.E. 33, 156 Ind. 35, 1901 Ind. LEXIS 15
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 4, 1901
DocketNo. 19,392
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 59 N.E. 33 (Peters v. Koepke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peters v. Koepke, 59 N.E. 33, 156 Ind. 35, 1901 Ind. LEXIS 15 (Ind. 1901).

Opinion

Dowling, C. J.

The appellant filed in the Vanderburgh Circuit Court his petition for a writ of liabeas corpus, alleging that he was unlawfully restrained of his liberty in the jail of that county by the appellee, who was the -sheriff thereof. The petition further state,d that on January 26, 1900, appellant was charged upon affidavit in the police court of the city of Evansville with having on January'25, •1900, at said county, committed an assault and battery upon one Samuel-J. Smith; that he was arrested upon said charge, and taken before the judge of the said police court; , that for plea to the affidavit he said that he had previously •been.arrested, and had pleaded guilty to a like- charge.for the same offense before a justice of the peace of said county; that he had moved for his discharge from'custody for'the ..reason .that said, police court had no jurisdiction over his person;. that the judge of said court falsely asserted that the appellant' had pleaded guilty to the said -charge' in said pólice courtj" which was denied by the petitioner, who asked that the record of said court be corrected so as to show that lie did --not plead guilty; that said request was refused; that ‘said appellant filed his affidavit for a change of judge, but that his'motion was overruled; that the judge, of'tlie police . pourt, over the objection of the petitioner, proceeded to hear said cause, and assessed a fine of $1,000 against said .petitioner; with the -further penalty of imprisonment in the [37]*37county jail for six months; that, after the adjournment ofj said court, the judge thereof, by telephone, without the ' knowledge or consent of the petitioner, reduced the said fine to'$¿00 with imprisonment for six months.

'It is further stated in the petition, that said petitioner; previous to the Said proceedings, had committed an assault and battery upon the said Samuel J. Smith at Said county;"' that he had been charged with said misdemeanor before one Eben C. Poole, a justice of the peace of said county'; that - he had been arrested for said offense upon a warrant issued ' by said justice, 'and had pleaded guilty to the said charge; that judgment in said cause had been suspended until'the injured person could be brought into court to testify as' to' tlie! character of said assault, and for'the purpose of procuring the attendance of the prosecuting attorney; that the assault and- battery charged in the affidavit beforé the said justice of the peace was the same misdemeanor described in the affidavit filed in said police court. The petition con-" chided with the statement that the imprisonment of the petitioner was illegal for the reason that the judge of the' police court had'no jurisdiction of the person of the' peti-' tioner, and that the judgment and mittimus of said police court in said’ cause were wholly void. ...

The writ was issued, and the sheriff made his return to the same under oath. The return showed that the'appellee'' was the sheriff of said Vanderburgh county, and that as such sheriff he had the said Richard Peters in his custody by virtue 'of a mittimus duly issued by the clerk of' the police court of the' city of Evansville, a copy of which mittimus was made a part of the return; that the said mittimhá was founded upon a judgment rendered against said Peters ’ in the police court of the city of Evansville, Indiana, a coutt -of' competent "jurisdiction; that, at the time of his arraignment on said charge in said police court, the pe'ti- ! tioner, for plea thereto,-said that he was guilty'as charged,' and that he did not deny the jurisdiction of said court in' [38]*38any manner; that, thereupon, after' hearing tile'Evidence, the court fotmd the petitioner guilty, and assessed his punishment at a fine of $500, with imprisonment in the county jail for six months; that said petitioner was imprisoned in said jail upon a mittimus issued in pursuance of the said judgment, and that the period of the confinement of said petitioner, under, said judgment and mittimus, had not expired. . It was also shown by the return that the affidavit charging the petitioner with said assault and battery was filed in said police court before the filing of the affidavit with the said Eben C. Poole, justice of the peace; that the latter affidavit was unlawfully procured to be filed at the instigation of the said petitioner, and for the purpose of defeating the proper prosecution of the petitioner for the said offense. Copies of the affidavit, proceedings, and judgment of the police court were made parts of the return.

Exceptions to the sufficiency of the return were filed by the petitioner, and were overruled. .The return was not further controverted. The court, after hearing the evidence, found against the petitioner that he was not illegally restrained of- his liberty, and it was adjudged that he be remanded to the custody of the'sheriff. The petitioner moved for a rehearing, his motion was overruled, and he excepted. The errors assigned are upon the rulings of the court on appellant’s exceptions, to the return to the' writ of habeas corpus, and on the motion for a rehearing, or new trial, . ■ '

The legal sufficiency of several of the grounds relied upon by the appellant for his discharge under the writ'ofhabeas corpus may well be questioned. According to the later, and, as we think, the more correct decisions in this State, the records even of a court of inferior and limited jurisdiction, where it is affirmatively shown, upon their face,' that the court had jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the1 action, and of the person of the defendant, are entitled to the same respect and are equally invulnerable to collateral attack as [39]*39those of courts of general jurisdiction. McLaughlin v. Etchison, 127 Ind. 474, 22 Am. St. 658; Fitch v. Byall, 149 Ind. 554; Harrod v. Dismore, 127 Ind. 338; Jones v. Cullen, 142 Ind. 335; VanFleet’s Coll. Att. §526, p. 538. Besides, it is expressly declared in the statute creating the police court of'the city of Evansville that “all its judgments, decrees, orders and proceedings shall have the same force and effect as those of the criminal or circuit courts, except that no judgment shall be a lien on the real estate, otherwise,” etc. §4017 Burns 1894. • ■

The refusal of a justice of the peace, or- other, court, to grant a change of ventie when a sufficient affidavit is filed does not render the subsequent proceedings in the cause void. Turner v. Conkey, 132 Ind. 248, 32 Am. St. 251, overruling Smelzer v. Lockhart, 97 Ind. 315, and State v. Wolever, 127 Ind. 306. See, also, Barnhart v. Davis, 30 Kan. 520, 2 Pac. 633; City of Ottumwa v. Schaub, 52 Iowa 515, 3 N. W. 529.

The pendency of a criminal action against a defendant, for the same offense, in another'court, where jeopardy has not attached, is not available to defeat a prosecution in a court, of competent jurisdiction. Dutton v. State, 5 Ind. 533; Hardin v. State, 22 Ind. 347; Haase v. State, 8 Ind. App. 488; State v. Osborn, 155 Ind. 385.

Where a person who has committed a crime or misdemeanor procures an affidavit to be filed' against himself, or a suit to be instituted by a friend or attorney, in- the name of the State, for the purpose of defeating a prosecution against him already commenced in good faith, or anticipated, a judgment so procured in such-case affords.no protection to the defendant. Halloran v. State, 80 Ind. 586; Watkins

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Bluebook (online)
59 N.E. 33, 156 Ind. 35, 1901 Ind. LEXIS 15, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peters-v-koepke-ind-1901.