Smith v. Idaho

253 F. Supp. 228, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7712
CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedMarch 22, 1966
DocketCiv. No. 1-66-14
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 253 F. Supp. 228 (Smith v. Idaho) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Idaho, 253 F. Supp. 228, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7712 (D. Idaho 1966).

Opinion

McNICHOLS, District Judge.

The court has before it a Habeas Corpus proceeding arising out of an. attempt by the State of Missouri to extradite the petitioner from the State of Idaho to answer a complaint charging first degree murder.

Charles E. Smith petitioned this court for issuance of a Writ of Habeas Corpus alleging, in. essence, that he was being illegally and unconstitutionally imprisoned and restrained of his liberty in the Ada County, State of Idaho, jail by the Sheriff of that county. It was contended in the petition that such confinement was purportedly based on a Rendition Warrant of Extradition executed by the Governor of the State of Idaho. The validity of the Warrant was contested on the following statutory grounds:

1. That the petitioner was not a fugitive from justice, and that the petitioner was not in the State of Missouri on or about the 26th of October, 1961 (the time charged in the Complaint), or at any other time pertinent thereto.
2. That the instruments upon which the purported Warrant was issued did not substantially charge anyone of a crime under the laws of the State of Missouri and that the papers upon which said purported Warrant was issued were invalid and defective.
3. That the petitioner denied that he was the party sought and named. Jurisdiction was alleged in this court

on the authority of the provisions of Article IV, § 2, Constitution of the United States; 18 U.S.C. § 3182; and the Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

Petitioner further plead an exhaustion of State remedies.

On the foregoing showing, a Writ of Habeas Corpus was issued directing the said Sheriff to produce the petitioner before this court on a day certain and to provide a written return showing the authority for the alleged restraint of the person of the petitioner.

By way of such return, the Sheriff made showing that he held the petitioner by authority of a Rendition Warrant issued by the Governor of the State of Idaho directing the Sheriff of Ada County to arrest and deliver the petitioner to the named authorized representative of the State of Missouri as a result of a certain extradition determination. The Sheriff further represented that petitioner had been, in the month of June, 1963, afforded a full and complete hearing, with the assistance of counsel, before the District Court of the Third Judicial District of the State of Idaho in and for Ada County; that said hearing dealt with the merits of an identical petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus which was then presented before the said District Court and that a decision thereon adverse to the petitioner had been the subject of an unsuccessful appeal to the State Supreme Court of the State of Idaho. It was further noted in the return that the United States Supreme Court had denied certiorari on proper application.

A hearing was held before this court on February 28, 1966; the Ada County [230]*230Sheriff was present and produced the petitioner who was represented by his counsel, Allen Derr, Esquire; the State of Idaho was represented by Allyn Dingle, Assistant Attorney General of Idaho, and defendant Sheriff by Martin Huff, Prosecuting Attorney of Ada County, State of Idaho.

The defendant Sheriff was sworn and testified that he had arrested and was holding the petitioner under the authority of a Rendition Warrant issued by the Governor of this State. The Warrant was identified and admitted into evidence. By stipulation, the transcript of evidence and Clerk’s record in the case entitled “Charles E. Smith, Plaintiff, v. State of Idaho, Defendant, Habeas Corpus No. 14” in Ada County, State of Idaho, was made a part of the record as was a copy of the opinion of the Idaho Supreme Court, on appeal of the above entitled case, which opinion was found on June 11,1965 and is reported at 89 Idaho 70, 403 P.2d 221. It was further agreed that the entire record presented before the United States Supreme Court was to be made a part of thé record before this court; except that the petitioner reserved objection to the admission of any evidence of affidavits for the purpose of showing presence of the petitioner in the State of Missouri at the alleged time and proving identity of petitioner.

Counsel for the petitioner then sought a continuance to prepare and file a traverse of the return to the Writ of Habeas Corpus and the same was granted. Such traverse has been filed. In addition to reiterating the issues raised by the petition, the traverse seeks to open the door for the presentation of additional evidence over and above that presented in the state trial court. It is alleged that this is newly-discovered evidence. Petitioner also filed an application for leave to take a deposition, within twenty days, of a witness named Clay, .whose testimony was not heard in the trial court.

On questioning by the court, counsel for the petitioner took the position that this court was obliged to hear the case de novo and should take additional evidence as presented. The attorneys for the State of Idaho and the defendant Sheriff rejected this position and urged that the court only look to the question of whether or not the petitioner had been afforded protection of his constitutional rights in the state proceedings.

Petitioner has been given an opportunity to make a showing that any part of the record of proceedings before the state court was inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise faulty, as presented in this court. It is conceded by the petitioner that a complete and accurate record of the state court action is presently before this court, including the entire record presented to the United States Supreme Court.

I find nothing in the law, either statutory or by court decision, which grants, to an alleged fugitive from justice, an absolute right to relitigate state extradition proceedings in the federal courts. Conversely, it is well established that jurisdiction exists (indeed the duty exists) for the retrial of state matters on Writ of Habeas Corpus where the applicant did not receive a full and fair evidentiary hearing in the state court with findings made on the relevant facts and proper legal standards applied thereto. Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed.2d 770.

In evaluating the state process here under review, it must be kept in mind that the guilt or innocence of the petitioner is not being determined. Further, it must be assumed that in the event the petitioner is returned to the State of Missouri, he will be granted, by that state, a trial before a fair and impartial tribunal with full protection of his constitutionally guaranteed rights.

It is thus to be appreciated that the determination of this court is not a final adjudication over the future of the petitioner — but is only a consideration of the propriety of delivering him from one state to another for the purpose of affording the petitioner, and society, a full scope judicial determination of the ultimate issue.

[231]*231The constitutional provision governing extradition between states is found in Art. 4, Sec. 2, United States Constitution:

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Bluebook (online)
253 F. Supp. 228, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7712, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-idaho-idd-1966.