State Ex Rel. Davey v. Owen

12 N.E.2d 144, 133 Ohio St. 96, 133 Ohio St. (N.S.) 96, 114 A.L.R. 686, 10 Ohio Op. 102, 1937 Ohio LEXIS 154
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 15, 1937
Docket26774
StatusPublished
Cited by86 cases

This text of 12 N.E.2d 144 (State Ex Rel. Davey v. Owen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Davey v. Owen, 12 N.E.2d 144, 133 Ohio St. 96, 133 Ohio St. (N.S.) 96, 114 A.L.R. 686, 10 Ohio Op. 102, 1937 Ohio LEXIS 154 (Ohio 1937).

Opinion

Gorman, J.

The issues' presented in the habeas corpus proceedings filed in Clark county on behalf of Heimie Ashkenazie must be determined under the provisions of the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (Am. H. B. No. 108, 117 Ohio Laws, —, Sections 109-1 to 109-32, General Code) which became effective August 20, 1937.

Under that enactment it is specifically provided that, subject to its provisions, the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and all acts of Congress enacted in pursuance thereof shall be controlling in matters pertaining to extradition. Section 109-2, General Code.

The principal question involved _ in this case is whether the institution of lunacy proceedings in the Probate Court against one charged with a crime in a sister state will prevent the Governor of Ohio or a court of record of this state from honoring a demand for the surrender of the alleged fugitive.

*101 The Governor of Ohio issued his warrant on September 9, 1937, directing that the alleged fugitive, Heimie Ashkenazie, be turned over to the agent of the state of Georgia for the purpose of returning him to that state for trial on a charge of arson. The presumption is that the Governor of Ohio, in issuing his warrant, acted in conformity with the provisions of law. Maloney v. Sheriff of Hamilton County, 98 Ohio St., 463, 121 N. E., 646.

When the extradition papers from Georgia were presented to the Governor of Ohio, he had the right at a hearing to determine whether the person demanded is substantially charged with a crime against the laws of the state of Georgia, from whose justice he is alleged to have fled, by an indictment or an affidavit, and whether the person demanded is a fugitive from the state of Georgia. Section 109-3, General Code. Roberts v. Reilly, 116 U. S., 80, 29 L. Ed., 544, 6 S. Ct., 291; Munsey v. Clough, 196 U. S., 364, 49 L. Ed., 515, 25 S. Ct., 282; Appleyard v. Massachusetts, 203 U. S., 222, 51 L. Ed., 161, 27 S. Ct., 122; 81 A. L. R., 552.

Under former statutes, an alleged fugitive could test the sufficiency of the extradition proceedings either in a hearing before the Court of Common Pleas upon the warrant of the Governor or by an application for habeas corpus. Under the present act, it is provided that no person arrested upon a warrant of the Governor shall be delivered to the agent of the demanding state unless he shall first be taken before a judge of a court of record in this state and, “if the prisoner or his counsel shall state that he or they desire to test the legality of his arrest, the judge of such court of record shall fix a reasonable time to be • allowed him within which to apply for a writ of habeas corpus.” Section 109-10, General Code.

Heimie Ashkenazie, an alleged fugitive, had a right, *102 therefore, to test the sufficiency of the extradition proceedings in habeas corpus before the Court of Common Pleas of Clark county. The statute, however, expressly provides that “the guilt or innocence of the accused as to the crime of which he is charged may not be inquired into by the Governor or in any proceeding after demand .for extradition” has been presented. (Italics ours.) Section 109-20, General Code. The Court of Common Pleas' in habeas corpus has no greater power to determine the regularity of the extradition proceedings than the Governor. The same issues and questions may be presented to both. Wilson v. Nolze, 34 Ohio St., 520.

Absence from the scene of the crime or an alibi cannot be shown unless it is probative of the fact that the accused is not a fugitive. Benson v. Henkel, 198 U. S., 1, 49 L. Ed., 919, 25 S. Ct., 569. Neither can the claim that the offense is outlawed by the statute of limitations be determined. United States v. Cook, 84 U. S. (17 Wall.), 168, 21 L. Ed., 538; 77 A. L. R., 902. These are matters of defense, and must be determined by the courts of the demanding state. Kentucky v. Dennison, Governor, 65 U. S. (24 How.), 66, 16 L. Ed., 717; Ex parte Reggel, 114 U. S., 642, 29 L. Ed., 250, 5 S. Ct., 1148; In re Moyer, 12 Idaho, 250, 85 P., 897, 12 L. R. A. (N. S.), 227.

In a widely discussed case it was held that whether the alleged fugitive was insane at the time of the commission of the offense could not be determined by the laws of the state where he sought asylum, but must be decided by the laws and by the courts of the demanding state where the offense occurred. Drew, Sheriff, v. Thaw, 235 U. S., 432, 59 L. Ed., 302, 35 S. Ct., 137.

No claim is made in this instance that Ashkenazie was insane at the time of the commission of the offense. It is contended that he is now insane, and that until the Probate Court determines such question the *103 Governor of Ohio wás without authority to issue a warrant.

The warrant of the Governor was issued after the lunacy proceedings had been commenced, but not until after the extradition papers had been presented by the agent of Georgia to the Governor of Ohio.

Under the provisions of Section 10501-53, General Code, “except as hereinafter provided, the Probate Court shall have jurisdiction * * * to make inquests respecting lunatics, insane persons, idiots and deaf and dumb persons, subject by law to guardianship.”

Accompanying the application for a hearing for commitment “information shall also be furnished to the probate judge as to whether or not it will be proper to bring such insane person into court, and as to whether or not * * * his' being at large is dangerous to the community.” Section 1953, General Code.

In order to commit to an institution, the probate judge must be satisfied that the person is insane, and accompanying the order of commitment must be a certificate of his condition signed by two medical witnesses. Sections 1956,1957 and 1958, General Code.

If examining physicians report that the person named in the lunacy warrant should not be brought into court, a hearing may be conducted in his absence. Section 1955, General Code. A person may even voluntarily apply and be committed to a state institution for the insane. Sections 1972 and 1973, General Code.

A review of these provisions shows that the proceeding is purely an ex parte one. The prosecuting attorney is not present to object to the proceedings. They are purely civil in their nature and not of an adversary character.

The probate judge has a wide latitude in determining whether one is sane or insane. On the other hand, where a plea is made in this state, under the provisions of Section 13441-1, General Code, that a defendant *104 under indictment is insane at the time of trial, there are well, established tests to determine his mental capacity.

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Bluebook (online)
12 N.E.2d 144, 133 Ohio St. 96, 133 Ohio St. (N.S.) 96, 114 A.L.R. 686, 10 Ohio Op. 102, 1937 Ohio LEXIS 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-davey-v-owen-ohio-1937.