United States v. Keiver

56 F. 422, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 2688
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Western Wisconsin
DecidedJune 5, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 56 F. 422 (United States v. Keiver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Western Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Keiver, 56 F. 422, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 2688 (circtwdwi 1893).

Opinion

BUNN, District Judge.

This is an action upon a penal bond given by Albert A. Cadwallader as principal and .Joseph H. Keiver as his surety for the appearance of said Cadwallader at a special rerm of the'United States district court to be field at the city of Madison on the 21st day of June, A. D. 1892, and also before said district court, from term to term thereof, to answer any indictment that might be found against said Cadwallader for violation of section 5209, Rev. St. U. S., on the charge of embezzling, abstracting, and willfully misapplying the moneys, credits, and funds of the Superior Bank of the City of Superior. The defendant made default, and the bond was declared forfeited on January 10, I.S93. Since the execution of the bond Joseph II. Keiver died, and the suit is brought against Margaret Keiver, as administra-trix of his estate.

There is a demurrer put in by the defendant assigning various reasons why (he action cannot be maintained. Among others, it is claimed that the action does not survive, and so cannot be maintained against the estate of the surety upon the bond. Tins ground is not well chosen. The action is on contract. The purpose of the obligation is to secure the appearance of the principal to answer to a criminal charge. The defendant, instead of going' to jail, and being kept in the custody of the marshal, is delivered over to the safe-keeping' of the surely who undertakes to have him in attendance to answer any indictment that may be found, and also to have him in attendance at any subsequent term of the court to answer to his trial. Such obligations would be of but little force and service if they did not survive the death of the surety. It is a continuing obligation and binds the estate of the obligor upon his death.

[424]*424But tliere are two objections to the sufficiency of the complaint that, in the judgment of the court, are well taken: •

(1) The complaint does not anywhere show the occasion for the taking of the bond, does not allege that any criminal proceedings had been commenced or were pending against Cadwallader, that any examination had been had before any officer qualified by law to hold an examination or admit to bail, nor that upon any such examination or otherwise it was held or adjudged that there was probable cause for believing the defendant guilty, or that he was held to bail or required to put in bail by anybody. For aught that appears in the complaint, the giving baii was a voluntary proceeding. This will not do. It should appear that the bond was given in a pending legal proceeding against the prisoner, before an officer having jurisdiction, and qualified to hold examinations and admit to bail, and under circumstances where it was proper to require bail to be given, or, in default thereof, to commit to jail. The jurisdiction to hold to bail is statutory and special, and exists only in the cases named in the statute, and the particular facts bringing the ease within the statute should appear to have existed. People v. Koeber, 7 Hill, (N. Y.) 39; People v. Young, Id. 44; Vose v. Deane, 7 Mass. 280; People v. Brown, 23 Wend. 49; Andress v. State, 3 Blackf. 108; State v. Lamoine, 53 Vt. 568; Treasurer v. Merrill, 14 Vt. 64; Dickinson v. State, (Neb.) 29 N. W. Rep. 184.

(2) The bond in suit was made returnable at a special term, not then called, and which, when called, was called at a different, term than that named in the bond, and after the elapse of two regular and general terms of the court, at which the prisoner may have been tried, and to which the bond might and should have been made returnable, according to the statute. This objection is fatal, and cannot be cured by amendment, as the facts are no doub.t correctly alleged as they appear of record. Section 4808, Rev. StWis., provides that—

“Any person who is arrested by virtue of a, warrant charging him with a bailable offense which the court or officers before whom such warrant is returnable has no jurisdiction to try, may waive an examination thereon, and, except in cases of murder, enter into recognizance, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by such officer, for his appearance at the next term of the circuit court of the county, and such defendant shall thereupon be discharged.”

And section 4810 provides that—

“Whenever any person charged with a criminal offense shall be admitted to bail for his appearance at the circuit court to answer the same, ho may, at his option, give bail either for his appearance at the then pending or next regular term thereof, or for his appearauce at such term, and from term to term thereafter until discharged by law.”

Congress has never undertaken to regulate by statute the process or mode of requiring hail in criminal cases, hut, as in most matters of legal procedure, refers such process to the mode prescribed by the statute of the state where the court sits. Section 1014, Rev. St. U. S., provides that—

[425]*425“For ¡my crimp or offense against ike United Stales tlie offender may, by any justice or judge oí the United States, or by any commissioner of a circuit court to fake bail, or by any chancellor, judge of a supreme or superior court, chief or iirst judge of common pleas, mayor of a city, justice of the peace, or other magistrate, of any state where he may be found, and agreeably to the usual mode of process against offenders in such state;, and at the expense of Ihe United States, be arrested and imprisoned or bailed, as ihe case may be, for trial before such court of the United States as by law has cognizance of the offense.”

This statute evidently refers the details of the proceeding to the state statute, and it is hy that law that we must determine their regularity and validity. Under this statute, which is taken from tlie original judiciary act of September 24,1789,(1 Slat. 91,) it was held hy Judge Curtis in U. S. v. Rundlett, 2 Curt. 41, that it was the intention of congress hy the words “agreeably to the usual mode of process against, offenders in such state” to assimilate all the proceedings for holding accused persons to answer before a court of the United States to the proceedings had for similar purposes hy the laws of the state where the proceedings should take place; and that, the prisoner is not only to he arrested and imprisoned, but hailed, agreeably to the usual mode of process in the state court. This decision has been recognized and followed in later case's. See U. S. v. Horton’s Sureties, 2 Dill. 94; U. S. v. Case, 8 Blatchf. 250. In the first of these cases, decided hy Judge Dillon, where the statute of Missouri provided for the adjournment of an examination for a period not exceeding 10 days at one time, and (he commissioner, at the prisoner’s request, had continued the examination for 49 days, and taken hail for his appearance at the •end of that time, and the bail having been forfeited, it was held that, the commissioner's order for the appearance of ihe accused was contrary to law, and that the recognizance was void. And in the hitter casi;, decided by Judge Woodruff, it, was held that in Aew York, where state magistrates have no power to take recog-, nizaneos, United States commissioners have no such authority,, and that, a, bond conditioned for the appearance of the accused before the commissioner on a future day to which the proceeding was adjourned was void.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 F. 422, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 2688, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-keiver-circtwdwi-1893.