United States v. Sauer

73 F. 671, 1896 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedApril 6, 1896
DocketNo. 34
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 73 F. 671 (United States v. Sauer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Sauer, 73 F. 671, 1896 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19 (W.D. Tex. 1896).

Opinion

MAXEY, District Judge.

This suit was instituted by the United States, through the district attorney, to recover the penalty of a bail bond, in the sum of $1,000, executed by George Bauer as principal and J. O. Lackland and Richard Capíes as sureties. It is alleged in the petition that the complaint upon which Sauer was arrested was made before F. B. Sexton, a circuit court commissioner at El Paso, on the 12th day of October, A. D. 1894, and, pending the preliminary examination before the- commissioner, the defendant Bauer was required to enter into a bond, payable to the United States, to make. Ms pergonal appearance before the commissioner, at his office in El Paso, on the 1st day of Xoveixifoer, 1894, to further answer the complaint, and there remain from day to day until by the commissioner discharged.

[672]*672The bond, which is duly signed by Sauer, Lackland, and Capíes, is in these words:

“The United States of America. Western District of Texas.
“Know all men by these presents, that we, George Sauer, of El Paso county, as principal, and J. O. Lackland, of El Paso county, and Richard Gaples, of El Paso county, as sureties, acknowledge ourselves to owe and stand indebted unto the United States of America .in the sum of one thousand dollars, for the imyment of which, well and truly to be made, we hereby do jointly and severally bind ourselves, our heirs, and legal representatives. Conditioned to be void if the above-named George Sauer shall well and truly make his personal appearance before E. B. Sexton, commissioner of the circuit court of the United States for the Western district of Texas, at El Paso, at the office of said commissioner, on the 1st day of November, 1894, and there remain from day to day until discharged by the commissioner, to answer the United States in a complaint filed against him, the said George Sauer, in said commissioner's court, charging him with having and receiving into his possession and concealing smuggled goods.
“Witness our hands this 16th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four.”

It is further alleged that the hearing continued until the 8 th day of November, at which time Sauer failed to appear, and the bond was duly declared forfeited by the commissioner. Greater particularity in reciting the cause of action becomes unnecessary in view of the questions raised upon the demurrers.

The defendants appeared, by their attorneys, and interposed several demurrers to the petition, which may be properly and conveniently embodied in the two following: (1) A general demurrer; (2) a special demurrer, as follows:

“That said bond set out in the plaintiff’s petition charges that defendants obligated themselves that said Sauer should appear [at the time and place therein mentioned] to answer the United States in a complaint filed against him, the said George Sauer, in said commissioner’s court, charging him with having and receiving into his possession and concealing smuggled goods; that there is no offense charged, 'the said bond not charging that said George Sauer knew that said goods had been or were smuggled goods.”

Under the general demurrer the question is presented whether the commissioner had authority to taire a bond with surety for the appearance of the defendant before himself. And the answer to this inquiry must necessarily depend upon the law by which circuit court commissioners are governed in admitting to bail persons who are charged before them with the commission of crime. The power of commissioners to act as committing magistrates is conferred by section 1014, Rev. St. U. S., which is in the following language:

“For any crime or offense against the United States, the offender may, by any justice or judge of the United States, or by any commissioner of a circuit court to false bail, or by any chancellor, judge of a supreme or superior court, chief or first 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 or process against offenders in such state, and at the expense of the United States, be arrested and imprisoned, or bailed,' as the case may be, for trial before such court of the United States as by law has cognizance of the offense.”

The question whether, under this statute, the commissioner has authority to take bail for the appearance of a defendant before him[673]*673self, has been considered by the courts in several cases; and it has been uniformly ruled, so far as the court is advised, that such power exists only when it is conferred upon examining magistrates by the laws of the state in which the proceeding takes place. And, on the other hand, the power has been denied in a case where the state statutes did not confer it upon committing magistrates. The cases of U. S. v. Rundlett, 2 Curt. 41-48, Fed. Cas. No. 16,208, and 12 Myers, Fed. Dec. § 1525, and U. S. v. Horton, 2 Dill. 94, Fed. Cas. No. 15,393, come within the first category, and U. S. v. Case, 8 Blatchf. 250-254, Fed. Cas. No. 14,742, and 12 Myers, Fed. Dec. § 1529, is embraced within the second.

In the three cases cited the decisions are based upon the ground that, under section 1014, Rev. St., the courts are relegated to the state statutes to ascertain and determine the nature and extent of the duties and powers of commissioners in arresting, imprisoning, and bailing persons accused of offenses against tlie United States. Thus, in Rundlett’s Case, it is said by Mr. Justice Curtis that, in his opinion:

“It was the intention of congress hy these words, ‘agreeably to the usual mode ol 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 by the laws of the state where the proceedings should take place; and, as a necessary consequence, that the commissioners have power to order a recognizance to be given to appear before them in those states where justices of the peace or other examining magistrates, acting under the laws of the state, have such power.”

In U. S. v. Horton, supra, it is said by Judge Dillon that;

“Whatever authority the commissioner has in respect to the arresting, imprisoning, or hailing of criminal offenders is conferred hy statute, and must be exercised by him jrarsuant to its requirements. Congress has not seen fit to prescribe a uniform mode of its own in respect to preliminary proceedings against persons accused of a violation of its criminal enactments, hut in the thirty-third section of the judiciary act it is provided that the procedure in such cases should he ‘agreeably to the usual mode of process against offenders in such state’; that is, in the state in which the offenders may be arrested and the proceedings had. To this section we must resort to ascertain tlie powers of commissioners in respect to the arrest, imprisonment, and bail of offenders against the laws of the United States.”

And in U. S. v. Case, supra, where the commissioner was held to be without power to take a recognizance conditioned for the appearance of the accused before himself for further examination, because the laws of New York conferred no such authority upon committing magistrates, Judge Woodruff employs this language in reference to the ruling of Mr. Justice Curtis:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
73 F. 671, 1896 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sauer-txwd-1896.