33 Pa. Super. 594 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1907
Opinion by
The third assignment of error raises a question as to the sufficiency of the executive warrant. The constitutional provision upon the subject of fugitives from justice is in these words : “ A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime: ” Const, of the U. S., article iv., sec. 2. Under this provision of the constitution and the act of congress of February 12,1793, Revised Statutes 1022 passed in furtherance thereof, it is requisite: that a demand for the fugitive from justice be made by the executive authority of the state or territory from which he fled; that this be accompanied by an indictment found or an affidavit made before a magistrate charging the fugitive with having committed a crime against the law of the state or territory; and that the copy of the indictment or affidavit be certified as authentic by the chief executive of the state or territory from which such person fled. It is claimed that the warrant issued by the governor of this commonwealth upon the requisition of the governor of the state of New York, which is under review in this appeal, is defective in not showing that the offense alleged in the indict
The question which the appellant seeks to raise by the other two assignments is thus stated by his counsel: “ Is defendant permitted to show that he is not only innocent of the alleged offense, but also that he had no connection whatever with the act and that the prosecution, etc., are not in good faith, but for the mere purpose of collecting an alleged debt?” The proper place for inquiry into the question of the guilt or innocence of the alleged fugitive from justice is in the courts of the state were the offense is charged to have been committed: Pettibone v. Nichols, 208 U. S. 192. And it is not apparent to us that, upon habeas corpus in extradition proceedings, evidence tending to show that the prosecution was not begun in good faith, but for the mere purpose of collecting a debt is receivable, or that, if received and believed, it would warrant the court in discharging the fugitive. But we need not go into the question as to the extent of the power of the court administering the writ of habeas corpus to review upon evidence the action of the governor of the commonwealth; for whatever may be its power in that particular, our revisory jurisdiction on appeal is very limited, and does not go to the extent here claimed. It is only such as the Supreme Court had upon certiorari prior to the act of 1887, wherebjr the name “ appeal ” was given to all appellate proceedings. In Commonwealth v. McDougall, 203 Pa. 291, which was an appeal from an order of the common pleas in a case of habeas corpus for the custody of a child, the Supreme Court distinctly declared that there is no appeal in the case of habeas corpus, even for the
Finding no error or irregularity in the record the order must 'be affirmed.
The order remanding the relator, Richard C. Flower, is affirmed, and the record is remitted to the court below with directions that the said Richard C. Flower forthwith surrender himself into the custody to which he was remanded and that the aforesaid order hereby affirmed and the governor’s warrant referred to in these proceedings be fully carried into effect. •