19 Wash. 306 | Wash. | 1898
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The appellant, R. L. Barbee, made complaint in writing under oath' to the municipal court of
“Ho court or judge shall inquire into the legality of any judgment or process whereby the party is in custody, or discharge him when the term of commitment has not expired, in either of the cases following:
The only question, therefore, to he determined is whether the municipal court had jurisdiction to make the final order committing the said Annie Barbee to the state reform school, for if it had such jurisdiction the judgment of the trial court must be affirmed. Errors and irregularities in the procedure in the trial court cannot be inquired into by habeas corpus, unless they are such as to affect the power or jurisdiction of the court to act in the case. Such matters can only be corrected by appeal or some other appropriate remedy. 9 Am. & Eng. Enc. Law, p. 227, and notes; In re Rafferty, 1 Wash. 382 (25 Pac. 455); In re Lybarger, 2 Wash. 131 (25 Pac, 1075).
The act creating municipal courts made them courts of record, and granted them jurisdiction
“ 1. Of any and all offenses under any ordinance of their respective cities. 2. Of all criminal offenses under the laws of the state of Washington, charged to have been committed within their respective cities, less than a felony. 3. The judges of said courts shall have all the powers of a committing magistrate as to all offenses committed within their respective cities,”
and provided that
“Wherever the jurisdiction hereby conferred may be exercised by other courts, under the constitution and laws of this state, the jurisdiction hereby conferred shall be deemed to be concurrent with such other courts.” Laws 1891, p. 108 (Bal. Code, § 744).
The effect of the provision last above quoted is to give these courts concurrent jurisdiction with justice courts. And this is further shown by § 4 of the act (Bal. Code, § 746), which provides for a change of venue from the
“ When a boy or girl of sane mind between the ages of eight and sixteen-years shall, in any court of record in this state, be found guilty of any crime except murder or manslaughter, or who for want of proper paternal care is growing up in mendicancy or vagrancy, or is incorrigible, and complaint thereof is made and properly sustained, the court may, if in its opinion the accused is a proper subject therefor, instead of entering judgment cause an order to be entered that said boy or girl be sent to the state reform school, in pursuance of the provisions of this act, and a copy of said order under the seal of said court shall be sufficient warrant for carrying said boy or girl to the said school, and for his or her commitment to the custody of the superintendent thereof.”
We think it will appear from a careful consideration of that section that it was the intention of the legislature to provide for committing juvenile offenders to the reform school in either of two separate and distinct classes of cases. One is where complaint is made of incorrigibility, mendicancy or vagrancy, and is properly sustained, and the other where a boy or girl of the age specified has been tried and found guilty of any crime except murder or manslaughter, that is, of any other crime included in the
“ When a boy or girl .. . . between the ages of eight and sixteen years shall be convicted before a justice of the peace or other inferior court of any crime, mendi*311 caney, vagrancy or incorrigibility, it shall be the duty of said magistrate before whom he or she may be convicted to forthwith send such boy or girl, together with all the papers filed in his office upon the subject, under the control of some officer, to a judge of a court of record. He shall then issue an order to the parent or guardian of said boy or girl, or such person as may have him or her in charge, or with whom he or she has last resided, or any one known to be near related to him or her, or if she or he be alone and friendless then to sueh person said judge may appoint to act as guardian for the purposes of the eases, requiring him or her to appear at the time and place stated in said order to show cause why said boy or girl should not be committed to the said state reform school for training and reformation.”
Section 3 (Bal. Code, § 2723) provides for the service by the sheriff, or other qualified officer, of the order, and § 4 (Bal. Code, § 2724) provides that
“ At the time and place mentioned in said order, or at the time and place to which it may be adjourned, if the parent or guardian to whom said order may be addressed shall appear, then in his or her presence, or if he or she fail to appear, then in the presence of some competent person whom the said judge shall appoint as guardian for the purposes of the case, it shall be lawful for the said judge to proceed to take the voluntary examination of said boy or girl, and to hear the statements of the party appearing for him or her and such testimony in relation to the case as may be produced, and if upon such examination and hearing the said judge shall be satisfied that the boy or girl is a fit subject for the state reform school, he may commit him or her to said school by warrant.”
Now, it is evident that the words “ or other inferior court,” found in § 2 can refer, so far at least as this case is concerned, to no other than the municipal court; and it will be observed that, while this court, like a justice of the peace, has jurisdiction under such a complaint as is
For the foregoing reasons we are of the opinion that the judgment of the court below should be reversed and the appellant, Annie Barbee, discharged, and it is so ordered.
Scott, O. L, and Reavis, Dunbar and Gordon, JJ\, concur.