215 Wis. 148 | Wis. | 1934
On February 9, 1934, pursuant to the procedure suggested in In re Exercise of Original Jurisdiction of Supreme Court, 201 Wis. 123, 229 N. W. 643, there was filed in this court in behalf of Duly Cash, hereafter called the petitioner, an application for a writ of habeas corpus. If appears from the petition and the record of the municipal court of Milwaukee county that on April 20, 1929, an information was filed by the district attorney of Milwaukee county against the petitioner, in which he was charged in the first count with the crime of burglary, and in the second
“That according to the report of the physicians aforesaid, said defendant was insane at the time of the commission of the alleged offense, to wit, on April 16, 1929, and insane at the time of his arraignment on April 20, 1929, and at the time of his trial on April 25 and 26, 1929, and was described as unable to confer with counsel on his own behalf ; that despite such finding of insanity, defendant was allowed*150 to plead to the charge against him, to waive a jury and to be forced to have witnesses sworn against him and to confer with his counsel, although incompetent; that although defendant was found to be insane at the time he committed the alleged offense, he was sentenced therefor; that upon the recovery of his sanity the defendant was sentenced without further testimony or opportunity to defend on the merits and on the basis of testimony advanced against him while he was insane.”
The petitioner contends that under the circumstances the court had no jurisdiction to sentence him and that therefore his imprisonment is without authority.
No claim is made that the information filed against the petitioner was insufficient, or that the municipal court did not have jurisdiction of the action. It is clear that the court did have jurisdiction of the action. It is equally clear that the complaint of the petitioner is directed wholly to the error of the court in sentencing the defendant to the Wisconsin State Prison without giving him an opportunity to show that at the time he committed the offense and at the time of his trial he was insane. It is clear that the court erred in so proceeding, but such error did riot in any way affect the jurisdiction of the court. However great the error may have been, such error cannot be reached in a habeas corpus proceeding. It is the law of this state that errors committed by a court within the exercise of its criminal jurisdiction cannot be reviewed in a habeas corpus proceeding, and that where it appears on the face of the petition for such a writ the court had jurisdiction of the person'and of the subject-matter when it pronounced judgment and sentenced a defendant, the application will be denied. In re Carlson, 176 Wis. 538, 186 N. W. 722; In re Elliott, 200 Wis. 326, 228 N. W. 592.
It has been said over and over again that error committed within the jurisdiction of the court can be reviewed
By the Court. — Application for writ denied.