632 A.2d 1147 | Conn. Super. Ct. | 1993
The petitioners, who are held under rendition warrants issued by the governor of Connecticut as the result of requisitions made upon him by the governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, seek the issuance of writs of habeas corpus. They claim they *570 are being illegally detained because (1) the extradition documents are not in order and (2) the petitioners have not been substantially charged with a crime. Petitioners LaValley and Nastu also claim they are not fugitives. For the reasons stated below, the petitions are denied.
Hearings contesting extradition warrants are "limited to four questions, namely, (a) whether the extradition documents on their face are in order, (b) whether the plaintiff has been charged with a crime in the charging state, (c) whether the plaintiff is the person named in the request for extradition and (d) whether the plaintiff is a fugitive." Narel v. Liburdi,
All petitioners claim the extradition documents are not in order because the factual findings which are contained in the minutes of a Pennsylvania grand jury were not expressly and separately authenticated by the governor of Pennsylvania. In each case, the minutes are annexed with other documents to the application for rendition which was submitted by the district attorney of Mercer county, commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to the governor of Pennsylvania. The minutes set forth the basis for the grand jury's presentment with respect to the petitioners. Also annexed to each application for rendition is an affidavit of probable cause prepared by two Pennsylvania state troopers. The affidavits are identical in each case. The troopers say in their affidavit that they have reviewed the presentment and determined the findings described therein correspond with their own findings. Since the troopers use the findings of the grand jury to corroborate their own findings, the petitioners claim the minutes must be expressly and separately authenticated. *571
General Statutes §
All petitioners claim they have not been substantially charged with a crime in Pennsylvania as required by §
"The purpose of General Statutes §
In each case, an arrest warrant was issued by district justice Joseph V. Gabany. The certified copies of the arrest warrants, complaints, charges filed and probable cause affidavits contain the following recital above the magistrate's signature: "I certify the complaint has been properly completed and verified, and that there is probable cause for the issuance of process." This is a judicial determination of probable cause. Accordingly, no further judicial inquiry may be had in this state on this issue. Michigan v. Doran,
Petitioner LaValley claims he is not a fugitive. "A person is a fugitive from justice if he commits a crime in one state and is thereafter found in another state . . . . The issuance of a governor's warrant constitutes prima facie evidence that the person named therein is a fugitive, and introduction of the warrant into evidence shifts the burden of showing the contrary to the petitioner contesting the legality of his arrest." Barrila v. Blake,
If LaValley is aggrieved by procedural infirmities, constitutional or otherwise, he must have those matters determined by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Narel v. Liburdi, supra, 565. Since the respondent introduced the rendition warrant and requisition, there is prima facie evidence that LaValley is a fugitive. This evidence has not been rebutted.
Petitioner Nastu also claims he is not a fugitive. He argues that the minutes of the grand jury submitted as part of the requisition made by the governor of Pennsylvania show "that at no time has this petitioner ever been claimed by Pennsylvania's authorities to have been present in Pennsylvania, committed a crime there, and fled that jurisdiction." "The inquiry whether or not the plaintiff is a fugitive from justice is one of fact, to be resolved by the chief executive of the state to whom the demand for extradition is made, and his judgment thereon is not subject to judicial impeachment by habeas corpus unless it conclusively appears that the person sought to be extradited could not be a fugitive from justice under the law." Reynolds v. Conway,
Based on the foregoing, each of the five petitions for a writ of habeas corpus is denied.