Commonwealth ex rel. Bittner v. Price

Concurring Opinion by

Mr. Justice Roberts:

I do not agree that an appeal from the denial of a habeas corpus petition is interlocutory and therefore must be quashed. The result of such a doctrine would be to render unappealable all challenges to the legality of pretrial detention. However, I do believe that Bittner’s present incarceration is lawful and thus would affirm the denial of the writ on this basis, rather than quash this appeal.

The function of a writ of habeas corpus is to test the legality of the prisoner’s detention. See Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 399-420, 83 S. Ct. 822, 827-38…