State v. Drake
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
On Exceptions from Nisi Prius, Hathaway, J., presiding. Assault and Battery. Complaint was made before a magistrate and a warrant issued and an appeal taken from the judgment of the justice. In the copy of the warrant, were these words, “ Given under my hand and seal this fourth day,” &c.,*but there was no seal upon the warrant, nor any sign that the original had been under seal, except in the words quoted.
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On Exceptions from Nisi Prius, Hathaway, J., presiding. Assault and Battery. Complaint was made before a magistrate and a warrant issued and an appeal taken from the judgment of the justice. In the copy of the warrant, were these words, “ Given under my hand and seal this fourth day,” &c.,*but there was no seal upon the warrant, nor any sign that the original had been under seal, except in the words quoted. When the case came, on for trial, the counsel for defendant moved to quash the proceedings, because by the copies produced, the warrant did not appear to have been under seal. This motion…
1Opinion of the Court
Shepley, C. J. —
There can be little doubt, that the common law required, that warrants issued for the arrest or imprisonment of a person, by magistrates, should be under seal. The practice appears to have conformed to it in England and in this country. No case has been presented or noticed, in which a warrant issued without a seal, for such a purpose, has been 'decided to be valid. To require a seal in such cases, may not be important, only as matter of form. It gives the instrument a higher grade of character, arrests the attention in the hurry of business, allowing a pause for reflection.
The…
2Cited by2 opinions
- Miller v. WisemanSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1925
- State v. HainesSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1958