Commonwealth ex rel. Davis v. Lecky
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
THE relater, Thomas B. Davis, being brought before the court on habeas corpus, objected to the legality of his arrest on a capias ad satisfaciendum, returned for the cause of his detention, that it was made after the execution had been superseded by a writ of error.
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THE relater, Thomas B. Davis, being brought before the court on habeas corpus, objected to the legality of his arrest on a capias ad satisfaciendum, returned for the cause of his detention, that it was made after the execution had been superseded by a writ of error. The respondent, who was the sheriff of Alleghany county, testified that Mr Davis came into his office, and that the execution was put into his hands in order to know what arrangement he intended to make in respect to it, but without touching his person with a view to a formal arrest; on which he went away, but shortly returned and…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Gibson, C. J.
The habeas corpus is undoubtedly an immediate remedy for every illegal imprisonment. But no imprisonment is illegal where the process is a justification of the officer; and process, whether by writ or warrant, is legal wherever it is not defective in the frame of it, and has issued in the ordinary course of justice from a court or magistrate having jurisdiction of the subject matter, though there have been error or irregularity in the proceedings previous to the issuing of it. Mackalley’s Case, 9 Co. 68 a; 1 Hale’s P. C. 488. In Cable v.…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- People v. RelyeaNew York Supreme Court · 1819
- Commonwealth v. HambrightSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1818
- Respublica v. Keeper of the gaol of PhiladelphiaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1798
3Cited by24 opinions
- In re StateCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1880
- Sheehan's CaseMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1877
- Commonwealth ex rel. Greevy v. ReifsteckSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1921
- In re BionSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1890
- In re HarrisSupreme Court of Vermont · 1896
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