Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1823-10-31
KICHMOND, OCTOBER 81 I8g3
CfSE OF HBBE.YY COnFUS.

CfSE or IfBBE.fS COnPCS.
Joseph Santee was brought mp before IN,
superior court of H"nrico, Judge Brock
enbrough presidngl-on Monday last. b,
virtue of a writ Of H,beas Corpus directed Ca
the JaIor of the town of Peic,shurg The
prisoner stated In his petition that he had bpen
temandrd by The examining court of Peters
burg, IN July 1899, To take his trial before. IN.
clrcult court, 10 be- held in that town in the
October following, upon cha--r of larceny :
that IN consequences of the sickness of judge
Bonldin court was not held at that term :
that IN the May term of 1928 he was indicted
FOR the offence, hut that his cause was contn-
ued, but not nj his instance: that at the re-
gtlar term IN October 1928, no superior court
was held Tor the said town, In CONSEQUENCE
of the sickness of the Judges family The
facts IN the petition were all admitted, and the
prisoner sought Ia he discharged by virtue of
| The act of Assembly in the following words =
When any prisoner committed for treason,
Or felony, shall apply to thr court the irst
" day OF the term by petition or motion, and
shall desire To be bro:ight 10 his trial befnrc
" the END oi the term, and shall not he indici-
"ed in that term, &c the court shall set him
" at liberty upon his giving bail, &c. 10 appear
before them at day to he appointed of the
succeeding term. Every person charged with
"such crime who shall not be indicted before,
or at the second term after he shall have
been committed, unless, &C. shall be dis
" charged from his Imprisonment if he be de-
" tanned for that cause only (; and IF he be not
" tried al or before The third term afitr his cram
"1nafion before the. justices, he shall be forerer
discharged Of The crime /; unless such failure
proceed from any continuance, granted ON
" The motion at the prise YER or from the ina
hllity of the jury 10 agree on their verdict"
The case was argued hy Henderson for the
prisoner, and the Attorney General for the
Commonwealth
The court said that the right of the prison
or to be discharged obviously depended ON the
meaning of the wOr1 term" i'm the latter
part of the section. IF il means the period at
which the court il directed Ia be holden. then
the prisoner is acquitted, but if il means the
actual session Ola court then he is unt enli
tied to his discharge: that the proper cnnstruc-
ton WAS not without difficulty, but TINT IA
reference tn other parts of the same section,
and to other acts of the legislature, would ex-
plain it. BY the first part of the section the
prisoner is entitled To bail, If not indicted at
The first ternt. when he applies tn the court
the first day of the term. Now, il would seem
hat his right 10 bail depends on the actual
session of the court, and ESQ, the c,ilurp ofihr
court 10 sit would render it improper to demo
inmate that period, IA the first term of the
court. That construction also seems strength
ened by the act which declares tia, WHEN Il
court fails TO sit, all causes shall stand cnnIinu-
ed over to the next term TINS considering that
term at which there WAS such failure as :,
mere blank. And il is still more strrng hrnrd
10y the language ofthe act providing for con-
venlng special session of the suprriar court
for criminal trials for 10 that act the word
term is used spontaneously with the word
court See the LIST Rev. Co. p. 234 ca
For these REASONS the prisnnrr's motion was
uvrrrnrd, and he was renanCirri to iajl.
The pr sonrr then moved the court 10 ad
lourn th" question 10 the general courl-and
The Jndgr promptly and che-rfuIIy withdrew
his decision, and accedpd To The application
to send IT 10 the highest criminal tribunal for
adjudication.