New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-06-27
yew 0fleaus gay Grestmt nnday urning gune a. 1862

say that as the prisoner is not detained in
of the provisions Of the act of Congress the subject
Of fugitives from justice, he must be released
/ And we may add, that If the act Of Congress is
found not to be adequate to the ends of JUSTICE it Is
for Congress- and not for the State to remedy the
evil.
Let the prisoner be discharged.
It will be perceived that the right of State to
pass any law regulating the surrender Of either fug
tives from justice or ugtves owing labor service
has not only been settled by the Supreme Court Of
the United States in the referred to by Judge
Price, but the same principle has been settled ad.
versely to State legislation by the decisions Of the
highest Courts in several of the Western States.
| The case Of the State on the relation of Edward
johnson, charged with being fugitive from justice
from the State of Mississippi, and brought before
Judge Price on writ Of habeas corpus, was very
deliberately argued by A. P. Field ESQ, counsel for
the prisoner and all the authorities bearing upon the
subject cited but the Judge took the under ad-
visement for more than week before he decided it,
and the ability and sound argument of the judge as
given in his opinion is evidence of the thorough
manner in which he had examined the subject.
It has been charged in your paper that the Recorder
and parties arstng Lanier not notified of this
proceeding. That is true ; nor were they by law,
common usage or right, entitled to have this notice.
They were in no manner parties to the writ and the
Recorder, after having committed Lanier to await the
requstion Of the authorities Of Mississippi had done
all that he was required to do; the passed from
his jurisdiction to the keeper Sheriff to whose GUS
tody he had been committed by the Recorder; and
he could have remedied no error, supplied no def
cheney, that might have been committed by him in
the exercise Of his authority the prisoner when
he was before him. The imprisonment complained of
BY the prisoner Lanier that the Sheriff restraind
him of his liberty under the laws of Louisiana in rea-
ton to ugitives from justice and that the act of the
Legislature, authorizing his arrest and imprisonment
was unconstitutional and void. What obligation or
legal duty was imposed on the Judge of the Third
District Court to have had notice served the Re-
corder or the parties making the arrest stimulated no
doubt, by the hope promise, if they could detain
Lanier they would secure large reward. And if this
had not been in the way, you would have had no COM
plants made to you against Judge Duvigneaud for
discharging the man.
The Code of Practice article 791 section provides
that the habeas corpus shall be directed to the person
having another in his custody or detans him in con-
6nement, commanding him to bring before the Judge
the person thus detained at the time and place ap-
pointed, and to state the for which he thus
keeps him imprisoned and deprived of bis liberty It
is no where made incumbent upon the Judge to have
any notice given to any one much less to the Justice
who may have committed him. The writ could only
issue to those OBTAINING him in custody Sometimes it
has been deemed courteous, in of great import
ance to notify the Attorney General District Attor
ney, but nowhere required to be done, and in fact
in all the in which notice has been served,
doubt whether they ever appeared. 1t is no part of
their duty and they have generally taken no notice of
such proceedings.
deem it but act of justice to to the Judge of
the Third District Court, whose decision has been
assaled in the columns of your paper and whose con-
duct throughout has been that Of an upright and able
Judge, to ask of you to publish this communication
JUSTICE