The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1865-03-04

ment from a Justice of the Peace, but iha
commitment does not charge that crime o.
ANY sort has been or was committed by the
prisoner in Montana Territory, or in any Other
Territory, of given locality 8nd there is nc
certificate of any court of record, or even the
certificate of any clerk of a court to it, with
or without seal, and is in no way anthenti-
Gated certifying that the Justice was legally
acting as SUCH and even if the certificate OF
the Governor could come 10 and remedy this
ldefect, the document purporting to come from
the Governor, is not properly authenticated,
and the certificate produced here certifying
| that G. G. Bissell was Justice of the Peace
lis not signed by the Governor but by another
person, and so sworn to by Neil HOWE, in the
evidence now before me, and there is no seal
or authenticahon to any OF the papers
therefore it is held that none of the above
papers are legal evidence, and cannot be taken
as such, by the Judge, in the hearing of this
case.
Again, in the hearing of this case, the
commitment, and other papers, from the au-
thorities of Montana Territory, being held
void, we come to the testimony as taken be-
fore Justice Walker, of this city, as COM
hitting magistrate, and we find that almost
the entire mass as taken down (which is GER
titled as correctly taken before him is irrel-
eyaHt to the case, and has no bearing on the
guilt or innocence of the prisoner and the
remainder of the testimony is entirely hear
say testimony, and would not be admitted
even in a civil action where the paltHy dollar
was at issue-mach less where fellow
creatures liberty and (might be) his life
would be at stake All rules OF evidence
forbid the taking of such evidence, and ex-
presSly provides that such evidence shall not
have the least bearing on any case, unless
strongly supported by circumstances. There
is no evidence from any witness who knows
anything about the matter, of his own knowl-
edge, except Neil HOWE, and all that he
knows, is from the prisoners own statement
when he gave himself up to the officers and
it port Of the prisoners statement is taken as
evidence, the whole must be. Howe swears,
that the prisoner said that he had shot Brown
with double barreled shotgun, but it was
done in self-defense, as Brown was after his
revolver. The officers did not think enough
of the matter to confne the prisoner, though
there was Jail in the town of Virginia.
There is nothing here to show that the
prisoner ever had an examination before any
officer of that Territory, and Mr. Howie swore
that the prisoner did not have such examina-
ton. There is nothing to show that the
commitment is an order from any Magistrate
Judge or Justice, or that the person signing
the same was legally authorized so to do
and, as l said in the first instance, after full
hearing and careful perusalof all the papers
in the case, in connection with the law made
and provided in such cases. consider it the
duty Of the Probate Judge to set the prisoner
at liberty.
Therefore, it is ordered that the Sheriff of
Boise county, Idaho Territory-A. 0. Bowen,
do release the said R. H. Buckner from fur
Their confinement in the Jail of said county,
and that be, the said Buckner, go hence.
j, N. SHEPHERD,
Probate Judge Boise county, l. T.