The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-02-04
Judge Poland on Appeals in Habeas
Corpus Cases.

The Boston Heruld's Washington CORE
spondent says: 1.-THE senate judiciary COM
mttee complmented Poland of Vermont by
reporting favorably, without amendment,
the bill providing for an appeal in habeaS
corpus cases to the United States supreme
court which he reported last session from
the judiciary committee of the house, and
which the house passed on his report The
senate judiciary committee submits with the
bill copy of Polands report, adopting it as
its own. The favorable action of the senate
committee was the result of Poland's perse-
vering efforts. Similar efforts will probably
put it through the senate this session In a
letter to member of the senate committee in
regard to the bill, Poland says: 1t only re-
stores the appeal to the supreme court in
such cases after much reflection. / don't
see that we can safely do any more; but
this, l think, will curb the antics of a set of
district judges who have amplified their jul
risdiction so that they make il cover every
possible case of unlawful imprisonment,
whether under state process or without any
process at all, even when no federal question
is involved In his report on the bill,
Judge Poland carefully reviews the history
of habeas corpus jurisdiction in the United
States courts, and shows that it originally
extended only to persons in custody of the
federal authorities, under the general prin-
cple that state and federal jurisdiction
should be kept absolutely separate. The
acts of 1888 and 1872 extended federal habeas
corpus JurlSulcllOn, respectively, TO cases OF
federal employees arrested by state authori-
ties for performing their duties, and TO cases
of an international character. But in 1867
congress extended the federal habeas corpus
jurisdiction to all cases where any person
may be restrained of his or her liberty in
violation of the constitution, or any law or
treaty of the United States This act gave
an appeal from single judge to the circuit
court and thence to the United States SUI
preme court. This was part of the recon-
struction legislation Shortly after the pas
sage of this act, congress, in order to defeat
the attempt of McArdle, a Mississippi man.
to release himself from military custody of
the United States authorities, passed an act
after McArdle had actually appealed to the
United States supreme court repeating the
provision of the act % 1867, allowing an APP
peal to the United States supreme court
and his appeal was dismissed under that
act. Since then federal judges have as
sumed and exercised an almost unlimited
habeas corpus jurisdiction Poland's bill is
designed to partially correct this. 1t is TO
be followed by other legislation if necessary.
One purpose is TO have the supreme court
define the exact limits of the habeas corpus
jurisdiction conferred by the act of 1867. In
his report, Poland says; Thedistrict Judge
of Vermont, very learned and accom-
plished judge, discharged a party upon a
writ of habeas corpus under the following
circumstance: The man had been convicted
in the county courts of passing counterfeited
national bank bills The legislature of the
state had expressly made the act a crime
against the state. The man was convicted
and sentenced to the penitentiary, from
which he was released by this writ. The
judge held that, by the proper construction