The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-12-09
BAD FOR HALLINGERl.
The Text of Judge Harlan's
Opinion Sends Him to
the Ga1loWs.
DEPRIVED OF NO RIGHT.
States Have a Right to Make Their
Own Laws as Long as
They Are Equal.

District Attorney Winfield has received
the opinion Of the United States Supreme
Court in the appeal made by Hallinger,
the negro murderer, from the decision OF
the United States Circuit Court denying
him writ of habeas corpus In the final
decision Justice Harlan dissented. JUS
tice Shiras read the opinion.
Section 68 of the criminal procedure act
| of this State provides that il any person
shall be convicted on confession in open
court. the court shall proceed by examin-
alton of witnesses to determine the de-
! gree of the crime and give sentence ac-
cordingly. Peshall claims that this sec
tion is violation of the Constitution OF
| the United States and that OF the
| State of New JERSEY. He also
alleges that the laws of New jersey do
not provide any right of appeal in muir
der cases, and ne has no right to appeal
to any higher court in the State to review
or annul the illegal Judgment and SEN
tence. Hallinger's imprisonment and
| sentence. he claims, are violation of the
| Fourteenth Amendment to the Constltu-
| tion of the United States. which says:
Nor shall any State deprive any person
! of lire. liberty or property without due
| process of law"
| RIGHT OF WAIVER.
1
| tion of this right of one charged with
crime to waive the right of trial by jury
| and elect to be tried by the court, when
| there is positive legislative enactment
| giving the right to do SO and conferripg
| power on the court to try the accused in
such case, there are numerous decis-
| ions by States upholding the validity of
! such proceeding. We can. therefore, have
no doubt that the proceeding to ascertain
| the degree OF crime when, in an indict-
ment for murder, the defendant enters a
plea of guilty. is constitutional and valid.
IF recorded confession Of every
| material averment of an individual puts
the confessor upon the country. the In
stitutions of jury trial, and the legal
| effect and nature Of a plea of guilty have
| been very imperfectly understood, not
| only by the authors of the Constitution
| and their successors down to the present
time, but also by the genera
lived under the common law.
1t is only necessary, in order to determine
whether the Legislature transcended its
| power in the act. to inquire whether it is
prohibited by the Constitution.
RIGHT OF TRIAL.
1.-THE right Of the accused to trial was
not effected. and we can, therefore, have
no doubt that the proceeding to
ascertain the degree OF the crime
where, in an Indictment for murder, the
defendant enters a plea of guilty,
is constitutional and valid. Statutes of
| like or similar import have been enacted
in many OK the States and have never
| been held unconstitutional. Gu the
other hand, they have been repeatedly
and uniformly held to be constitutional. y
| The opinion cites a number of State
cases to show the constitutionality of
cases similar TO that of Hallinger, and
| continues
prcuTs oE A crhrr
! s'Of course, the decision in the present
| case, of the highest court of the State of
| New Jersey having jurisdiction, that the
statute is constitutional and valid, suffic-
| iently and finally establishes that propo-
sition, unless the proceedings in the case
| did not constitute due process of law
| within the meaning Of the Fourteenth
| Amendment of the Constitution of the
United States. Ii the Stale of New York
for example, should see At to adopt
! the civic law and its method of
procedure for New York City. and the
surrounding counties. and the common
| law and its method of procedure for the
rest of the State, there is nothing in the
| Constitution of the United States to pre-
| vent its doing so. This would not of
| itself. within the meaning of the Four
teenth Amendment, be a denial to any
| person of the equal protection of
| the laws. II every person resi-
I
! of the State should be accorded the equal
| protection of the laws prevailing there.
| he could not justly complain of viola
tion of the clause referred to, for, as be-
fore said, it has respect to persona and
classes of persons.
| persons shall be denied the same
protection of the laws which
is enjoyed by other persons
or other classes in the same place and
under like circumstances. Tie Four
teenth Amendment does not profess TO
secure to all persons In the United States
the benefit of the same laws and the
| same remedies. Great diversities iu
these respects may exist in two States
| separated only by an imaginary line. On
one side of this Hne there IS Alright of trial
by jury, and on the other side no such
| right. Each State prescribes its own
modes of Judicial proceedings
After further citations from authorities
in connection with rights under the
| Fourteenth Amendment, the opinion
| states:--
DEPRIVED OF NOTHING.
Applying the principles of these de-
cisions to the case before us, we are readily
| brought to the conclusion that the ap-
pellant, in voluntarily availing himself
| OF the provisions of the statute and elect
ing to plead guilty was deprived of no
right or privilege within the protection
OF the Fourteenth Amendment. The trial
seems to have been conducted In strict
accordance with the forms prescribed by
the Constitution aud laws of the
State, and with special regard to
the rights of the accused hereunder
Whatever may be thought of the wisdom
of departing. in capital cases, from the
time honored procedure, there Is cer-
tainly nothing in the present record to
enable this Court to perceive that the
right of the appellant. so far as the laws
and Constitution OF the United States are
concerned, have been in any wise infringed
Other propositions are discussed In the
brief OF the appellants counsel. but they
are either without legal foundation or
suggest questions that are not subject 20
our revision.
..The judgment Of the Circuit Court is
| affirmed
Justice Harlan assents to the conclusion
but does not agree in all the reasoning OF
| the opinion.
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