The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-06-15
A CLEAR CONCLUSION.

The opinion of United States District
Attorney Judd in regard to the extra
dition of Sylvester, the California pa
role prisoner, which appeared in full
in The Herald on Thursday will be
read with interest not only by the legal
fraternity but by the general public
The questions involved are not less
novel than important, and from the
facts in the case as revealed by the
papers submitted, it would seem diff
ficult to reach any other conclusion
than that announced by the Judge.
An issue of no little Importance to
the state of California is raised by the
action of Governor West upon this case
and we shall therefore expect to see
| the San Francisco press discuss the
matter at length.
At the first glance it would seem
that man who had been duly con-
victed of felony in California, and who,
being paroled under the laws of the
state. had escaped from that parole
and fed to Utah, was a fugitive from
justice and should be subject to extra
dition on a requisition from the Gov
ernor of California to THE Governor Of
Utah.
But Judge Judd carefully reviews the
laws of the United States and of Cali
fornia governing such cases, and comes
to the conclusion that the requisition
should be denied. His reasons appear
to us to be conclusive. The United
States statute specifies certain require
ments in a requisition for a fugitive
| from justice, and these were not COM
piled with by the Governor of Califor-
MIA. That statute and the clause of the
Constitution of which it is pursuant,
contemplate only cases in which the
fugitive has fed after indictment and
before conviction. But granting that a
convicted felon who escapes may come
under the provisions of these laws,
still the formahties required therein
have not been complied with.
There is something more than that
which is vitality defective in the papers
sent from California. The requisition
is made. not on the ground of the in,
dictment or conviction for the felony
for which Sylvester was imprisoned
but of his escape from parole and there
is nothing to show that this is crime
under the statutes of the State. They
provide that a prisoner who thus vio-
lates his parole may be rearrested and
held as an escaped prisoner, but that
does not bring the offence under the
laws of the United States in reference
to the extradition of fugitives from
justice.
The liberty of the citizen must be
maintained in this territory while its
laws are obeyed by him, and the execu.
tive power must be exercised on his
behalf unless it appears beyond g
reasonable doubt that he is legally sub
ject to extraditon. This evidence be
ing conspicuously absent, the District
Attorney decides in favor of the citi
zen and the Governor acts on thai
decision
There is an element of novelty il
this case and it required the exercise
of legal acumen to get at its real mer
of keen truth which has divided be
tween law and appearances and pierced
TO the marrow of the matter. He i!
to be congra tulated on his clear percep
ton of the legal points involved in {
new case. We are afraid, however
that the Governor Of California will
not feel quite so well satisfied as WI
over the conclusion reached.