The herald., 1896-02-25
CALIFORNIA OR ARIZONA
Important Point Raised on a
Writ of Habeas Corpus.
HAS ARIZONAALEGALP PRISON
A Convict Claims He is Illegally Held
on California Soil.
II the Point Is Ultimately Sustained II Would
Be Great Gain to calliornia-rhs
Location Of Yuma.

Evaristo Chavez, q Mexican convict, now
serving thirteen months sentence in the
territorial prison of Arizona at Yuma, had
applied through his attorney, Calvert Will
son, to Judge Wellborn of the United
States district court, in this city, for writ
OF habeas corpus upon the ground that the
prison building in which he is confined is
within the limits of the state of California
and cannot, therefore, be the Arizona
prison or serve Us a prison for Arizona
convicts. Chavez is federal prisoner in
Arizona. He was indicted and convicted
in the United States district court of Phoe-
nix, Ariz., for disposing of ardent spirits to
Indians.
The petition of Chavez shows at some
length the grounds of his application, and
is somewhat novel paper
His assertion that the prison is in San
Diego county, California, it is learned, is
based upon construction of articles of
the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, between
the United States and Mexico, and an
article of the constitution of ths state of
California under which that state was by
organic act of Arizona, 1t is claimed that
the southern boundary line of the state be-
gins at the junction Of Gila and Colorado
rivers, and runs due west in a straight line
to point about three miles south of San
Diego. The fact that the Colorado after
it's junction with the Gila bends some dis
tance to the north leaves a strip of land
north of this southern boundary line of
California between this line and the Colo
RADIO river, as the land lying north of this
line is within the state of California. Upon
this narrow srtp of land is situated the
Arizona prison. The petition given below
shows the grounds in detail of the applica-
ton, and is as follows:
THE PETITION
The petition of Calvert Wilson respect
fully shows that one Evaristo Chavez is uu-
lawfully imprisoned, detained, confined
and restrained of his libertyby one Thomas
Gates, near old Fort Yuma, in the county
of San Diego, state of California, at place
near the junction of the Colorado and Gila
rivers, and in building called and used
by the authorities of the territory of Ari-
zona as the Arizona penitentiary.
That said imprisonment. detention. con-
finement and restraint of the liberty of the
said Evaristo Chavez consists in this, to-
wit:
That the said Chavez is detained and i'm
prisoned as aforesaid by the said Thomas
Gates, without any commitment, or order
or process of any court of the state OF Cali
fornia, or any court OF tho United States
except as hereinafter stated:
That your petitioner is informed and be-
lieves that the alleged reason for the de-
tention, Imprisonment and restraint of his
liberty of said Evarlsto Chavez by the said
Thomas Gates is as follows: The said
Thomas Gates is, in the territory of Ari-
zona, the superintendent of the territorial
prison of the territory of Arizona, said
prison being established by section 24l7
revised statutes Of Arizona, in the ''town OF
Yuma, county of Yuma, territory of ArizO-
ma, which said last named prison at
tempted to be so established is the only
prison established in Arizona, and is the
place where said Chavez is confined as
aforesaid; that the said Gates is restrain
ing and combining the said Chavez under
the pretended authority of a commitment
issued out of the district court of the Fourth
judicial district of the territory of Arizona,
a territorial court having and exercising
the same jurisdiction under and by virtue
of the constitution and laws of the United
States as is vested in the circuit and dis
trict courts of the United States, a certified
copy of which commitment is hereto at
tached, upon conviction in said last
named court for the crime of selling liquor
to an Indian under the charge of an Indian
agent, the same being all offense in viola
ton of section 2139, revised statutes of the
United States, sentencing the said Evaristo
Chavez to thirteen months Imprisonment
in "The territorial prison at Yuma, Arizo-
ma territory" and ''that he pay a fine
amounting to the sum of 90 and to stand
committed until the amount of said fine
shall have been fully paid or said defend
ant authorized discharged according to
law" and "that the said United States
marshal transport the said Evaristo Chavez
to the said territorial prison and deliver
him, the said Chavez. to the keeper of the
said territorial prison, and that the said
keeper detain the said Evarsto Chavez
according to this sentence.
Your petitioner further alleges; that
the said Chavez is not being confined by
the said Gates, attempting to act as SUI
perintendent of the Arizona territorial
prison, in the place to which the said Cha
vez was sentenced and according to his
sentence, but that the said Gates is with
out authority of law, in the state of Cali
forria, confining, in the said place, in the
county of San Diego in the state of Cali
fornia the said Chavez as aforesaid; that
the place where the said Gates is so con-
filming the said Chavez, as your petitioner
believes illegally, is place in township
Is. south of range 90 east, San Bernardo
no base and meridian, in section 50. of
said township, in the county of San Diego
and state of California.
That the confinement of the said Cha
vez by the said Gates as aforesaid is un-
der ard by color of the authority of the
United States Of America, by virtue of
said commitment, and not otherwise.
That the building in which the said
Gates is conlining the said Chavez is stu.
ated about 500 feet more or less north of
the limit separating upper and lower
California, mentioned and provided for in
the treaty between the United States and
the republic of Mexico, comm only called
the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and 500
feet within the state of California and dis
daries OF the territory of Arizona; and that
the territory is in possession of the said
bull ding in which Chavez is confined as
aforesaid and the ground upon which said
-uu- A->l@ N