The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-04-05
Unique Legal Question
Attorney Generals Office Pre-
sents Appeal to Judge

The appeal of the Attorney Gener-
ais Office presented yesterday by
Capt. Morris Lunpkin, Assistant At
torney General to Judge K. H.
Townsend, now presiding over the
court of Common Pleas for Sumter
county, judge Of the Fifth Judicila
Circuit, to rescind his order of ha-
beas corpus releasing from custody
Isaac Murray and Christian Harris,
wanted at Augusta, Ca, for alleged
burglary was refused by the jurist.
Recently the accused men were ar
rested by the chief of police Of sum-
ter and he was directed on an extra
dition warrant by Governor Cooper
to turn them over to the Georgia au
thorities.
It was then that Judge Townsend,
on petition of the attorneys Of the
plaintiffs, issued his writ Of habeas
corpus nullifying the requisition Of
Governor Dorsey Of Georgia, and the
extradition warrant of the South
Carolina executive. The conflict OF
authority between two coordinate
branches of the State government
presents an unique legal question
which may have to be threshed out
in the State Supreme Court.
The petition and the order of Judge
Townsend follow:
4 To Hon. W. II. Townsend, Presiding
Judge. 3rd Judicial Circuit, Sumter
County:
Your petitioner respectfully shows
that he appears for the Attorney Gen
eral of South Carolina upon the re-
of South Carolina to submit to the
Court that the order made herein of
date March 25th, 1919, in the above
entitled proceeding, releasing from the
custody of the officers of the law the
persons above named, should be re-
scinded.
Your petitioner would further
show that the Governor Of South
Carolina. while greatly respecting the
Courts Of this State and the decisions
thereof, believes and submits that
the order mentioned above should be
rescinded upon the following grounds:
1. That duly authenticated papers
of extradition were submitted to him.
the agent Of the State of Georgia and
that upon such papers he, the Gov
ernor Of South Carolina issued his
warrant for the delivery Of the per
sons to be extradited to a person GER
tain j. e. r. J. Morgan the duly ap-
pointed agent Of the State Of Georgia.
.. That the function Of extradition
is one purely and solely for the eX-
ecutive and< to be exercised by him
alone.
& g.. That the issuing of the warrant
by the Governor of South Carolina
was, is and should be conclusive as
to the propriety. sufHciency and valid |
ity of the extradition papers forward
ed by the Governor Of Georgia to the
Governor Of South Carolina.
4. That the warrant issued by the
Governor of South Carolina in this
case is the only authority necessary
to vest the agent of the State OF
Georgia with full power and author
ity to take a fugitive back to the
State from whence he was fed.
It is therefore respectfully submit
ted that the agent Of the State OF
Georgia in this case, having with him
a warrant of authority from the Gov
ernor Of South Carolina was entitled
to receive and take the prisoners IN
question back to the State of Geors!a
without further evidence of the rea-
sons for his arrest or for the action
of the governor of South Carolina III
honor:iis the eXtradition-
That this Court was Therefore with
out jurisdiction to pass upon the ac-
ton of the Governor in issuing ms
e4& *